Heed the disruptive forces being ushered in by millennials and thrive as a 21st-century leader, says Susan Inouye, author of Leadership’s Perfect Storm
Millennials will make up 75% of the global workforce by 2025. They are pushing us into new social awareness whether we like it or not. Brian Chesky, the millennial Co-Founder and CEO of Airbnb, said, ‘The stuff that matters in life is no longer stuff. It’s other people. It’s relationships. It’s experience… I think that [the American] dream is completely changing. We were taught to keep up with the Joneses. Now we’re sharing with the Joneses.’
Millennials have a new American dream, a you-and-me world where all of us matter and each of us counts. Growing up, they saw the world flatten before them. Barriers have fallen under pressure from globalisation, the push for greater gender and social equality, a surge in entrepreneurship, and the reach of the World Wide Web. Young people want to make the world a better place. They want to be part of a meaningful cause. Unlike prior generations who were told, ‘Work hard, and get a good job,’ millennials have been told, ‘Go for your dreams!’ and ‘Find your passion!’ Millennials want to live fully now and find joy in what they do today. They seek passion over possessions. Some, including Brian Chesky, leave secure employment to apply their passions to their dreams. But others, if fully engaged, can bring their passions to your enterprise. Aligned with your mission, they can collaborate and partner in achieving your goals while realising their own.
This became crystal clear to me when I got a call from Bob, president of an ad agency. He was upset and confided that a group of young people handed him and his partner, Tim, a paper signed by everyone (all millennials) in their department. They wanted their manager fired by Friday, or they were walking. ‘We were shocked and asked, ‘What’s going on?’’
‘For months we’ve been telling you our challenges with Ivan, but you don’t listen; you don’t care. We’re tired of working for people who don’t care about us or our work.’ A few days later, Ivan resigned. He told them he was starting his own company and was ‘glad to be out of here.’ Turns out, Ivan wasn’t happy either.
This was a wakeup call. They realised they needed to take a hard look at the culture they’d created beyond their millennial workforce, or even Ivan. I went to work with Bob and Tim. We read exit reviews, talked with and listened to employees, and analysed what we discovered. Three themes kept echoing with their largely millennial workforce. (1) I want to feel heard, (2) I want to use my gifts, and (3) I want to have meaning and purpose in my life. While it was millennials demanding it, I discovered these were human needs every generation wanted. In fact, their employees cared enough about the culture to speak up, something Bob and Tim admired. ‘I wished I had the courage at their age to speak up to my bosses,’ said Bob. ‘But I didn’t. I just sucked it up, said nothing, did my job until I couldn’t take it any longer, and left.’ In Daniel Goleman’s book, Social Intelligence, it turns out compassion and a boss who cares is more important to people than how much they get paid. One survey linked a likeable boss to tenure and productivity. These disruptive millennials helped Bob and Tim to transform themselves as leaders. Today, they’re attracting and keeping the best people.
Millennials are shaking things up. By challenging the status quo, they’re pushing us to learn in ways we never envisioned or wished for. They’re the first generation that didn’t have to go through authority to get information. They can learn and act on their own. They don’t respect someone just because they have a title. They value authentic knowledge, experience, and wisdom from which they can learn. While they may seem entitled and impatient, most are taking advice from their parents to ‘not settle for less, like I did’ or from leaders such as Steve Jobs ‘to have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.’
Like Bob and Tim, many of my clients have needed to heed these disruptive forces being ushered in by millennials. So, here are the five ‘LeaderShifts’ leaders must make to thrive in the 21st century. They emerged from lessons learned from millennials that can make you a better leader.
From control to ‘connect and receive’
Amy Hirsch Robinson, a leading expert on the changing workforce and the impact of generational shifts on organisations, wrote ‘28% of Millennials report quitting a job because they didn’t feel connected to the organisation.’ By connection, I mean ‘how I feel when I’m with you’. Bob and Tim learned connection begins with ‘quieting your mind,’ so you’re present to notice and feel what people mean beyond their words or silence. By doing practices such as meditation, they were more present and less distracted. They connected and openly received their people’s words and ideas. In feeling heard, people knew they cared. It built the kind of commitment and loyalty that happens when people feel valued and appreciated.
