As more and more baby boomers retire, we are seeing an entirely new generation enter the workplace. I am witnessing first-hand, the generational shift in the workplace within my organization especially in the last 3 -5 years. Millennials approach leadership differently than generations before them. They also have different expectations from their leaders. Leadership requires followership and understanding what motivates millennials and what they seek from their leaders will play a crucial role in the success of the organization.
Carl Dominguez (2009) shares that for the first time, “four different generations participate in the American labor force today – the Silent Generation (roughly ages 59 and older), the Baby Boomers (ages 41 to 58), Generation X (ages 24 to 40), and Generation Y (age 23 and younger). Each of these generations has lived through a common set of social and historic events that have helped shape their unique attitudes, ambitions, and world views.” Understanding how to lead and integrate these generations is critical to the future success of any organization. Each generation brings a different leadership style and skill set to the table.
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The millennial generation is shaking up traditional leadership. Millennials approach leadership in different ways than previous generations (Fries, 2018). They have different values and different expectations from their leaders (Post, 2021). As organizations embrace the millennial evolution, they are seeking new leadership styles that millennials find attractive. Jennifer Post (2021) shares 5 new leadership styles that would not have been considered effective or even necessary just a few years ago:
Innovative: These leaders think outside the box. They expect the same from their followers. They push the organization to see what successes come out from unconventional approaches.
Servile: Servant leaders ensure the overall happiness of their followers. They invest in them both personally and professionally through mentorship programs and continuous education.
Empathetic: The ability to listen and understand employees improves the workplace culture along with productivity.
Transformative: Encourage and inspire followers to focus on the future success of the organization through innovation and real change.
Committed to diversity: Leaders who are persistent in looking for diversity create big leaps forward for organizations. Those who can look beyond the norm and successfully recruit from all walks of life know that diversity creates fresh perspectives.
The Millennials approach to leadership is quite different than generations preceding them. In a Forbes article written by Kimberly Fries (2018), she shares 7 ways millennials are greatly influencing leadership today.
- Showing a willingness to leave when leadership does not meet their standards
- They express different needs regarding leadership training
- They prefer a flat management structure as they prefer not to navigate through multiple management layers
- They value leaders who seek feedback from all employees
- They push back against policy for policy’s sake
- As leaders they seek to empower and transform
- They seek support a flexibility and work-life balance
Ultimately, companies that adapt and change to the expectations of the millennial workforce will be more successful than those that ignore what is most important to them and continue with the traditional styles of leadership.
In addition, Carsten et al. (2014, as cited in Northouse, 2019, p. 306) suggests several practical new perspectives on followership. “These perspectives are intended to help organizations understand followers and to help individuals understand the positive facets of being a follower” (2019, p. 306). They include: how followers get the job done, followers carry out the mission of the group and the organization; how they work in the best interest of the organization’s mission, proactive followers are committed to achieving the goals of the group and the organization; how they challenge leaders, followers who are proactive and challenge the leader can keep the leader in sync with the overall mission of the organization; how they support leaders, to advance the mission of the organization, it is valuable for leaders when followers validate and affirm the leader’s intentions; and, how they learn from leaders, followers can learn which leadership approaches or methods are effective or ineffective and apply this learning as they in turn become leaders (2019, pp. 307-309). Understanding these new perspectives and how they align to the views and expectations of Millennials can be a valuable tool for a leaders. Millennials.
“Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal” (Northouse, 2019, p. 5). By defining leadership as a process, it means that it is not a trait or characteristic that lies within the leader, but an event that occurs between the leader and the followers and it implies that a leader affects and is affected by followers (2019, p. 5). Millennials prefer leadership that is a two-way street which is unlike traditional leadership. There is much to learn from Millennials, and they should not be overlooked or taken for granted. Understanding what motivates them and what they seek from leaders will undoubtedly make an impact in the success of the organization.
Resources
Dominguez, C. (2009). Views from the EEOC generational diversity. Retrieved from https://www.mcca.com/mcca-article/generational-diversity/.
Northouse, P. G., (2019). Leadership: Practice and theory. (8th ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
Post, J., (2021). What does modern leadership really mean? Retrieved from https://www.business.com/articles/leadership-styles-millennials/.
Fries, K. (2018). 7 ways millennial are changing traditional leadership. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberlyfries/2018/01/18/7-ways-millennials-are-changing-traditional-leadership/?sh=500873f57dae.
