It’s easy for those of us who count our career in decades to discount how well attuned our youngest workers are to what defines good leadership and good business practices. To do so, is a mistake. Here are 7 reasons why you should work harder to leverage the potential of your youngest workers:
Eric Rodriguez is the voice of The Millennial View here at Management Excellence. His latest post offers a reminder to those typically early career professionals who are accustomed to communicating in small bursts of acronym filled texts via their cellphones, to keep their unique language out of the workplace.
Chances are, we've all read about and heard from mid-career managers complaining about the younger generation entering the workforce. The “don’t want to pay their dues,” and “you can’t pry them away from their PDAs,” and “poor work ethic” laments are in my opinion, lame copouts by managers stuck in their own inflexible ways. There’s good and bad in every generation, it’s just that this one feels different, because it is.
One of the recurring themes in my writing and teaching activities is the importance of blending the generations in the workplace. I’ve been a cheerleader for this cause for the past few years and I truly believe that good managers everywhere must find opportunities to leverage the unique perspectives of experience, pragmatism and idealism available from this fascinating mix of time travelers. I’ve now moved beyond my polite encouragement for managers to find ways to adapt and cope with what seem to be the foreign habits and foreign viewpoints emanating from the more youthful in the workforce. It's time to get serious about learning and benefitting from this younger generation.
This week’s jolt of energy is taken from a great interview with Jim Collins in the April, 2009 issue of Inc. Magazine. Collins connected with Inc. editor, Bo Burlingham to share views on the state of our world, building great businesses and entrepreneurship. The entrepreneurial focus is relevant for many that have either been pushed into this world through downsizing or are considering it as they grow weary of the uncertainties of corporate life. And whether you are a budding entrepreneur or not, the insights, guidance and reminder to dream and act big are appropriate and inspirational.
As a leader, you cannot afford to allow the best, brightest and most-experienced employees to feel detached and unmotivated. I suspect that more often than not, you as the leader have a hand in creating this problem, and you definitely can help solve it. It's time to sit down, talk and most importantly, listen to what your thirty and forty-somethings have to say. These are the leaders in your immediate future. Don't come up short just when these talented professionals are ready to pay off.
