I’ve been reading a lot lately about the Millenial generation (aka Gen Y) and how the Baby Boomers just can’t figure out how to deal with them. Kinda like the flashing 12:00 on their VCRs. So a note to all the flummoxed Boomers who are trying to figure out how to manage these rapscallions.
Dear Boomers,
If you believe Millenials can’t be managed or that they just don’t have the same appreciation for work that your generation did, then I’m not sure how to say this without staying true to my generation’s cynical stereotype; you may well be a bad manager, a Luddite or have merely lost your long-term memory.
The only real difference is that the demands are now being placed on you whereas you didn’t have the chutzpah to do likewise when you were that age. Millenials have less tolerance for ‘paying ones dues’ or tolerating management indifference (the kindler, gentler version of the word I wanted to use).
I find it hard to believe that you Boomers wanted to be treated poorly, mismanaged and didn’t want to learn anything when you first entered the workforce. But that’s all Millenials are seeking. The chance to learn, grow and be evaluated on merit, not tenure. Millenials want to work and are willing to work hard, but they want to do it under a leader rather than a manager.
And good for them. They’re not willing to tolerate bad managers nearly as much as the generations before them. They’re requiring everyone to step up their game. Some are responding, others are grousing that this group is unmanageable.
To get the most out of the Millenials (or anyone for that matter) try the following:
Towers Perrin’s latest post on how to bridge the differences was the straw that prompted this rant, but they suggested an interesting ’solution.’ Pair up the Boomers who are eager to learn with the Millenials so that each can teach the other. Boomers learn technological solutions and Millenials learn human solutions. Good idea, fair enough. And/or…
Start tugging on your empathy gene and treat them like you wanted to be treated a couple decades ago. Millenials, on the whole, are more conservative versions of who you used to be. Idealistic, achievement seeking and confident. They are who you were, but with more guts to demand what they want.
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Author’s Note: Being a part of the oft-ignored Gen X group I believe I’m in a position to be impartial. Or easily ignored if you don’t like my point of view. But before we were ignored we’d heard all this before about our generation. Gen X was once the self-indulgent, short cut seeking, downfall of the American principles generation - see tech bubble media features.
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