Develop a Leadership Pipeline plan to lead millennials

Introduction

A leadership pipeline strengthens the leadership function of a company by cultivating emerging talent while enhancing
organizational capability. Developing a leadership pipeline starts with identifying and then nurturing talent by
exposing high-potential individuals to a variety of developmental opportunities and experiences. This leads to a more
wide-ranging and holistic knowledge of the business and its inner workings. Put simply, this process is done to ensure
that important leadership positions in the most prominent functions can be filled very easily by internal candidates.

Back in 2015, Millennials (ages 19 to 32) surpassed Generation X (ages 35 to 50) as the largest workforce
demographic, and their presence is starting to cause foundational shifts inside the office. One thing is clear: leading
Millennials is much more effective than managing them.

In general, management traits are focused on using people’s skills to efficiently achieve business outcomes, whereas
leadership traits focus on motivating and developing people for the benefit of the team. "Focus more on people and
you’ll demonstrate leadership, more on results and you’ll perform management", writes O’Leary (Leadership speaker
and author).

This may be especially true when it comes to leading Millennials. Whereas top-down management techniques may
have created efficient teams in past generations, Millennials are looking for mentorship, professional development,
collaboration, and respect.

In this project, the factors to consider when building a successful leadership pipeline for millennials is explored.

Background on Millennials
The most recent entrants to the workforce, the Millennials grew up during prosperous times. They have high
expectations and seek meaning in their work. Millennials have life goals more oriented toward becoming rich (81
percent) and famous (51 percent) than do Generation Xers (62 percent and 29 percent, respectively), but they also see
themselves as socially responsible. At ease with diversity, Millennials are the first generation to take technology for
granted. More than other generations, they tend to be questioning, electronically networked, and entrepreneurial. At
the same time, some have described Millennials as entitled and needy. They may clash with other generations over
work attire and communication. They also like feedback. An Ernst & Young survey found that 85 percent of
Millennials want “frequent and candid performance feedback,” compared to only half of Boomers.

Dominant work values in Today’s Workforce

Cohort Entered the workforce Dominant Work Values
Boomers 1965-1985 Success, achievement, ambition, dislike of
authority; loyalty to career

Xers 1985-2000 Work/life balance, team-oriented, dislike of

rules; loyalty to relationships

Millennials 2000 to present Confident, financial success, self-reliant but

team-oriented; loyalty to both self and
relationships

"Are millennials really that different?" The answer is yes ― profoundly so. Millennials will change the world
decisively more than any other generation.

Defined by their lack of attachment to institutions and traditions, millennials change jobs more often than other
generations’ ― more than half say they're currently looking for a new job.

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 GALLUP study on Millennials (in US for year 2015)
Least engaged generation in the workforce

Only 29% of millennials are engaged, meaning they are emotionally and behaviorally connected to their job and
company. Another 16% of millennials are actively disengaged, meaning they are more or less out to do damage to
their company. The majority of millennials (55%) are not engaged, leading all other generations in this category of
workers. Not engaging millennial workers is a big miss for organizations. The millennial workforce is predominantly
"checked out"― not putting energy or passion into their jobs. They are indifferent about work and show up just to put
in their hours.

Often, millennials are characterized as entitled job-hoppers, but the reality is that 55% of this group is not engaged at
work. They feel indifferent about their job and company ― and indifferent and entitled are not synonymous. Many
millennials likely don't want to switch jobs, but their companies are not giving them compelling reasons to stay. When
they see what appears to be a better opportunity, they have every incentive to take it. While millennials can come
across as wanting more and more, the reality is that they just want a job that feels worthwhile ― and they will keep
looking until they find it.

Lookout for new jobs

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Gallup data reveal that 21% of millennials report changing jobs within the last year, which is more than three times
the number of non-millennials who report the same. Gallup estimates that millennial turnover costs the U.S. economy
$30.5 billion annually.

Millennials also show less willingness to stay in their current jobs. Half of millennials ― compared with 60% of non-
millennials ― strongly agree that they plan to be working at their company one year from now. For businesses, this
suggests that half of their millennial workforce doesn't see a future with them.

Since many millennials don't plan on staying in their jobs, it makes sense that they are hunting for new positions. A
Gallup study found that 60% of millennials say they are open to a different job opportunity; this is 15 percentage
points higher than the percentage of non-millennial workers who say the same. Millennials are also the most willing
to act on better opportunities: 36% report that they will look for a job with a different organization in the next 12
months if the job market improves, compared with 21% of non-millennials who say the same.

