Introduction 1
About This Book 2
Foolish Assumptions 3
Conventions Used in This Book 3
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond the Book 4
Where to Go from Here 4
Part 1: Getting Started with Managing Millennials 7
Chapter 1: Confronting the Millennial Management Challenge 9
Pinpointing Millennials on the Generational Timeline 10
Spotting the Coming Sea of Change in the Workforce 14
Anticipating the silver tsunami: Baby Boomer retirement 14
Forecasting the perfect storm of Gen X 15
Tracking the tidal wave of Millennials in the workforce 17
Anticipating Gen Edgers on the horizon 18
Getting Grounded in Millennials 101 18
Identifying common traits 19
Identifying common values 21
Gaining insight into what Millennials think of themselves 21
Steering clear of stereotypes 22
Combating Millennial fatigue 24
Recognizing that not all Millennials are the same 24
Differentiating a bad employee from a Millennial 25
Identifying and Navigating Generational Clash Points 26
Discovering What Managers Love About Their Millennials 27
Paving the Path to the Workforce of the Future 28
Chapter 2: Harnessing Generational Theory to Guide Your Management Practice 31
Wrapping Your Brain around the Generations Topic 32
Divvying up what the gen topic is and isn’t 32
Grasping the essential tenants 33
Classifying the different generations 35
Linking generations to events and conditions 36
Overcoming the “Yea, Buts .” 39
Comparing two key perspectives: Sociology versus psychology 40
Contrasting the concepts of life stage and generations 41
Understanding that the exception proves the rule 43
Differentiating between stereotyping and recognizing patterns 44
Taking the negative to a positive 45
Using Generational Theory to Build a Better Workplace 46
Impacting the bottom line 46
Turning the “what” into “so what” 48
Chapter 3: Breaking into the Millennial Mind 49
Viewing Millennials as Whole Beings 50
Differing depictions of Millennials 50
Finding the why behind the what 51
Why You Are Who You Are: Taking a Look at the Formative Years 52
Uncovering the impact of technology 54
Dissecting the “upgrade cycle” generation 61
Tracking the influence of social media: from Friendster to Snapchat 65
Checking Out the Messages that Mold Millennials 71
Gaining insight into the effects of the self-esteem movement 71
Getting behind the idea that there truly is no “I” in “team” 75
Globalization: Understanding a generation that knows no borders 77
Feeling the impact of homeland violence 79
Reeling from the economic roller coaster 81
Exploring Millennial Values 83
Breaking the Mold: Rejecting Millennial Stereotypes 84
Chapter 4: Discovering How Millennials Differ from Boomers and Gen Xers 87
Breaking into the Baby Boomer Mind 88
Getting the 411 on Boomers 88
Exploring where Baby Boomers came from (and how it compares to Millennials) 90
Discovering Baby Boomer workplace traits and what they mean for managers 94
Exploring Baby Boomer values and how they influence work style 97
Breaking into the Gen X Mind 98
Getting the Scoop on Generation X 98
Looking at where Xers came from (and comparing it to Millennials) 100
Discovering Xer workplace traits and what they mean for managers 102
Exploring Xer values and how they influence work style 105
Comparing Traits and Values Across Generations 106
Chapter 5: Managing through Your Generational Lens 109
The Parent Trap: What Happens When Boomers Manage Millennials 110
Capitalizing on the unique Boomer/Millennial alliance in managing 112
Avoiding common mistakes 112
The Annoying Little Sibling: Why Xers Struggle to Manage Millennials 114
Taking advantage of the natural alignments of Xers and Millennials 115
Navigating through the inevitable collisions 116
The Twin: Why Millennials Managing Millennials Is Not All Smooth Sailing 117
Unleashing the power of the Millennial-Millennial relationship 118
Easing challenges of managing someone in your own generation 119
Part 2: Navigating Potential Clash Points 121
Chapter 6: Adapting to Changes in Organizational Structure . . . The World Is Flat 123
Transitioning from Hierarchy to Network 124
Embracing the changing nature of the org chart 126
Explaining to Millennials the long-standing merits of the traditional structure 128
Managing the generation who grew up tweeting the POTUS 129
Understanding the upgrade cycle at work 130
Looking at Transparency in a Networked Structure 132
Using Your Adapted Organizational Structure to Recruit, Retain, and Engage 134
Utilizing your brand story over brand reputation 135
Creating the perfect open-door policy 136
Inviting Millennial input from day one 137
Motivating through career progression without promotion 138
Engaging alumni employees 139
Dealing with Special Circumstances 140
Managing Millennials remotely 141
Working in an extremely traditional environment 142
Working in an extremely nontraditional environment 143