As organizations adapt to new changes societally, economically, and socially it is important to note the new trends coming from the youngest members of the workforce. As organizations grow and change and take on new goals, leaders also have the added pressure of both embracing and supporting new innovative ideas, and not alienating long tenured employees. With rapid growth and changes, especially in the reflective world of the workforce during the pandemic, it is important for organizations to also periodically do some reflection on leadership behaviors and access the needs of newer group members. This involves keeping the skills and organizational practices that are in line with organizational goals, and moving past policies that worked in the past, but need to be updated to better understand the current climate and culture.
While this is certainly true, it is often difficult to implement. There can be many roadblocks to embracing organizational change. As younger generations seek out supportive and collaborating leadership styles, an emphasis on work/life balance, empowerment, and a means to challenge leadership decisions, there will always be some give and take within organizational structures. “Unfortunately, many change agents fail due to resistance of organizational members toward change. People may be resistant to change for many reasons, including fear of the unknown, a difficulty breaking old habits, or an unwillingness to go against group norms that may exist in terms of how things are and have always been done (Muchinsky & Howes, 2019).”
Historically, there have most likely been instances of the same give and take as organizations change to adapt to the needs of younger generations of the past. With the rapid increase in technology advances and globalization, in addition to the needs of younger generations, it is now more important than ever that organizations are keeping up with these shifts.
Northouse explains the relationship between leader and follower and how each are interdependent on each other. It is through this process that both the leader and follower can learn from each other. “A serendipitous outcome of being a follower is that in the process of following you learn about leading (Northouse, 2019).” This relationship works both ways and is the best way to adapt to the needs of younger generations in the workforce. Organizations that embrace this give and take will hopefully succeed in implementing new perspectives, and teaching millennials the value and merit of embracing organizational policies that help assist valued team members who have been committed to the organization for a number of years. And are still very much a part of the organizational culture.
Admittedly, even in my own workplace, there is tension between new younger members, and those that are set in the traditional group norms. I believe this is partly due to fear or uncertainty in regards to job security, or a lack of confidence in being able to adapt to changes for those who have followed the same procedures for years. In this case, the leader, like a politician, may take into account the merits of all perspectives, which involves the flexibility to implement leadership styles that work for a broad range of employees. This also involves the leader to access the strengths and weaknesses of group members, and understand how to best utilize skill sets.
The 5 leadership style behaviors you outline: innovative, servile, empathetic, transformative, and committed to diversity, are all positive attributes and strong values for organizations to take on. Leaders who take on these values will have stronger validity amongst millennials, and hopefully increase the well-being of longstanding employees.
As stated in your post, and as I’ve witnessed in my own workplace, there is a desire for leadership to be more present, collaborative, and transparent in communication styles. Employee engagement theory represents “a prescription for both employees and employers to derive the most value from each other during the tenure of their relationship (Muchinsky & Howes, 2019).” While this prescription might be a tall older, it is a great place to work toward. Organizations that already have a culture that is accepting that organizational change is a continuous process will already have the flexibility to adapt to new environments.
Many thanks for your post and insight, I enjoyed thinking over this topic.
References:
Muchinsky, P. M., & Howes, S. S. (2019). Psychology Applied to Work: An introduction to Industrial and Organizational psychology. Hypergraphic Press, Inc.
Northouse, P.G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 8th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
As a member of generation X, my perception of the writings about millennials, also known as generation Y, is almost always in comparison to baby boomers. Generation X is often referred to as the “forgotten generation”. Recently, there was an infographic created by CBS about projected lifespans of various generations. That graphic listed 4 generations: the silent generation, baby boomers, millennials, and post-millennials completely skipping anyone born between 1965 and 1980 (Huffpost, 2019).
Many of the points that were made about millennials are equally applicable to generation x. We are known to be skeptical, change masters, self-reliant, comfortable with diversity and technology, but uncomfortable with formal authority (Danner, 2012). Generation X lacks loyalty similar to the statement that millennials are willing to leave when management doesn’t meet their standards (Danner, 2012). Generation X is not “willing to pay their dues” in the manner of the baby boomers who would sacrifice life satisfaction for career (Danner, 2012). The millennial desire for flexibility in work arrangements seems like an extension of this same concept.
As a member of Generation X, I actually feel much more connected to the values of millennials than I do those of baby boomers. However, I feel ignored by history.
References
Danner, P. (2012). Who is going to lead us: None other than the forgotten generation – generation x. Strategic Leadership Review, 2(4).
Generation Xers have the most Gen X response to being left off the list. (2019, January 21). huffpost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/generation-x-forgotten-again_n_5c4539d5e4b027c3bbc2fc87