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Happy New Year!
Are Millennials Too Young to Lead?
Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.
—Steve Jobs
As baby boomers leave the workplace at a rate of nearly twelve thousand per day, the vacuum created by their exodus includes frontline supervision and management positions. Those in the leading edge of the millennial generation (generation Y, born between 1981 and 2000) are stepping up and into the role of boss.
I am seeing more and more aspiring young leaders in the training classes I provide for successful organizations. Collectively, managers need to be prepared for a new approach to this high-pressure position. Millennials are quick to learn and eager to compete for the positions being vacated by the boomers, and their early success rate may just surprise you.
The generation labeled as “lazy” by some and “brilliant” by others brings a blank experience canvas to the leadership positions they are being offered. They are not infected with negativity or toxic leadership experiences as generations of the past have been. As a result, they tend to be more positive, open-minded, and eager to learn what it takes to become a successful leader in the workplace. Even more amazing is their quick recognition
of the old stereotypes that really never worked but were so readily tolerated by management of the past. Having trained hundreds of millennials as new supervisors and community leaders, I am excited about the potential for leadership they bring to modern organizations. Succession planners need not stay awake at night worrying about the future of the organizations they serve. Our young generation is ready and eager to assume new leadership roles as we
speak. They are well read and even offended by a simplistic leadership discussion. Moreover, young leaders bring ahighly articulate and passionate view of what it will take to lead their peers into the future. Millennial leaders bring both fresh perspective and high expectations from the current leaders in their organizations. And, if you ask their opinion of current leaders, they will indeed let you know exactly what they think. Here are some realities that make millennial leaders different.
- High turnover creates a higher sense of leadership urgency. Baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1963) are known to be loyal and stay with organizations for many years. In a workplace dominated by baby boomers, emphasis on true leadership development was lost. Today, with millennials averaging sixteen to eighteen months tenure on the job, a high sense of urgency necessitates better leadership.
- Millennials have never been treated with tough love. Let’s face it; we do not share the same parental styles today as parents of the past. We are easy on children when it comes to work at a young age. Because most families have fewer children today, these kids have not been required to carry as heavy a load as generations past. As a result...
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