From conformity to ‘see and accept’
Amy, a studio executive, saw great potential in her intern Maggie, so she went to great lengths to mentor her. She encouraged Maggie and said, ‘Sacrifice when you’re young, work hard even if it’s nights and weekends. If you do, I can guarantee you a job.’ But Maggie didn’t want to conform to Amy’s way of doing things. ‘I want to enjoy my work and my life now!’
As Amy learned to see and accept Maggie for who she was, Maggie did the same. Conversations instead of lectures unfolded where both listened and learned from each other. In observing (not watching) Maggie, Amy got curious instead of judgmental. She saw Maggie’s gifts. She learned her dream was to travel the world while making conservation films. When a production happened on Big Bear Mountain, she got her on the shoot. Maggie happily worked nights and weekends because she could use her gifts and found meaning and purpose in her work. Each learned from the other. While Maggie was now happy to work nights and weekends on other productions because she felt seen and valued, Amy started looking for ways to bring balance into her life.
From expectations to ‘intentions’
Gina had expectations of her people, external rules for how things should be done, how people should behave. As Director of Marketing in charge of photo shoots for products, she expected Reagan to get all products on her list at the shoot. When one product was missing, she asked Reagan if she checked the list three times as she told her to do. ‘I checked it twice. Everything on your list is here!’
When they got back to the office, Reagan gave Gina the list. To Gina’s surprise, the missing item was not on the list. After apologising to Reagan, Gina realised ‘How can I expect Reagan to do what I can’t even do!’ She learned to turn her expectations into intentions. Intentions are internal decisions about how you will approach situations and people – how you will behave.
‘I intend to support you in being your best by empowering you rather than directing you.’ By setting expectations for your people, especially millennials, you set yourself up for disappointment. Instead, if you set intentions, you create possibilities for them to contribute their ideas to reach goals in ways you’ve not expected.
From authority to ‘authenticity’
George (CFO) wondered why his millennials were making so many mistakes since he had an open-door policy where anyone could ask for help. But being so authoritative, people would rather make mistakes than walk through his door and hear his reprimands. Finally realising this, he asked for my help.
As George discovered his natural gifts, his authentic self emerged. In Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live Martha Beck talks about your essential or authentic self. It’s the essence of your personality and where your gifts reside. Your social self develops in response to pressures from the people around you. George realised in rising the corporate ladder, he became the tough leader others expected. He pushed aside his compassion with his right/wrong judgments. In letting go of his judgments, he now led with more compassion. People walked through George’s door. They asked for help, so they made less mistakes; they brought ideas to make the department better and felt empowered by George to be their best selves because George had created a culture where people felt safe to be themselves.
From bottom-line myopia to ‘belonging’
As store manager, Lewis’s command-and-control leadership style that focused only on the bottom-line wasn’t working. His millennials, led by Lakesha, had a campaign to get him out; only 30% of his monthly budgeted goals were achieved; personally, his marriage was suffering. That’s when he asked for my help.
In so much pain, Lewis diligently did his assigned practices to make the LeaderShifts. He rebuilt trust with Lakesha and his people by connecting and receiving their ideas; further, he empowered them to use their gifts to get the results needed. Lakesha saw Lewis changing as a leader. She and others now felt meaning and purpose in their work along with a sense of belonging to a family. They were motivated like never before.
Within a year, HR issues dropped from ‘too many to count’ to one. This created the lowest turnover rate in the entire region, and monthly budgeted goals went from 30% to 100%. Two years later, they were the number one store in California. Personally, Lewis’s marriage was back on track.
By making these LeaderShifts, you’ll create a culture where people are motivated to go beyond their goals to invest in themselves, their work, and the organisation. You too will discover that ‘those who challenge us the most, teach us the most!’
Portions of the above article are excerpted from Leadership’s Perfect Storm: What Millennials Are Teaching Us About Possibilities, Passion and Purpose (2018) by Susan Inouye.
Susan Inouye is an expert in executive coaching, leadership development, and organisational change. She has helped leaders in more than 600 companies, from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, to increase productivity levels by engaging and motivating members of the millennial generation.
