Just Accept It, Millennials Are Our Future: 3 Strategies to Train Tomorrow’s Leaders

By Beyond

Can Millennials become good leaders?  More companies are starting to embrace Millennials as Baby Boomers begin to retire from the workforce. Since Generation X is smaller demographically, Millennials will become the dominant force in the workplace. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2025, Millennials will account for 75 percent of the global workforce.

In a recent survey on Multi-Generational Leadership, a growing number of Millennials are currently managing Gen X and Baby Boomer professionals. However, the survey found that 45 percent of Baby Boomers and Gen X respondents feel that Millennials’ lack of managerial experience could have a negative impact on a company’s culture. On a related note, more than one-third of Millennial respondents said that it’s difficult managing older generations.
 

Training our future leaders

While there are many individuals that naturally possess leadership qualities and skills, the majority of Millennials will need to develop management skills in order to thrive within a company and become executives of corporate America.

The survey showed that a significant portion of older employees that Millennials are managing don’t have faith in their abilities. It’s for this reason that leadership training is best to be done early and organizations need to invest in a wide range of professional learning and development training. This early education will also be necessary to combat negative generational stereotypes that many Millennials face in the workplace.
 

Ditch classroom learning and get hands on

Research suggests that Millennials have different ways of learning and processing information. Properly training Millennials for future leadership roles will require businesses to adopt teaching programs that are engaging and more active in which this generation can excel.

Some strategies that employers can implement include:

1. Gamification. The use of gamification, which means applying gaming principles to non-gaming situations, is very appealing to this generation. This concept is used to make learning fun, and to challenge employees to continue to learn through quests and competition.
2. Hands-on learning.  This involves simulations, role-playing scenarios and practical, real-life work projects.
3. Engaging with local community. Volunteering  in the community to gain greater business ethics and values besides the bottom line.
    

Taking the right approach

Millennials are the future of corporate America and they need to see a clear vision of their growth in an organization. Mentoring them from the beginning and preparing them with the appropriate training techniques and tools will prep you to not only retain talent, but prep them for success.