Leadership: Motivating Millennials at Work
By: Kenan Kolday
Tags: Work, Relationships, Management, Leadership, Entre

We are not sure what really motivates Y generations in the workplace. I think I found a way.

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

I am a senior corporate leader from X generation and love working with people from the Y generation because they bring so many diverse perspectives both to business and life. However, I am frustrated to hear many industry leaders and business owners say that they have no hope in millennials. After speaking with these leaders from X generation and baby boomers, I have noticed that they just do not understand the millennials and their great potential. Therefore, they are afraid of the unknown and do not know how to lead and motivate them.

I will share my leadership experience to motivate, and best unleash the unrecognized strengths, talents, and potential of the millennials.

We cannot solve something we do not know. Therefore, let us make a shortlist of critical characteristics describing the millennials.

Who are millennials?

In 2019, Gallup Inc., MSW Research, and the Resolution Foundation used 1980–1996, PricewaterhouseCoopers used 1981 to 1995, and Nielsen Media Research defined millennials as adults between the ages of 22 and 38 years old.

They are also called Indigo Children by spiritualists. Spiritualists say they are the game changers who will plant the seeds of the transformation into a Golden Age. The Z generation, the cyrstal children, will be the ones that will make the change. That makes millennials reformists who not only come up with hypotheses and philosophies but also take action. They want to change the world as pragmatic idealists.

What are the key characteristics of millennials?

They are global citizens, who feel the obligation deep inside them to make the world a better place for them and everyone. That makes them all-embracing and value diversity, inclusion, and equity. Therefore, they are the most entrepreneurially-minded generation ever. Statistics show that two-thirds of millennials want to start their own business.

They think and act holistic, which makes people call them conscious capitalists. They are not after the interest of a small group but for all stakeholders from a 360-degree perspective.

You cannot ask them to work 9-to-5 like the previous generations. They want flexible working arrangements and freedom, such as remote working, part-time work opportunities, cross-functional career moves, and flexible career journeys anwork-life balance.

They are authentic and real with a high-level of integrity. It is essential to stay true to who they are, their values, and their individuality. Accordingly, they want others to respect their differences and embrace their unique potential to make a difference in the world.

They want open communication and honest relations because they know their life purpose and values. Hence, they do not have time to lose with fake relations and toxic people.

They are liberal and do not just accept the status quo.

They are not after the wheel of blind consumption and buy what they need.

They are interested in processes and services that work and speed their interactions. It is the reason why they love technology so much.

They may look individualistic but can work as a team very effectively. Their multi-tasking abilities accelerate the way things are done.

They are not religious but are more spiritual. Universality is what they are looking for.

How can we motivate and influence them as a leader?

The style and the character of millenials can easily make anyone feel uncomfortable at first sight. Still, millennials are as human as all other people are, but with different needs, drives, and motives. They are as they are. They are unique and bring unprecedented value and potential to life that is already changing the world.

Like all young people, milennials also want to explore life and learn new things. They want to be understood, valued, and loved. But they meet their needs differently because they are much more free and open-minded than previous generations.

There is one single thing that they respect and follow. WISDOM. They will not follow you unless you have some wisdom in you as a leader. You do not have to be a sage to lead them. However, unless you have this wisdom in you, they will not follow you and will even rebel. They are less attached to social norms, cultural guidelines, and traditions, so you cannot control them with the methods of previous generations.

How does wisdom influence and motivate millennials?

Accept them as they are and never judge. Instead, involve them in decisions, ask for their opinions, and let them take responsibility.

Make sure you give them the room they need to be themselves and support them with coaching and mentoring. Let them decide how they do things. Please do not force them to do things your way. Let them be authentic and even learn from them.

Spend time with them outside work to learn from their different point of view. Be the first one to offer help in their tough times. Similarly, be the first to celebrate with them when they achieve great things.

Ask their ideas and support instead of giving orders.

Be very clear at the beginning about the goals, deadlines, deliverables, tools, and resources. Make them a part of this planning process and let them develop their plans and present them to you. You will see that you will get more working together then you are working alone.

They are young and may not know the best course of action. They will also have times when they will not have the courage to move forward. Offer coaching and mentoring, and they will accept it if they see you bring something unique to them.

Make sure you build trust before everything. Have a high level of integrity and exhibit it in every breath.

When you coach and mentor them, make them think with open and powerful questions. Let them find their answers and make their decisions. Do not use coaching and mentoring to manipulate them but instead use it to help them find their meaning, values, and true potential.

As a leader, make sure you know enough about psychology to understand their unique personal gifts and talents and give them the right jobs. similarly, know the various ways that motivate each individual and reward, recognize, appreciate, acknowledge accordingly.

Give them the chance to succeed instead of isolating them. Let them shine. You will not regret it.

Allow them to challenge the status quo and act as devil`s advocate while respecting the key rules of living together. Let them innovate.

LEARN EVERY DAY AND DEVELOP YOURSELF as they will learn and improve faster than you. They respect people who develop themselves.

I used wisdom as the key to above-mentioned leadership actions because only wisdom can make a leader transform from winning alone to winning together and serving others.

I am glad to have Y and Z generations in the world. Over the last several years, a newer generation, alpha generation, also joined us. The world is changing physically, economically, politically, culturally, and spiritually. It is a transformation that requires transcending from ME mentality to WE mentality, and we cannot make progress without Millenials.

Old ways of doing things will not bring success in this new world, so we better learn to learn from our precious children.

Cheers,

Kenan