In this ongoing series to explore some of the distinctives that may be helpful in establishing a leadership setting to which the emerging millennial generation will respond, I have looked at two of the attributes considered attractive to millennials: Mission-purpose and work-life balance.
In part one I proposed that what this generation finds attractive is the existence of a higher mission, a meaningful purpose, and/or a significant cause that is worth one’s person’s commitment – and enough money to be reasonably competitive in the marketplace. In part two I observed that the pursuit of a career and life-balance are valued above a workaholic life that sacrifices family relationships on the altar of attaining material comfort.
Yet another of the characteristics that millennials seek is the opportunity for mentoring relationships. It would only be guesswork on my part that one of the roots of this attractor is the widespread existence of splintered families and, in some cases (or many), the resulting absence of strong leadership in the nuclear family of origin for many in the millennial generation.
Regardless of the root cause, this generation appears to seek and welcome the coaching influence of an experienced leader. Therefore, including mentorship as a benefit in the workplace can be both attractive and motivating to these emerging workforce participants. The key takeaway is that if we want millennial workers to value the team, the leader needs to demonstrate that they value the millennial employees’ contributions - and willing to invest personally in their growth.
Doing so takes an investment of time – and the Courage to Lead.