As the Baby Boomer generation quickly approaches retirement, there is going to be a gap in leadership. The simple truth is the Generation X that separates the two largest generations (Baby Boomers) and (Millennial) is not large enough to fill the gap that will be left by the retirement of the Baby Boomers. The only generation the size of Baby Boomers is the millennial generation, and we are about to see a shift in the workforce by this younger generation stepping into these soon vacant leadership roles.
The separation between the generations is comfort with culture and technology. The average Millennial will be able to adopt a new technology into their business lives making them more productive faster than the Baby Boomer generation can now. This trend will cause a shift in the workplace moving business at a much more rapid pace.
The Pew Research Center released a report called “Millennial: Confident. Connected. Open to Change” that stated that “Millennial were the only generation to not list work ethic as one of their top 5 characteristics”. The new workforce values their personal lives and family above work, they live first and work second. Though viewed through the eyes of a 9-5 Baby Boomer the younger generation may seem lazy, the millennial generation is a driven group who do not complain when presented with a challenge. It is important that the leadership of any company knows how to present a project to this generation, framed correctly and with the right boundaries.
The Millennial like to know the rules and limits, they work much better in groups and should be assigned projects that have an element of creativity to challenge them. Some areas that Millennial feel should be focused on are: Involved Leadership, Organizational Transparency, Thinking as a Group or Team, Passion for a Project, Focus on Results Not a Time-clock. We will see many changes coming down as companies adopt these Millennial into leadership roles.
It is easy to lump this generation into the category of “lazy”, if you understand how they think you will see they are anything but. Millennial feel that if they can perform their job well from bed from 7-10 and from the coffee house from 3-6 they should be allowed that flexibility.
There is a shift coming into the workplace, how will it affect you?
- Guest Blogger: Joel Goldstein, Internet Marketing Expert at Peer Marketing Group
Sources:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/200906/millennials-poised-take-over-the-workplace
http://blogs.hbr.org/davenport/2008/12/can_millennials_really_change.html
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/04/the_millenials_work_ethic_prob.html