Sean St. John, Other Top Execs Weigh in on Millennial Leadership

If you have worked outside the home for any length of time, you may have noticed that with every passing year, you are surrounded by more and more young faces. It’s not your imagination, nor simple aging. According to the Pew Research Center, millennials (ages 19 to 32) surpassed all other generations in 2016 as the largest portion of today’s workforce.

As the largest working demographic, millennials are starting to cause foundational shifts inside the office that managers need to understand.

While stereotypes describe millennial workers as craving instant gratification, getting bored easily and hopping between jobs, it’s impossible to paint an entire generation with a single brush stroke.

One trend is clear: millennials prefer leadership over management. How to effectively lead them, however, is still up for debate.

Sean St. John, an executive vice-president at National Bank in Toronto, points out the positive attributes of the millennial workforce. First, they value accessible managers and want to communicate face-to-face with their boss.

“The traditional top-down management style doesn’t work for millennials, who prefer to collaborate with teams and see their manager as a coach or leader,” says Sean St. John. “If you can convince them in an authentic way that what you are doing is principled, they will get behind you.”

Millennials want to grow in their positions, so they are seeking feedback and guidance. Rather than waiting for a yearly review, schedule regular time to check in with your millennial team members, St. John advises. Find out if they’re struggling and offer them coaching.

Clear communication benefits everyone in the organization, says St. John. “Good leaders know they have as much to learn from their employees as they have to teach. Plus, you may be surprised at what you end up learning.”

Another trait St. John has observed is that millennials want to have a clear understanding of their path in the organization. They are seeking opportunities to learn and build their career prospects.

“Success comes naturally when employees embrace common goals,” St. John adds. “That’s a natural for millennials. They prefer a culture of collaboration and contribution.”

Samuel Bacharach, a McKelvey Grant professor at Cornell University, also notes that if you want to attract, retain, and motivate millennials, you must change your style of leadership. And look for the positive.

“In all my years of teaching,” says Bacharach, “I’ve been sensitive to the clichés that are tossed around about young people. For the past few years, I’ve worked in New York City and Brooklyn and have learned that beneath the veneer of the youthful hipster, there is an entrepreneurial energy that can be harnessed.”

Susan Heathfield, a management and organization development consultant and co-owner of TechSmith Corporation, stresses the importance of diversity among millennials. “A survey by Deloitte shows that millennials value and are most willing to stick with companies that have diverse management teams and flexible work environments,” says Heathfield.

“Build a diverse leadership team and staff in addition to seeking out diverse clients, “ she advises.

Take time to look below the surface of your millennial employees, says Craig Bloem, founder and CEO of freelogoservices.com.  They grew up seeing a network as more important than a hierarchy, thinking about solutions, not products, and expecting personal connections and individualized career paths.

“To lead,” says Bloem, “you must first take the time to truly know the person and then adapt how you lead to the interests, needs, and goals of that individual.

“That’s how you lead every employee,” he adds, “because then the generation doesn’t matter.”