Is this the biggest shift needed when managing millennials?

26 February 2018 -

MANAGERS WILL NEED TO RETHINK THEIR LEADERSHIP APPROACH, AS MILLENNIAL PROFESSIONALS GRAVITATE TOWARDS A SOFTER MANAGEMENT STYLE

Jermaine Haughton

Younger workers are changing the interpersonal dynamics of the modern workplace for the better, by questioning the relationship between employers and employees.

According to Deloitte, millennials are set to make up around 75% of the UK workforce by 2025, and their desire for fulfilling careers is driving employers to reconsider traditional management models centred on micromanagement and obedience.

Although moguls such as Steve Jobs have been said to have led their way to success based on tough tyrannical leadership styles, whether that method would find similar success for today’s aspiring leaders is doubtful.

THE MANAGEMENT STYLE YOU NEED TO ADOPT

Instead of ‘control and command’ managers, studies suggest many millennials look for coaching from their bosses. A survey of over 500 respondents between the ages of 21 and 34 years old from university graduates to managers, found that millennials seek mentors. The researchers suggest millennials are used to being supervised, as many were raised by parents who provided constant support. Therefore, they respond well to similar behaviour from managers in the workplace. A separate study from Deloitte has shown the impact of this management style: millennials with worthwhile mentors report high satisfaction rates in personal development and motivation, and it can result in higher retention numbers.

Such a dynamic could affect a company’s bottom line too.

THE BILLIONAIRE’S MANAGEMENT TACTIC

Professor Sydney Finkelstein, Director of the Leadership Center at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, found that major businesses innovators such as Larry Ellison and Ralph Lauren have used personal and customised coaching to manage millennials and grow billion-pound businesses in the process.

Professor Finkelstein said: “Stunningly, these bosses all treated their employees the way millennials want to be treated, offering them personal and customised coaching, tremendous advancement opportunities, creative freedom, collaborative learning opportunities, and ultimately, the chance to do meaningful work. Ambitious employees want to have a chance to make a difference, and superbosses allow them to do just that. By unleashing and harnessing the passion and creative energy of their young protégés, the bosses built successful companies, changed their industries, and in a number of cases became billionaires.”

MENTAL HEALTH IS AFFECTED BY MANAGEMENT STYLE

Conversely, it has long been suggested that there is a link between management style and mental health. Research from the University of Manchester’s Business School found people working for a toxic boss experienced lower rates of job satisfaction and more likely to experience clinical depression. Additionally, a separate 10-year study of 3,122 men by Swedish researchers found that working for a bad manager was linked to an increase in incidents of unstable angina and heart attacks, resulting in hospitalisation or death.

MANAGEMENT STYLE AND STAFF RETENTION

If businesses want to attract and retain the most talented individuals to keep their enterprise competitive then they will need to take notice. The Deloitte report also found that two out of three millennials are expected to leave their current jobs by 2020. Those aged between 19 and 36 are not afraid to quit their employer and find new opportunities which fit their goals, values and lifestyle.

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