The Millennial Manager

Earlier this year I re-assumed my position at Landlord as Operations Manager. Our office has always attracted a younger team of professionals, many of which would be considered "Millennials" - born between 1980 and 2000. Being a Millennial myself, I never saw that as an area of concern, however it became clear recently that managing the Millennial mindset required a new approach to traditional management styles.

Some view the Millennials as lazy, or entitled. Expecting immediate success or reward for little effort. They're often described as "wandering dreamers", lacking focus or drive. Wandering dreamers? Maybe. I've found that Millennials (myself included) tend to approach situations with an unwavering focus on a positive end result. This broad approach to work, and life tends to allow them to wade through the daily inter-office struggles with a certain resilience that seems to be lost on the older generations.

I'm not suggesting this joie de vivre is unwavering. In fact it requires near constant reinforcement and support - especially in the work-place. I've spent many hours working with the rest of our senior management team to adopt a more Millennial-friendly management style. That being said, I wanted to share a few insights from my experiences with my team, as well as my own growth over the last ten years.

1) STOP MICROMANAGING. It's the worst management style for this group. Help them to understand exactly what needs to be done, and give them a clear understanding of how the finished product should look. Let them venture out on their own and use the information provided. If they understand that you trust their abilities you'll often be pleasantly surprised. Their approach may differ from yours slightly, but it will net you valuable and innovative ideas you probably wouldn't have come up with on your own.

2) BE FLEXIBLE. I'm not suggesting you need to strip away all rules and regulations - but loosen up a little! Our office once imposed strict dress-codes, no-talking policies and demanded all employees arrive promptly at 9:00am. I've been focussed on promoting a more relaxed environment - talking and laughter is a must, the dress code has been amended considerably and if you keep penalizing your best team-members for walking in five minutes late, when they've stayed three hours the night before, you don't deserve to keep them!

3) KEEP IT BALANCED. Millennials are dreamers. They know what's out there waiting for them and if you make them feel as though they're tethered to their desks with no time to explore the world around them, you'll lose some of the brightest minds in your office, quickly. Support vacation days. Promote continuing education. Ask them about their lives! I've started meeting with the individual members of my team on a monthly basis, just to get an update - whether it's professional or personal, we talk about what's going on. This has opened the lines of communication so I can understand where they want to go - and I do my best to help them get there.

4) CONNECT. Relationships are important. Trust is paramount. I've found that conflict resolution, performance reviews and even terminations have become a more comfortable endeavour now that I've tweaked the approach. The members of your team are people - they want to connect. Open concept office spaces and honest conversations vs. cubicles and scripted rants. Give it a try.

The Millennials have an incredible "can do" attitude. They were raised by their parents to believe that they can accomplish whatever they dream of - and they can, if you let them. Don't control them, nurture them. They have a sixth sense for sussing out those who are trying to contain their potential - set them up for continued growth and development and they'll help take your team to the next level.