Leadership Coaching Millennials

The Millennial generation is people born between 1982 and 2004. People from this generation are innovative, tech-savvy, and motivated by causes. As a Leadership Coaching Millennials, I find that they are very collaborative and will work best when included in decision-making processes. This generation is the perfect mix of old school and modern – making it fairly challenging for senior leaders from the Baby Boomer generation to become mentors and transition their skills to these people. Millennials learn best by working hands-on and learning as they go.

Gone are the days where generation gaps ran organisations, driving chaos and confusion with the divide. As we enter a new decade, more than half of the entire workforce now comes from the Millennial generation. While still running with seniors from the Baby Boomer generation, it is the perfect time to reassess and take a look at what you need to do to embrace this generation that will run your organisation in the next coming decades.

In the past few years, Millennials have been stereotyped as needy, entitled, and impatient by people from other generations. Although there is a certain truth to that, most millennials actually work similarly to those from generations before them. The biggest difference is that they work with more empathy and they thrive on building relationships with trust. Millennials love when they are involved, and they want their bosses to serve more as a mentor than a boss.

To help build a more effective organisation with millennials in the workforce, here are a few ways you can help your leaders become effective coaches to millennials.

Foster a structured environment

Millennials are free thinkers. There will always be a new cause for them to support and another project for them to start working on. Without structure, millennials can become confused with how to work on these multiple areas they are interested in pursuing and end up not reaching their full potential.

As a coach to millennials, you must set clear expectations and define boundaries that will help guide them onto the right path. It is important that you are consistent with these rules and expectations. Make sure you talk about their development and growth through each experience. Millennials work better when they are aware of their progress, so make sure you take time more frequently to discuss their development and give them feedback.

Millennials do not resist – they just do not want to be told how to do what needs to be done down to the very last point. They want to engage in meaningful conversations that will let them speak their minds and allow them to learn their strengths and areas for improvement.

Offer guidance

Millennials look up to their predecessors. They move forward with their careers by being mentored and coached but would most of the time become hesitant because of the generation gaps. Their lack of experience interacting with those ahead of them cause the hesitations, keeping them from further achieving more in their career.

They like having leaders that they look up to. As one of those, offer your guidance and engage them in conversations where they can pick up from your best practices and learn from you. Let them feel how much you value them as part of your team and how important their role is to the success of your organisation. Take time to listen to them, as they are collaborative workers too. Managers who are good listeners run organisations with members who are highly driven to achieve goals.

Acknowledge their strengths

In the old times, acknowledgment only comes when you make a huge impact on the success of the organisation. This is something that you need to change in order to connect better with the millennial generation. Millennials all have this “can-do” mindset that makes them ready to face the challenges in front of them but want to be part of the step ahead. They are never afraid to stand up for what they believe in and they seek leaders who will support them and give them room to nurture their abilities.

Acknowledge their strengths and help them see how they can use it to overcome the obstacles they are facing. Encourage them to share their talents with the team and help them find where their strengths will work best.

Encourage freedom

Millennials do not respond well when told what to do. As negative as it may sound towards the success of an organization, there are many ways you can work around this. As free thinkers, millennials thrive on brainstorming and collaboration. Feeling that they are part of the process empowers them and allows them to maximize their abilities.

Engage in conversations that will allow your millennials to express their thoughts and challenge them intellectually. This way, they will not just be involved in the decision-making process, but they will also be able to learn more out of the experience. This strategy will also allow them to see you more as a coach or mentor than their boss, building a stronger relationship that will give them confidence in the decisions they make for your organisation.

Facing all their hurdles with a go-getter attitude, millennials work best when they are encouraged to follow their instincts. They are big picture thinkers who are very eager to achieve results, and with the freedom to act on their own, they will learn to be more confident and self-sufficient. Although it may take time, guiding and encouraging millennials will allow them to unlock their full potential and succeed in their path.