Don’t Be Afraid of the Millennials

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Ah, Millennials. Why do we fear them so?

Managers have been told the past few years to “prepare for the Millennials” as if fearing some kind of a plague.

But, really, are they all that scary? Sure, they live their lives out in the open through various social media venues such as Instagram. (I was informed recently that Facebook isn’t cool anymore since us “olds” infiltrated it.) And though some have an “it’s all about me” attitude (that can be said for older generations, too), many don’t and are eager to learn from their older counterparts.

As Don Tennant learned in an interview last year, Millennials can actually bring a fresh injection of creativity to the office and a strong desire for work-life balance that can benefit everyone, including those slacker Gen Xers and curmudgeony Baby Boomers.

Accepting Millennials in the work force is about accepting new ideas for how work should be done and that can be scary. But there’s no way around it since, as a manager, you’re going to have to hire new people sooner or later. And one way to attract Millennials is to think like a startup, as our own Susan Hall wrote about in a recent post.

To also help you wrap your brain around the Millennial mentality, below are a few book excerpts from our IT Downloads library. Each offers a glimpse into the Millennial thought process and helps you guide them into being good leaders.

‘Millennials into Leadership’ Excerpt: “Millennials Into Leadership” is the ultimate handbook for Millennials aspiring to be respected, effective young leaders at work.

‘Millennials Incorporated’ Excerpt: “Millennials Incorporated,” by Lisa Orrell, seeks to explain what makes Gen Y tick in the professional workforce; find out what it takes to effectively recruit, manage, motivate and retain them as employees.