Millennials are the most talked about generation in history, particularly as it relates to them entering the workforce. Turns out though, they are no longer entering the workforce. They’re growing up and managing it. And while we know plenty about our new millennial managers, we know less about who they are going to manage.
Post-Millennials comprise 26% of the total US population and are the largest segment by numbers. By 2020 GenZ will comprise one third of the population and within the next decade or less will likely outpace Millennials as the largest generation in the US labor force. With all the Millennial fanfare, it’s easy to overlook them.
In their latest book GenZ @ Work: How the next generation is transforming the workplace, authors David and Jonah Stillman, a father-son pair, warn against repeating the historical mistakes made when transitioning from Boomers to Xers or Xers to Millennials. “The risk in not getting to know GenZ is that we will simply treat them like Millennials. Big mistake and it’s one that we’ve made before.” Furthermore, if Millennial managers make that mistake, managing GenZers how they themselves want to be managed, it could be a big problem.
As is often the case during generational transitions, those who need-to-know are scurrying to understand the differences between Millennials and Zers. Simply Google “Millennials and Post-Millennials,” and you’ll find a plethora of insights about the nuances and differences between them.
- GenZ is pragmatic. Millennials are idealistic. Gen Z is authentic to a whole new level – more transparent and values-driven than predecessors.
- GenZ wants individuality. They’re less focused and better multi-taskers than previous generations.
- GenZ prefers role hoping to job hopping; on demand versus formal education; face-to-face versus digital means of communicating; and independence over collaboration.
If you’ve tracked workplace demographic trends for any length of time, you too are aware that the bulk of these generational conversations highlight differences but fail to show what can be accomplished when their relationship is strong.
At the core of all effective working relationships is the frequent practice of knowing and being known. When the managerial relationship focuses solely on difference, the leader in power knows their subordinate, but their subordinate only knows about their superior. All too often subordinates knowledge about their superiors is gleaned indirectly from leaders other than their direct manager. Let me give you a practical and recent example. I was talking with a leader a couple of layers removed from the CEO. He could count his interactions with him over the past few years, on one hand. Here’s what made the difference.
College football is in my blood. It’s in my family’s blood. In a passing conversation with our CEO, I mentioned a big upcoming game. He too loves college football and was eager for these teams to face off. The brief connection felt great. But it wasn’t until he sent me a text message, the week of the game, remembering our conversation and equal love of the sport that I thought to myself: He’s a really good man. He’s a great leader.
Whether you lead Boomers, Xers, Millennials or Zers, the managerial conversation must move from difference to what actually brings you both together. Here are a few suggestions to help managers come together in the face of great difference – generational preferences or otherwise.
- You’re in this together. No really, you are. When your managerial interactions are focused solely on your differences, each of you will constantly look for data to bolster your case and you’ll miss all that is held in common. The best way to build togetherness is to define the value you’re capable of and why you must create it together. Move beyond me/you distinctions and ensure the “us” of your working relationship is centered on value creation. The value on behalf of your Division, Department, Function or Company. Aligning on the potential value between you creates motivation and business rationale outside of your individuality to work toward.
- Expect give and take. There’s never a one-size-fits-all when it comes to how managers help their teams succeed. However, the imbalance in power between superior and subordinate often renders the managerial relationship one-sided. Depending on your context and business environment, you may have to overemphasize how “moving forward requires both of us to give a little.” You may manage best with formal email communication. You may like to track leaders’ progress via well thought out status updates, framed in complete sentences with correct punctuation. However, if that’s not your leader’s jam, you will likely need to create space for her to use pithy emoji-based updates and unannounced drop-ins when you must be available on the fly to go deep on the topic. If it’s one-sided, and overly verbose, the post-millennials you manage will undoubtedly respond – TL:d/r.
- Celebrate togetherness. A long journey is made up of many short steps. Keep an eye out for the little wins along the way and call attention to how those are shaping the interactions and outcomes between you and those you lead. It’s often the mundane that binds leaders together and plays an outsized role in the future you both desire. I think the leader who referenced the football conversation with his CEO was attempting to celebrate such a win. In a subsequent interaction, I was able to feed that mundane win back to the CEO and join the celebration with them.
These concepts are true when creating “togetherness” between all leadership relationships. However, they are particularly timely for the relationship between Millennials and GenZers. Millennials have been known to jump from one job to the next, but that’s changing as they “send roots down.” Similarly, GenZers will likely stay where they are, opting for new roles in existing companies. Both generations are “staying put” longer than in the past, which means companies and business can’t overlook this challenge and opportunity. In the past, if the relationship didn’t work, you just looked for something else. Today that’s not the case.