Page 59 - Lighting Magazine November 2018

Boomers are impatient digital disasters and Millen- nials are cell phone-clutching kids who lack a work ethic are both horrible generalities and equally false. E ective Millennial Managers lead their teams from the front and manage based on an individual’s actual performance, not by age or assumption.
Some stereotypes are true, like realizing cell phones and tablets are much-needed tools in business today. These devices o er tremendous convenience to both the team member and the client. Timing is essential — and with everything relative to sales, communication is no di erent. Response speed today is measured in minutes. It is no wonder that the previous managerial genera- tion, which o en banned cell phones to lockers, le drawers, and glove boxes, would nd di culty in ac- cepting these essential instruments of productivity.
skill set MatcH
Even when we dispel stereotypes, it is the Mil- lennial Manager’s job to identify and apply the generational strengths of each group. This is how we build a collaborative workforce. One example of a task that several generations can work on to- gether is social media.
Both Boomer and Boomlets can work together to make a be er social post. The melding of so relationship skills with digital dexterity taps into the wheelhouse of both sta ers. It also helps those individual sta members to develop a team relationship and see the bene t the other person brings to the table. In the background, there is critical cross-training and team building (respect) going on.
coMMunication
When asking Millennial Managers what they felt was the most challenging aspect of their role, they were uni ed in their response that communication is the most di cult. When dealing with a multi- generational workforce, the goal becomes not only what is being said, but also how it is being said. Boomers like to have their information presented to them verbally, while Millennials prefer text, email, or company group or web pages.
The Millennial Manager’s test is to get each group comfortable with all of the communication tools used by your business. Sharing the same message on all platforms is the way to do that.
Selling is about communicating emotion, and what be er way to share generational talent than
by having members of the various generations role-play a presentation? Which characteristic does each group mention rst? Which features and bene ts are talked about or excluded? The answers to these questions help the manager de- velop the overall presentation skills of the group while building mutual respect among the team.
For the Millennial Manager, when dealing with many of your internal team communications, choose your voice rst. The two-fold bene t is that the Boomers are being “spoken” to, and the other gens are observing the art of conversation. Rein- force the discussion topic in an email and tell them that you will be doing this so nothing gets lost in the spoken word. Since back and forth texts or emails explaining details can be time-consuming, using a detailed verbal communication method will con- siderably reduce the chance of lost information.
peer ManageMent
One of the most challenging transitions that a Millennial Manager faces is shi ing from friend to boss. As one Millennial Manager I spoke with said, “I discovered quickly that not everyone likes you or is your friend. This was hard to accept. As a group (Millennials), we have been raised to be all-inclusive and to like everybody.”
This realization has given many Millennial Managers pause since they want to like – and be liked –by all the people they work with. While this may not always be the case, it is a worthy goal.
Millennial Managers as peers
Find a balance between the roles of being a hard- driving, fair, and authoritative leader with being an easy-going workplace buddy. The skills that help
on the mark “I do love
to be on my cell phone. I text employees, send email, and call accounts. My cell is my home o ce.”
— Lisa Needler, Wabash Lighting, Indiana
noveMber 2018 | enLIGHTenment Magazine 57