The best leaders set clear expectations for both the short term and long term

In our latest Nordea On Your Mind report, titled "Managing millennials", Johan Trocmé interviews Mette Aagaard, partner at Spencer Stuart specialising in executive search and assessment within financial services, about the perceived differences between millennials and other generations and what is required of leaders to successfully motivate employees. They also discuss how different generations may not be as different as often assumed, and how questions of flexibility and autonomy have gained more attention with the entry of the millennial generation into the corporate arena.      

Some would argue that there have always been differences between the old and new generations, and yet it is a common view – backed by many studies – that millennials stand out. What is your view based on your experience with millennials so far – are they unique, or just another young generation that will eventually fall into the mould of their predecessors?

Mette: Millennials do stand out, as have most young generations before them. Generation Y, better known as millennials, or more specifically those aged roughly 20 to 40 years of age currently, have been defined as having rather particular traits. On the less appealing side, millennials have been accused of being entitled, delusional, egocentric, unfocused, flighty, difficult to manage and lazy. On the positive side – but typically less talked about and less vividly covered by the "millennial experts" – the generation is full of energy and enthusiasm, is tech-savvy, has a go-getter attitude and an always-on mentality, and is prepared to instantly tackle any issue that may arise, not to mention its social conscience, self-confidence and pride. Millennials also love to challenge the status quo, hate being bored, want to learn and are eager to grow and shine at a quick pace. 

That said, however, millennials are not all that different from other young generations before them. Certainly, back in the 1970s, when baby boomers entered the labour market, they caused headaches for the older generation of managers, as they challenged the established corporate ground rules with provocative, creative and colourful thinking. Surely, the disruptive demeanour with which cohorts of boomers entered into their first jobs – with a stated ambition of rejecting or redefining traditional ways – puzzled their superiors at the time. Eventually, the rebel generation of baby boomers grew into more conservative habits as they matured and ensured a continuity of behavioural traits between themselves and their parents.

Therefore, I would say that we are experiencing roughly the same today. Boomers and millennials are equally large generations, and both follow generations that have been smaller. When large cohorts present and conduct themselves in ways that are uncommon, it attracts attention and bewilders the more mature and established segment of the population. These uncommon ways are in many cases perfectly natural and completely aligned with the factors rapidly shaping the society and context of which we are all part. It has always been like this, even long before we started categorising and labelling generational traits. 

It is, however, vital to keep in mind that stereotyping a whole generation of individuals is an overgeneralisation indeed. Many of the labels assigned to millennials are strongly connected with personal values, drivers and beliefs. In our profession of executive search and leadership advisory, we spend a great deal of time trying to distil the underlying motivations and traits affecting leadership and performance in the workplace. All data and evidence show that it is terribly difficult to box people into groups based on personality and leadership traits. Complexity arises the minute you add more granularity in psychometric testing and in-depth analysis of behavioural traits. Individuals are composed of fascinatingly different building blocks that are scattered, complex and certainly difficult to stereotype. In my experience working with clients and leaders currently "exposed" to the millennial species, there is neither a perception nor an indication that this generation is any more similar to or particularly unique compared with young and challenging generations before them. However, most people would agree that our context is changing at a faster pace than ever before, which is affecting us all – across generations.  

One key trait among millennials seems to be a hunger for purpose – they want their work and the mission of their employer to have meaning beyond creating value for shareholders. Have you seen this phenomenon? How have employers responded?

Mette: The short answer is that purpose, as a motivational driver, is on the increase both for millennials and everyone else. 

We can quickly agree that everyone is at their most dedicated and best when motivated. The big question is therefore what drives motivation, particularly the motivation required to endure and perform, even when the going gets tough. The even bigger question is whether motivation and work ethics have different drivers for millennials than other generations. In a simple form, motivation can be linked to three basic factors that generally capture what it is that keeps us going, keeps us passionate and ensures we perform in a professional context. Author David Pink has identified these as being autonomy, mastery and purpose. This is broadly applicable to both millennials and the rest of us.  

Autonomy, as a motivational factor, suggests that you need to have control of what you do, when you do it and who you do it with. Certainly, technology is paving the way for a more autonomous workplace, as work can be performed from anywhere and at any time. Millennials are accustomed to flexibility in how and where to conduct work, but I would not say that they are any more self-governing than other generations. 

Mastery, as a motivational factor, is described as a desire to be particularly proficient within a given discipline, along with a desire to improve through learning and practice. For many millennials, this is the most important thing. As they grow older and realise that there is no prize for merely participating in an average corporate role, most will mature and actively seek more tangible skills and mastery. 

Purpose, as a motivational factor, supports the feeling of working towards something larger and more important than ourselves. I believe that the abundance of information, spurred by technology constantly feeding our curiosity and ability to instantly find an answer to any question, provides a flip-side, in that prioritisation becomes increasingly difficult. In our part of the world, millennials have grown up in an era when optimism and opportunity are much more prevalent than the obvious challenges of previous generations, such as world wars and economic despair. The problems we attend to nowadays are generally less life-threatening (at least in the short term). However, this also presents a challenge, as worries are, by definition, relative. Choosing how to spend time and effort is less directed by contextual circumstances. It is much more about how individual decisions are based on values, beliefs and capabilities. For everyone, millennials and other generations alike, attributing meaning and finding the real purpose behind performing a given job is much more complex than ever before. 

In essence, millennials are as different and as complex as individuals from any other generational group when it comes to underlying motivational factors. The hunt for purpose is on the rise due to different contextual circumstances, and thanks to the age and upbringing of millennials, the themes of ensuring sustainability and working towards a balanced ecosystem are taking up more of their headspace than ever before. This is also the case for their older colleagues, however.