Performance management requires a constant focus on feedback

The relationship between manager and employee represents a vital link in performance management. As is often the
case, communication is crucial for that relationship to succeed. Millennial workers are more engaged than non-
millennials when their managers provide frequent and consistent communication and feedback. Forty-four percent of
millennials who report that their manager holds regular meetings with them are engaged ― contrasting sharply with

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the 20% of engaged millennials who do not agree that their manager meets with them regularly. This finding is similar
to older generations; 43% of non-millennials who report their manager holds regular meetings with them are engaged.

Regular meetings and consistent feedback pay dividends not only in engagement, but also in performance. Employees
who meet regularly with their manager perform better for their team and company. They are also more likely to report
that they regularly receive recognition and praise, that someone cares about them as a person and that someone cares
about their development.

Effective feedback is rooted in a few essential tenets; chief among them is frequency. The more conversations
managers have with their employees, the more engaged their employees become. But Gallup found that only 21% of
millennials and 18% of non-millennials meet with their manager on a weekly basis. The majority of employee ― 56%
for millennials and 53% for non-millennials ― say they meet with their manager as infrequently as less than monthly.

Most wired generation

Millennials are first-generation digital natives who feel at home on the Internet. Technology ― particularly gadgets
like smartphones, but also tablets and laptops ― has revolutionized the way they connect and interact with one another
and with the rest of the world. While the vast majority of Americans surf the Web from a desktop or laptop computer
at home or work, 85% of millennials access the Internet from their phones ― more than all other generations.

What are millennials doing online? Millennials, like Gen Xers, get the vast majority of their information and news
from the Internet. They are far less likely to watch conventional television to stay up to date. On the other hand, more
than half of baby boomers and traditionalists get their news and information from TV, and just 30% of baby boomers
and 14% of traditionalists find it online.

But millennials rely on the Internet for far more than news and information. For instance, at least eight in 10 report
using it to manage their finances, pay bills, shop online, and watch or listen to online content in the past 30 days. At
least half use it for reading blogs, researching health issues, or researching or booking travel plans. Smaller percentages
use it for taking classes, participating in online auctions and other activities. While Gen Xers come close to the
percentage of millennials using the Internet for each of these activities, in most cases, baby boomers and traditionalists
lag behind.

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Of course, millennials also rely on the Internet and smartphones or other devices to manage their social lives online.
In this way, they are no different from older generations. The vast majority of all Americans say they use social media
to connect with friends and family, including 93% of millennials and 84% of older generations.

Challenges in leadership theory due to Millennials Generational changes

Transformational leaders are inspirational leader with a clear vision. They find it hard to motivate and
encourage today employees to achieve the organizational goals altogether because they are more individualistic and
want to achieve their own goals .However, Millennials crave for challenging work and feedback from their
supervisors. Today’s employees put high importance on extrinsic rewards and are more likely to see a person who has
power to give rewards and punishments as a leader.

Second, Leader/Member exchange is based on social exchange where there are one-on-one relationships between
leaders and followers (in-group and out-groups). Being in in-group requires more interaction between leader and
follower and this pose a challenge because Millennials prefer using new, computer-aided or text-based, forms to
communicate.

Third, Authentic leadership is a process where the leaders reflect his or her internal values and beliefs and at the
same time inspires followers to examine their own. The generations before have always valued work centrality but
Millennials are less work oriented and value-life balance. This strong work ethic can cause incongruity and damage
the leader-follower relationship.

Finally, Ethical leadership encompasses ethical and moral behavior and the promotion of this behavior among
followers. However, Millennials are more driven by rewards than ethicality.

The same is summarized as follows:

Millennials Generational change Theoretical perspective

Category Change Transformational Lead member Authentic Ethical
leadership exchange leadership leadership
Individual Increased Difficult to Difficult to Difficult to Difficult to
differences individualism encourage engage in high- achieve value reach consensus
collective needs quality LMX congruence due on ethicality
over self-interests to desire for due to
individualism individualism
Work values & Decreased work Less interested in More interested May be less See morality
attitudes centrality, the vision in work-life interested in differently and
increased focus provided balance than in leaders with work situations
on work-life engaging in work values and as less morally
balance LMX more interested intense
in leaders with
leisure values
More Less motivated by Too focused on Less motivated More likely to
extrinsically idealized influence extrinsic by the intrinsic choose rewards
motivated and inspirational rewards to outcomes that over ethicality
motivation invest time to drive
cultivate high followership
quality LMX development
Increased Less interested in Less interested Less interested Less interested
entitlements being led by in being led by in being led by in being led by
others others others other

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 What goes into a leadership pipeline?

It is best when leaders are grown, not imported, and the leadership function as a whole will never grow stronger and
deeper if an organization only invests in replacement as opposed to development. So a leadership pipeline should
combine succession planning with leadership development well before a replacement is needed.

What’s blocking leadership pipelines?

