We are often called slackers and are generally perceived by older generations as lacking a strong work ethic and having an unjustified sense of entitlement. These older generations are beginning to phase out of the workplace. Some of the elder Baby Boomers have already begun to retire and many more will follow suit in the next decade or two. It will be on the shoulders of the Millennials to back fill those positions, including leadership roles, vacated by the older generations. So how do we go from the slacker kid kickin’ it in his/her cube navigating between several Firefox tabs listening to their MP3 player to becomming team leads, middle managers or even executives?
- Identify Hot prospects and Replacement Candidates – discuss those rising stars and how best to prepare them for management or specific higher-level positions.
- Career Planning – allow for individuals to freely discuss career goals and future aspirations within the company.
- Formal or Informal Mentoring –provide guidance and regular feedback to help younger workers identify strengths and weaknesses. Mentors should provide advice that facilitates that individual’s growth through the company.
- Corporate Management Training Program – provide a source of future managers, support diversity goals and bring in fresh ideas.
- Cross-Functional Training Program – infuse some new hires in different technology services to expose them to different areas of the organization.
- Apprenticeships That Incorporates Other Parts of the Business – the more steeped employees are in business knowledge, the more aligned IT will be with the business side.
- Leadership Development Programs – combines training, assessments, coaching, networking, etc.
- Educate Those Rising Through the Ranks – bring in outside help as management consultants and send some workers to management seminars and classes.
- Succession Planning – allows for the company to quickly react to sudden departures by placing the appropriate individual in that new role based on their long term career goals.
Great leaders are made not born. Potential leaders need to be hand picked by their predecessors and be provided the necessary skills and knowledge to become tomorrow’s corporate leaders while maintaining the characteristics that make members of the Millennial Generation so unique.
January 31, 2007 at 4:01 pm |
It’s amazing to think that we’ll be the people “running things” in businesses of all shapes and sizes in the future. I think we stroll through college with the vision of coding and less focused on our executive/management involvement. I guess we all kind of peek up a little bit at the possibility while we’re in school but it just doesn’t seem like a reality at that point. Things change quickly and now these thoughts are a reality.
I really believe our generation will rock the foundation of corporate America. In some ways we already have but once we move up to leadership positions where we have a much greater influence, I think our unique mentality will have a large effect on modern business. I look for businesses to become leaner, more agile in nature, easier to change, and less interested in resting on past successes. I think that sums up most of our technology focused generation and I think that will transition into businesses as we gain more influential roles.
Nice article.
February 1, 2007 at 4:04 am |
So true. I couldn’t agree with you more in regards to the Millennial effect on the future of business. We are definitely a “we want it now” generation which has caused some backlash from todays current management, however that instant gratification will be the norm in the future. Static is out and dynamic is in and we are the generation that is going to push that agenda to completion.
March 6, 2007 at 10:24 am |
Dream on, us gen-xers have been waiting for years for the baby boomers to drag their bums out of senior positions and let the next lot have a go.
March 8, 2007 at 4:05 am |
Philip, I agree that you and your generation will be next in line to take those management positions. Xers are no less capable of those positions than boomers or Millennials. However, Generation X, being a much smaller generation compared to both the Baby Boomers and Generation Y, will have less impact as a whole on the future of Corporate America. So its not an issue of competency but an issue of supply and demand where Millennials will be needed along with your Xers to back fill all of those positions vacated by older workers who have and will continue to exit the workplace in large numbers.
March 11, 2007 at 9:31 am |
What are the actual stats and figures regarding gen x and gen y? I read something today which said geny is under 30 today, but something the other day that said gen-y is under 25.
March 12, 2007 at 3:43 am |
Great question Philip. Unfortunately I cannot provide you with a great answer. With all generational definitions, its arbitrary. I prefer to use the definition which states anyone born after 1977 is a member of Generation Y (so under 30 today). This is the definition that I have found most cited in market research and popular articles. I also believe this based on the behavior of many of my coworkers and friends. However, when defining this generation it is just as conceivable to have a member of Generation Y be born in 1975 as it is in 1985, and a member of Generation X be born in 1983 as it is in 1973. Meaning the characteristics of a generation are not limited to the year an individual was born just that those characteristics become more prevalent in individuals during a particular time frame.