Chapter 7: Encouraging and Facilitating Collaboration — Go Team! 145
Shifting Your Perspective on Collaboration 146
Boomers: Come together, right now 146
Gen Xers: Stop, collaborate, and listen 147
Millennials: We belong together 147
Reconciling Differences: Independent Xers versus Collaborative Millennials 148
Looking through Gen Xers’ eyes 149
Seeing Millennials’ viewpoint 149
Finding the right ways to manage collaboration 150
Understanding what Millennials really want when they ask to collaborate 151
Helping Millennials do independent work 152
Onboarding Millennials 154
Training Millennials 156
Mentoring Millennials and Vice Versa 157
Checking out the Millennial mentor and mentee roles 158
Establishing effective mentorship guidelines 159
Harnessing the power of reverse mentorship 160
Building a Collaborative Infrastructure 161
The changing physical office space 161
Utilizing instant messaging as a key workplace tool 164
Collaborating from afar 165
Chapter 8: Supercharging Your Feedback Loop Gold Stars Abound! 167
Giving Feedback in the Instantaneous Age 168
Speed: I can’t wait a year for feedback 168
Frequency: I want to be kept in the loop 169
Transparency: I want the whole truth 169
Avoiding potential drawbacks of the instant feedback style 169
Rethinking the Review Session 170
Knowing what works for Millennials 171
Differentiating between formal and informal feedback 172
Determining the right frequency 174
Mastering the compliment sandwich (hold the cheese) 175
Avoiding the “participation trophy” mindset 177
Ditching the “but I had to figure it out on my own” mindset 178
What are the best of the best doing? 180
Realizing that Feedback Is a Two-Way Street 182
Ignoring your inner voice (“But in my day, I never gave my manager feedback!”) 182
Soliciting valuable input 183
How to stop (or at least control) the floodgates 184
Acting More Like a Coach Than a Boss 185
Common Feedback Troubleshooting 185
Delivering tough feedback 186
What to do if a Millennial cries 187
What if Mom and Dad get involved? 188
I think my Millennial is about to quit 189
Chapter 9: Motivating Millennials — Generation “Why?” 191
Managing for Meaning 192
Looking back across generations 192
Connecting the dots for Millennials 194
What if the job isn’t particularly meaningful? 195
Engaging in philanthropy 196
Compensating the Noncompensation Generation 198
Finding out why compensation isn’t enough 198
What is it with YOLO? 201
Rewarding Millennials 202
Making the most of the almighty dollar 202
Rewarding the individual versus the team 203
Finding nonmonetary rewards that motivate 204
Giving Millennials shareable work moments 206
Helping Millennials find their squad 207
Giving ’em a buddy 207
Offering up office extracurriculars 208
Chapter 10: Dropping Workplace Formalities: Let’s Be Friends 209
Distinguishing Between Formality at Work and Work Ethic 210
Checking out work-ethic mindset through the ages 210
Unpacking the impact of dress code 212
Turning off the clock: The impact of work hours 216
Working hard or hardly working 222
Drawing the Fine Line Between Manager and Friend 223
Telling Millennials when it’s just TMI! 224
Navigating social media 225
Explaining work social events to Millennials 225
Placing boundaries where needed 226
Channeling Your Inner Emily Post: Communication Etiquette 227
Accepting the habit of multitasking and its side effects 228
Understanding (and accepting) why Millennials won’t pick up the phone 229
Figuring out who needs to adjust 231
Part 3: Accommodating Individual Differences Among the Millennial Masses 233
Chapter 11: Managing Millennials ’Round the World 235
Viewing Generational Theory through a Global Lens 236
Implications of globalization, the Internet, and technology 238
Noting some regional differences 240
Looking at Global Millennials’ Uniting Trends and Key Differentiators 242
Similarities in Millennials across the globe 242
Distinguishing Millennial features by region 243
Tapping into the Power of Generational Theory Around the Globe 245
Becoming a generational expert 246
Honing the fine art of asking questions 246
Chapter 12: Adapting Your Management Style to Different Millennial Personas 249
Coping with the Needy Millennial 250
A portrait of a Needy Millennial 250
Surviving the Needy Millennial 252
Hangin’ in There with the Hipster Millennial 253
A portrait of a Hipster Millennial 253
Handling the Hipster Millennial 255
Finding a Way to Deal with the Hidden Millennial 255
A portrait of a Hidden Millennial 256
Dealing with the Hidden Millennial 257
Dealing with Denial in the “I’m-Not-a-Millennial” Millennial 258
A portrait of the “I’m-Not-a-Millennial” Millennial 258
Working with the denial of the “I’m-Not-a-Millennial” Millennial 260
Preventing the Demise of the Millennial Martyr 261
A portrait of the Martyr Millennial 261
Stopping yourself from getting sucked into the Millennial Martyrdom 263
