Millennials are no longer the new kids on the block since Gen Z has started making its appearance in today’s workplaces. As generations shift in their careers, it’s time to teach millennials how to be leaders and mentors for the incoming generation.
According to the Deloitte Global Millennial Survey 2019, 30 percent of millennials believe that their employers have the highest responsibility for preparing them for leadership roles, while current leaders say that leadership preparation falls on the individuals themselves.
When trying to determine how to cultivate millennials as leaders, you’ll need to understand what they want from a workplace and from their current leaders.
They largely want work-life balance. They’re dedicated to achieving company successes but aren’t OKwith sacrificing their personal lives to get there.
They also want an office environment where all ideas are heard and all opinions are valued.
To unlock the potential of this rising generation, you need a strategic plan to develop your high-potential employees.
Start With the End Goal
For each employee you develop, determine an end goal. What business goal are you trying to meet? What challenge are you attempting to overcome? Some common answers to these questions are poor existing leadership, low productivity, sales growth, and being proactive with succession planning.
By looking at what skill gaps you have, you can select leaders who can fill those or work on developing those skills in others.
Measure Development
Decide how you’ll measure the ROI of your leadership development endeavor. Identify specific key performance indicators that will give you a sense of direction for your program. Look at your current leadership team and sort out what skills and qualities they have. What can you do to teach those behaviors to your next generation of leaders?
Match With a Mentor
Mentorship is a staple of leadership development. Since making connections and networking are important to millennials, one-on-one coaching is a powerful way to turn an employee into a leader. A mentor is beneficial because they can:
- Foster inspiration and engagement.
- Be a support system and role model.
- Share the details about their successes.
- Transfer industry and company knowledge.
The Millennial Mind
Millennials have grown up with technology and have numerous screens at their disposals. They experience more distractions from getting work done than previous generations but also want more training and development opportunities. There are a few ways to bridge this gap.
Microlearning is a great training method for millennials (and everyone else). Content is delivered in short videos that are no longer than 10 minutes. They don’t require sitting in a classroom and can be done wherever and whenever fits the employee’s schedule.
Gamification is a large part of millennial culture, so adding game elements to your learning and development plans can help keep learners engaged and interested while getting information across.
Real-world experiences will give millennials hands-on experience that will help make them into successful leaders. Jumping in and learning by doing gives them actionable knowledge they can then pass on to future employees.
Final Plan
After developing your leadership goals, determining what success will look like, and matching employees with mentors, it’s time to create your full development plan. It should be customized to close the skill gaps and teach the unique leadership traits you uncovered during your research. With a strong training program, you can successfully prepare your organization for the next generation of leadership.
For more information on developing up-and-coming leaders, check out our infographic “How to Start Developing Your Next Generation of Leaders.”