WHAT’S NICE ABOUT MILLENNIALS IN THE WORKPLACE?

Of late, I have been taking my multi-generational workforce presentation on the road and incorporating it into every speech, workshop and discussion. If I were asked to wrap it up in a couple of words, “be nice” comes to mind. But time and time again, I find myself listening to tenured people in the workplace who are just not nice. Not nice to other generations, not nice to their co-workers, not nice to their employers, not nice to their kids, they might even kick their dogs, not sure.

I try to treat everyone I come in contact the same way I want to be treated (you know, the Golden Rule). At a conscious leadership conference, I heard someone say, “everyone who works at our company is someone’s precious child.” It just confirmed that “nice” is my choice and as it turns out, the least path of resistance.

My approach to the multi-generational workforce is one that features the attributes of all generations and during the Q&A, most of the time I find myself defending anyone under 50. Last week during a conference call, I was asked if I was the “millennial whisperer.” Maybe so.

When I hear someone who should be a leader by this point in their career with a mentorship strategy of “they can learn the hard way, just like me”, the “nice” in me is challenged. These are the same folks who say “first one there in the morning and last to leave” make them a good leader. No one is interested in following a bad leader or someone who finds pleasure in watching someone sacrifice their family time or flail on a project.

I remember using this scenario at a leadership meeting. Imagine someone is struggling with a sale or project at work. As I see it, here are your choices:

Ignore the situation

Panic or shut down

Throw a life preserver and let them figure it out

Throw a life preserver and help them figure it out

Jump in the water without a plan and nearly drown with them

Jump in the water with a clear path of survival and emerge a victor

That said, I am constantly facing older generations who are unavailable to help let alone offering to jump in. Perhaps because no one helped them, or maybe they are just incapable or dare I say, entitled. My question is this, what legacy will they leave behind? Sad to say, they are headed for the “curmudgeon in the office down the hall” legacy.

I have yet to ask a young person in the workplace who refused assisting me maneuver my way through a new device, use an app to its capacity, give me guidance about the latest and greatest social network platform or help me understand why really casual dress is really ok. While they may think I should already know this, never have I heard, “learn the hard way, like I did.” Why? Because they are nice and eager to throw me a life preserver and jump in if necessary. That’s the way it should be.

So am I a millennial whisperer? Maybe I am. I certainly prefer working with them and their predecessor GenX. But it’s not because any of them need a whisperer, it’s because they are nice.