The Millennials I know

An edited version of this column originally appeared in the Jan. 13, 2017 edition of the Baltimore Business Journal:

There’s been no shortage of articles, discussions and even seminars about how best to manage and work with Millennials, those seemingly unknowable beings, born (according to Pew Research Center) from 1981 to 1997. They came of age with the proliferation of all things connected and digital. As a result, we have all been coached to believe that they are “different,” require more meaning in their work, enjoy (perhaps require) more travel and downtime, and, among other things, are more environmentally conscious than their elders. 

The "expert" guidance about Millennials seems to convey that they must be studied to be understood, and then attended to carefully like delicate flowers in order to have productivity extracted from them.  

Well, I am here to tell you that my experience as a business owner and employer of many productive Millennials is that ‘they’ really aren’t that different from me (a Gen Xer, born between 1965-1980) or Baby Boomers (1946-64) or my parents who are both a part of what is called the Silent Generation (1928-45).

You know who else likes downtime, enjoys travel, wants their work to matter, and believes that the environment is worth protecting? Me. My parents. My friend Steve who was born in 1960. These are not new or unique feelings.

My theory is that Millennials, if we are speaking in broad terms, seem to have mustered the collective courage to speak out and say things like “working 60 hours a week is dumb.” And, “Wouldn’t it be great if we spent more time making the world a better place instead of consuming a bunch of crap?”

Well, yeah.

We are all products of our times. I can’t make a Millennial understand what it’s like to live in a world where you had to get up to change the TV channel or be surprised by a completely unpredicted snowstorm any more than they can make me understand what it’s like to hear about 9-11 as a historical event that you weren't alive for, or only vaguely remember. 

But in the workplace, I have found that Millennials are, on the whole, a lot like everyone else. Some are incredibly productive and smart. Some, not so much. But the difference between the former and the latter isn’t generational in my experience, it’s specific to the individual. In other words, employers shouldn’t set up different rules for Millennials or view them as special snowflakes. Rather, we need to be diligent in our hiring process, search for highly productive A players, and manage people of any age with integrity.

Do Millennials want lots of feedback? Definitely, but I think that’s a good thing. If you grew up with smart phones and Google and constant feedback about almost everything you did -- and then had to wait a year for a performance review at work -- that might not work for you either. And feedback is a good thing. So as managers we need to provide it more often and in honest and constructive ways. That seems reasonable not needy. 

The best management advice I ever received came from a friend in the insurance business, who I am pretty sure is a Baby Boomer. Let’s call him Ken, because that’s his name. Ken said to me, “Greg, there’s an easy way to manage people. It’s a three-step process. First, you have to make sure they understand what their job is by providing a clear job description. Second, you have to give them the tools and the training to do the job. Third, you have to hold them accountable." And that's about it.

Clean, simple, clear. I’ve made it a goal to follow Ken’s advice as our firm has grown from a few people to 16 and it works every time. 

I’m proud of the growth and success of my firm, Abel Communications. As a team we have a whole bunch of highly productive A players, many of whom happen to be Millennials. Every day I draw energy from their creativity, enthusiasm, and optimism. 

But I’ve never viewed “them” as a “them,” some other form of life with a smart phone embedded in their hands. They are simply my colleagues and I follow Ken’s advice, and everything seems to be working out pretty well.

Greg Abel is President of Abel Communications, a Baltimore PR firm that’s based in Hampden, works with clients regionally and nationally, and proudly closes on Opening Day of the Orioles season.