Millennial Leaders

Loneliness has finally become a hot topic. Britain is thought to be the loneliness capital of Europe and millennials  to be suffering greatly. T he Mental Health Foundation  found loneliness to be a greater concern among  millennials ,  who feel lonely often; worry about feeling alone; and feel depressed because of loneliness. Loneliness a barometer of personal isolation. It is also an opportunity for millennials to rethink the status quo.  Organisation literature tends to view networks as incidental to wellbeing, but they're fundamental. The emphasis on networks as a professional tool misses their value as a place create deep and trusting relationships, to reflect on your life and connect with empathic listeners.  So what if, as millennial leaders , you were to use the experience of loneliness to re-imagine networking as the laying down of foundations for good-quality relationships?  Shaping organisational life is a good place to start. ...

To mark the birthday of Nelson Mandela , Google has created a  Doodle  made of his most famous quotes. What if millennials were to act upon the fact that: "What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will define the significance the life we have lived". The word that catches is "significance" as opposed to successful. It speaks to aspiration not ambition. It is perhaps why personal development reviews are such an unsatisfying aspect of working life. It doesn't invite expansive thinking. If the millennial impact  on the workplace were to include personal significance, what would organisational life look and feel like? Use the tools for establishing empathy suggested in  Millennial Leaders Will Change Organisations - Where to Start?  to expand your thinking about organisational life under millennial leadership.

Millennials  are frustrated because they are rarely engaged to help organisations respond to change. It should not stop you from exercising change leadership thinking. For instance,   PWC  reports an acute need for technology-savvy talent: 86% of US CEOs believe advances will transform businesses over the next five years. Microsoft's  Satya Nadella , believes the transformation will be "mobile first, cloud first" in nature. Millennials enjoy an advantage, since this is your playground. So, as millennials,  prepare to shape the conversation; the pressure within organisations to catch on and catch up will grow.  Gather insights drawn from previous posts and p ractise strategic thinking. With fellow millennials , use your familiarity with mobile and cloud technologies to map out:  An appropriate new business model for your subject organisation A strategy for how you will get others in the organisation excited and engaged How people wi...

Research into the impact of millennials  on organisations carry a hint of anxiety. It is up to  millennials  to work through anxieties by finding points of commonality and building alliances across the generations.  An e mpathic approach, by a  derided  'me generation',  will be unexpected.  Millennials  know the financial and psychological effects of boom-and-bust cycles, but what was the impact on boomers and gen Xers?   It has contributed to significant job dissatisfaction that is having a lasting effect on attitudes about the role of work and its value in employees‘ lives. Into this space millennial  credibility for organisational change should be built.  Start by understanding the sources of discontents: a decline in lifetime employment prospects, diminishing advancement opportunities, stagnant or lower buying power, erosion of job benefits and the constant changes. T here is scant evidence of incumbent leade...

The 2008 global recession thrust millennials  into an era defined by anxiety. Left unchecked, your anxiety will soon become a chronic mindset which will extinguish your potential. Look into the life of most organisations and you'll see the implications. They model anxiety. Ingrained thought patterns generate low-grade fear and stall change with ‘what if?’ scenarios.  From this perspective, change management  postings are a cry for help: someone to take away the problem and come back with a neatly packaged solution. Observe your organisation from this perspective and you'll find evidence of: Self-doubt Wanting control of the future  Fear of failure Judgement of millennials  as the " Me Generation " is a futile attempt deflect a painful reality.  It requires you step back and evaluate their e xperience and the perspectives it brings. The answers cannot be faked, use it to your advantage. Conduct  a cost-benefit an...