Chapter 13: Making Adjustments for Ages and Life Stages 265
Meeting Cusper, the Friendly Ghost 266
How to identify a cusper 266
The power of being a cusper 267
Introducing the Xer/Millennial: The Oregon Trail Generation 268
Exploring events and conditions 269
Recognizing workplace traits 269
Understanding key differences 270
Snagging management tips 271
Getting a Glimpse of the Millennial/Gen Edger: The Snapchat Generation 271
Exploring events and conditions 272
Recognizing workplace traits 273
Understanding key differences 274
Snagging management tips 274
Modifying Your Style for Old Millennials versus Young Millennials 275
The things that divide them 275
The ties that bind 276
The different managerial approaches 277
Meeting Millennial Parents 277
What does the new working mom look like? 278
Meet the Millennial dad: #RedefiningMasculinity 281
Adapting the workplace for a new brand of parent 282
DINKs: Motivating the Dual Income No Kids Subset 283
Chapter 14: Tailoring Your Millennial Management Style to Different Work Settings 287
Managing in Silicon Valley versus Wall Street 288
Viewing Silicon Valley 289
Weighing in on Wall Street 290
Adjusting for Blue Collar versus White Collar 293
Wearing a white collar 293
Going with a blue collar 294
Adjusting Your Style in the Arts versus the Sciences 297
Stirring passions in the arts field 298
Being mindful of the science field 299
Part 4: Gearing Up for the Coming Changes 301
Chapter 15: Paving the Way for Millennial Leadership 303
Grooming the Leaders to Be 304
Knocking down mental blocks 304
Where to focus now 307
Predicting future leadership challenges 310
Bringing Out the Best Millennial Leadership Skills 312
Where they will shine 313
Where they could coast 314
Where they might struggle 315
Preparing Millennials to Manage Up 315
Preparing to deal with potential negativity 316
Millennials managing Boomers 317
Millennials managing Xers 319
Getting Millennials Ready to Manage Across and Down 320
Millennials managing Millennials 320
Millennials managing Gen Edgers 322
Chapter 16: Preparing for the Next Generation in the Workplace: Gen Edge 325
Warning: This Generation Is Still in the Works 326
Sizing up Gen Edge 327
Playing the name game 328
Decoding What Gen Edge Events and Conditions Will Mean for Managers 329
The event that gave them an edge 330
The conditions that sharpened their edge 331
Adapting Your Management Style to Accommodate Gen Edge Traits 336
Getting in Their Heads and Hearts: Gen Edge Values 337
Getting a Jump on Creating a Workplace that Works for Gen Edge 338
Predicting the Future: Potential Gen Edge Clash Points 340
The clash — Millennials versus Gen Edge 340
The clash — Gen X versus Gen Edge 341
The clash — Baby Boomers versus Gen Edge 342
Chapter 17: Forecasting the Great Unknown 343
Using History to Predict the Future 344
Yes, the generations are cyclical 344
Using parenting trends to predict 346
Making sense of Millennial parenting and its implications for the workforce 346
Keeping Watch on Technology, Economy, and Trends 347
Technology 347
Economy 350
Trends 350
What We Know We Don’t Know 351
Part 5: The Part of Tens 353
Chapter 18: Ten Things that Motivate Millennials Other than Money 355
Providing Exposure to Other People in the Organization 356
Giving a Good Old-Fashioned Thank-You 356
Tossing Out Tailored Treats 357
Having Fun with Co-Workers (Yes, That Means with You Too) 357
Showing a Path to Promotion 358
Giving More Responsibility 359
Utilizing Half-Day Fridays or Part-Time Tuesdays 360
Allocating Time for Passion Projects 361
Dressing Down the Dress Code 361
Offering Up Team Wins 362
Chapter 19: Ten Millennial Strengths to Capitalize On 363
Taking Advantage of Tech-Innate 364
Tuning in to Team-Focused 365
Motivating by Meaning 365
Embracing Diversity 367
Urging an Eagerness to Help 367
Capturing Innovation 368
Staying Networked 369
Recognizing a Fear of Failure 369
Showing Informality at Work 370
Being Ready for Fun 371
Chapter 20: Ten Millennial Stereotypes that Are Misinterpreted 373
Hating Face-to-Face Communication 374
Having the Attention Span of a Goldfish 374
Operating with No Work Ethic 375
Wanting to Have Fun All Day 376
Refusing to Do Work that Is “Beneath Them” 377
Being Young and Inexperienced 377
Fearing Going Solo 378
Thinking They’re All the Same 379
Having No Ambition 380
Relying on Mom and Dad for Everything 380
Chapter 21: Ten Tips on How to Become the #BestBossEver 383
Asking Them Questions — All the Time 384
Learning to Like Them, Genuinely 384
Individualizing Your Approach with Each Millennial 385
Giving Them an “A” for Effort (Even if the Results Are More Like a B+) 386
Challenging Them to Do More 386
Sharing Yourself with Them (Yes, This Means Beyond Your Work-Self) 387
Giving Some Good Ol’ Tough Love 387
Making Sure You Don’t Let Them Down 388
Setting Clear, Structured Expectations 388
Inviting Their Input 389
Index 391
