you tired of reading information about Millennials that doesn’t align with the people you work with?
Would you rather hear nails on a chalkboard for 5 minutes than sit through a 90-minute presentation on Millennials?
Are you wondering when you’re going to hear any information about Generation Xers or Baby Boomers?
If you answered yes to any of the preceding questions, we feel your plight. Consider how you can cure your fatigue:
❯❯ Seek out information and articles that avoid negativity, lack bias, and tell the story behind the statistics.
❯❯ Ask the Millennials you manage to lead the Millennial conversation.
❯❯ Spread your generational reading to Gen Xers and Boomers.
❯❯ Hire BridgeWorks to do a generational training that’s actually entertaining and helpful (a little self-promotion never hurt anyone, right?).
❯❯ Read this book in chunks, as it’s intended to be read.
Sociology is a powerful way of viewing the world, if you can find the right moments to separate sociology from psychology. There are usually two reactions to studying Millennials:
1. “People all must be looked at as individuals, not as the masses.”
Rebuttal: That is true! That’s why there are millions of people dedicated to the study of the individual. However, studying the masses in turn can influence the masses. Arguably, you will have a broader reach and more sustainable lens with which to view the world if you have a scope of how a mass demographic acts and reacts at work or in times of change. It’s not the be-all and end-all, but it is the foundation with which to view those around you.
2. “This doesn’t describe me or the Millennials I work with.”
Right. As the previous point mentions, generational theory is a study of the masses. Furthermore, we don’t believe that all Millennials are the same. Segmentation is at times critical to understand the generation for certain purposes – see Chapter 13 where we split the Millennial cohort into two: Old Millennials and Young Millennials. Further segmentation can be done for whatever market information you’re attempting to uncover, but this is a good start. Mass trends are still a helpful tool to serve as your control in the science experiment of “What kind of Millennial are you?”
Are you sitting down? We have some big news … sometimes, Millennials aren’t good employees. Just like every other generation, there are good eggs and rotten ones, but the challenge at times can be separating your own bias and stereotyping from the truth about the Millennial employee whom you work alongside. If you answer yes to two or more of the following questions, there’s a good chance that you are dealing with a bad employee, not just a Millennial:
Yes/No Do you keep making excuses to keep him there?
Yes/No Do you find your greatest challenges to be with just one Millennial versus many of them?
Yes/No Do his Millennial colleagues struggle to work with him?
Yes/No Does he fulfill one too many stereotypes of the Millennial generation?
Yes/No Is he oblivious to the way that he fulfills those stereotypes? Even after you’ve spoken to him about it?
Yes/No Has he been given the honest conversations and tools to change, but you still don’t see a difference?
If you circled yes to two or more of the questions in the list, it may be time to put a plan in place and have a tough conversation.
Identifying and Navigating Generational Clash Points
If you’ve ever had a disagreement, frustration, or challenge moment with a Millennial, there’s a chance that you were in the midst of a clash point, or an area in which the generations are likely to collide but each has a valid point of view. The last part of this clash point definition is usually the most important but most often neglected point of generational differences – neither generation, when experiencing a clash, is wrong. In fact, most of the time, both are right. Part 2 of this book takes a deep dive into the following clash points:
❯❯ Adapting to changes in organizational structure (see Chapter 6).
A preview: In the past, a traditional organization flowed in one direction. If you wanted to move up the ladder or communicate up the ladder, there was only one way to go. Boomers mastered the art of navigating this structure, and Gen Xers learned how to adapt to it. Millennials ushered in the expectation that the organization flows in multiple directions, with no limit to the number of ways communication can flow. The misinterpretation of where each generation is coming from can lead to misunderstandings when it comes to a Millennial’s loyalty to an organization, expectations of speedy career progression, and respect for the chain of command.
❯❯ Encouraging and facilitating collaboration (see Chapter 7).
A preview: Millennials are known for being hyper-collaborative in school and at work – in their minds, work is best when it is done in teams. This can cause collisions with Boomers who, though they value collaboration, prefer it in a structured environment. Hyper-independent Xers who grew up with the motto, “If you want something done right, do it yourself” may find Millennials’ desire to collaborate annoying, inefficient, and laborious.
❯❯ Supercharging your feedback loop (see Chapter 8).
A preview: Giving feedback in such a way that another generation can hear it is no small task. Boomers, eager to receive feedback in their young professional days, ultimately designed the annual review session to illicit feedback, good or bad. Gen Xers loathe the timestamp of a review of feedback that should have happened in the moment, and Millennials opt for a less-formal, less-structured feedback process. Millennials, raised in the self-esteem movement, prefer regular feedback and are concerned not when they don’t receive good feedback, but when they don’t receive any feedback at all. These different mindsets can cause collisions, especially if you’re a manager who just wants the best for the person whom you manage.
❯❯ Motivating Millennials (see Chapter 9).
A preview: Compensation is a start to motivating Millennials, just like other generations, but it isn’t the golden ticket. They have varied motivation factors that can be boiled down to connecting work to a larger purpose, customizing their compensation structure, and giving