Another common view of millennials is that they are snowflakes, with an unwarranted sense of uniqueness and entitlement and difficulties dealing with opposing opinions and being easily offended. Have you picked up from employers that they are seeing such a pattern? How would employers typically deal with it? How do you think they should approach it?

Mette: I actually believe quite the contrary. Through experience and conversations with senior leaders about their teams, I find that those under 40 are naturally more technology savvy as well as more data-driven in their arguments than their older counterparts. They embrace opposing views, are curious, fact-based, and exhibit social skills and a genuine commitment to transparency. 

When it comes to uniqueness, it is less about an obsession with self and more about a "what's-in-it-for-me" attitude. Even millennials are willing to undertake hard and repetitive work. But contrary to their parents' generation, they clearly articulate a demand to get something in return for their hardship – and not just the opportunity to stay in the same job or company a decade down the road. Millennials are more advanced in terms of openly and transparently weighing the cost and benefits of undergoing hardship. On the one hand, some might be taking it too far, quitting a job in frustration more quickly than their own performance warrants. On the other hand, every generation has to some degree tried to push the boundaries in the corporate world. Millennials set a high bar for how swiftly and to what extent their motivational drivers need to be stimulated, whether it be autonomy, mastery or purpose, and they are not afraid to say when they feel that the equilibrium of what they put in vis-à-vis what gets recognised is out of balance. 

Are any specific things needed for employers to attract millennials? Pay and career development versus factors like flexible hours, working environment, diversity, etc?

Mette: There is unfortunately no magic silver bullet with which to attract millennials. Every individual is driven by different motivations no matter which generation they may belong to. However, the context and societal development naturally impacts how employers need to adapt to the reality that millennials take for granted. Thinking about how to make your workplace more "millennial-friendly" is a prerequisite for both survival and readiness to accommodate generations to come. 

Pay is a factor that we need to isolate. It would be wrong to say that it is not important, but for younger generations, I would argue that the other motivational factors we have discussed are much more influential. 

In my experience, the best leaders of millennials are those who emphasise the flexibility that surrounds autonomy by letting go of strict workplace rules, rethinking office hours, and discarding micromanagement and mechanical follow-up on numerical targets, to the benefit of more empowerment and collaborative thinking. This spurs more creativity and innovation, as employees feel more important, trusted and confident to perform at their very best.

Ensuring visible and purposeful career development is probably the most essential component in attracting and retaining millennials. The millennial generation is accustomed to constant development; they have been measured on performance from a very early age, and they expect their fact-based minds to be evaluated with rigorous transparency. They are constantly thinking short term and thus are swayed towards instant gratification, while their colleagues over 40 have been raised to believe that delayed gratification is a virtue. 

The best leaders of millennials set clear expectations for both the short term and the long term. They provide timely and granular feedback; they praise and acknowledge what works well and specifically address what could have been even better. Millennials consider richness in appraisals to be a hygiene factor more than a differentiator. In their minds, the granular description of personal learning objectives began in kindergarten or grade school. Managers and companies, who are more accustomed to the "just-do-it-because-it's-your-job" mentality, can struggle to find the tools and time to sophisticate their feedback, and should be extra mindful of continuously motivating their millennial co-workers. 

What do you think is required from tomorrow's leaders at large corporates and institutions to attract, retain and develop millennial talent? Will today's approaches work, or is change needed?

Mette: Tomorrow's leaders need to advance certain capabilities not only to cater to millennials but also to more thoroughly adapt to a new era. This includes leading people as a key capability by empowering and engaging employees to perform, also when teams are physically spread across numerous locations. It includes developing people – in essence ensuring visible and tangible growth through coaching, feedback and exposure to challenges. It also includes collaborating and influencing to obtain the best outcomes through working with other people. This last leadership capability has interesting dimensions when you delve more deeply from a millennial angle. On the one hand, I experience senior leaders being positively surprised by millennials' ability to rapidly network with, draw energy from and creatively find answers through others. They do so without the hesitation or humility that has hindered previous generations in doing the same. Their "always-on" attitude influences their swiftness and ability to instantly respond to issues in less formal networks. On the other hand, although this is certainly a strength and a capacity that many mature colleagues envy, it can sometimes be perceived as overused, in that they are often too swift to interpret "what is good input" or "what is the most appropriate response". Senior leaders, with the benefit of having been immersed in corporate politics for decades, ie having reacted slowly and steadily to issues arising over the course of a career, can play an important role in helping younger colleagues identify underlying risks and patterns of behaviour, before jumping to solutions. 

We could go through numerous examples where important leadership capabilities can be advanced through co-learning and interaction between millennials and more experienced leaders. In essence, interaction and transparency in the collective behaviour is key to success. In short, getting tomorrow's leadership right rhymes with culture. 

Culture is the glue that ties people together in a group. Culture captures, in a nutshell, the core behaviours that characterise leadership and interaction. It is all the unwritten rules and shared assumptions that unify behaviour. Clearly articulating those shared assumptions will be crucial for tomorrow's leaders. Talent today, regardless of age, needs organisations much less than organisations need talent. The ease with which one can transition from one job to another has risen exponentially. We are interconnected, and convincing us to stay for more than a pass-through within a company requires us to see a value in, a purpose for, doing so. This applies both inside and outside the corporate arena. 

We work with top leaders to shape and role-model culture. Most agree that purpose needs to play a stronger role in company cultures today. They emphasise that, in an era when leadership as a discipline is transitioning from expertise and achievement to connectivity and catalyst, purpose is gaining ground. If individuals should give up on the drivers that influence their motivation to go to work, whether it be autonomy, mastery or purpose, they will require a strong unifying arena. Without a clear and compelling proposition of what matters and what it feels like to go to work, it will be challenging to attract and retain millennials, and the rest of us.