Managing Millennials

Soon I’ll pack up everything I’ve accumulated during two days of training in San Francisco. Then tomorrow morning I zip down the coast to San Diego, where on Friday afternoon, I present “Besides Cappuccino on Demand, What Do Today’s New Young Professionals Want?” at NALP’s annual conference.

So what do they want? The Millennials entering workplaces today tend to be cooperative team players, accept authority and follow rules. That’s the good news. They also have very high expectations of their workplaces and an overwhelmingly high level of confidence in their abilities.

If you’re managing a Millennial, be prepared to encourage and mentor them. Design office spaces that encourage collaboration. Assign projects to groups of Millennials and evaluate them as a group. Provide plenty of feedback.

By the way, don’t forget that heretofore the parents of Millennials have approached their children’s development with a very “hands-on” attitude. I suspect parental involvement is likely to continue as the Millennials initiate careers. This may create new nightmares for HR Departments everywhere.

See you in San Diego!

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