Leadership development is a fairly simple concept at its core: the younger employees within an organization will
develop, be exposed to different environments on their way up through the professional ladder and eventually become
the leaders of tomorrow.

The strong young leaders, millennials, emerging today often bring with them a different style of leadership that relies
on heightened social needs and a stronger team orientation than previous generations. Being a part of the generation
they are now leading means they have a greater understanding of how their staff prefer to communicate and they know
that this generation, more than previous ones, tends to seek frequent, positive, and open communication in the
workplace.

The global recession of 2008 to 2012 has led to two major outcomes which are impacting the potential success of the
leadership pipeline: one being that senior executives are staying in their positions longer in order to gain more financial
security; the other blocker being that organizations are experiencing a reduction in hiring due to budget constraints.
Both of these outcomes have led to a lack of millennial leadership opportunities and as such, have somewhat
diminished the opportunities of internal hiring that an effective pipeline brings.
This means that the leaders of tomorrow within an organization may be leaving due to the short sightedness of their
employers. They are not being afforded appropriate developmental opportunities and are essentially being stifled in
terms of the empowerment and accountability that they seek. As their more experienced colleagues remain in
leadership positions for longer, these younger potential leaders are not able to gain the valuable managerial experience
that could help progress their careers. This can result in potential future leaders being acquired by competitors who
are willing to give them such opportunities.

Leadership pipeline to lead Millennials

Millennials are changing the very will of the world. So we, too, must change. Change in organizational cultures is
required from old will to new will.

The change in Leadership required in organizations

PAST FUTURE
My Paycheck My Purpose
My Satisfaction My Development
My Boss My Coach
My Annual Review My Ongoing Conversations
My Weaknesses My Strengths
My Job My Life

The following guidelines are recommended to deal with millennials requirements:

1. Millennials don't just work for a paycheck ― they want a purpose.

For millennials, work must have meaning. They want to work for organizations with a mission and purpose. Back in
the old days, baby boomers didn't necessarily need meaning in their jobs. They just wanted a paycheck ― their mission
and purpose were 100% of their families and communities. For millennials, compensation is important and must be
fair, but it's no longer the driver. The emphasis for this generation has switched from paycheck to purpose.

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Studies show that, like most, Millennials are happiest and most engaged at work when they feel they're making a
difference.

By all means, focus on efficiency and effectiveness, but also on making work more meaningful. An easy way to do
that is to let employees play to their strengths. A recent Gallup report found that Millennials, more than any other
generation, ask, "Does this organization value my strengths and contributions?" Determine what each person does best
and figure out ways they can do more of it.

2. Millennials are not pursuing job satisfaction ― they are pursuing development.

Most millennials don't care about the bells and whistles found in many workplaces today ― the Ping-Pong tables,
coffee maker machines and free food that companies offer to try to create job satisfaction. Giving out toys and
entitlements is a leadership mistake, and worse, it's condescending. Purpose and development drive this generation.

It is difficult to offer every employee a custom career path, but that's alright. Hear the employee out. Give them
individual attention. Find ways to help them grow in an area they're interested in.

If Millennials feel they are not making progress in their personal development, they'll become disconnected and seek
other opportunities.

Whenever possible, get employees involved in projects that are not only mission-critical but also create opportunities
for learning and development.

3. Millennials don't want bosses ― they want coaches.

The role of an old-style boss is command and control. Millennials care about having managers who can coach them,
who value them as both people and employees, and who help them understand and build their strengths.

Millennials work best in groups, not in a hierarchy. And they definitely prefer to be mentored rather than directly
supervised.

An easy way to be a coach is to focus on empowerment. Explain a goal, give some basic structure, and then give the
employee the freedom to come up with solutions. People care more when they feel responsible -- and when they feel
they have the authority that comes with that responsibility. Leaders must understand and leverage the strength of these
employees in working as part of a team, as this can lead to exceptional innovation through collaboration.

4. Millennials don't want annual reviews ― they want ongoing conversations.

The way millennials communicate ― texting, tweeting, Skype, etc. ― is now real-time and continuous. This
dramatically affects the workplace because millennials are accustomed to constant communication and feedback.
Annual reviews no longer work.

Focus on face time. Hold regular meetings. Give constant feedback. Interact as often as you can, and create
opportunities for employees to interact at work, whether on projects, cross-departmental teams, etc.

Ask for input. And make sure that occasionally, the input focuses on you -- what you could do better and how you
could be a better leader for that particular employee.

Create connections outside of work. Many Millennials see the workplace not just as a place to work but also as
a platform for social activities. Friendships and connections that extend outside the workplace create greater
engagement and teamwork within the workplace.

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5. Millennials don't want to fix their weaknesses ― they want to develop their strengths.

Weaknesses never develop into strengths, while strengths develop infinitely. Organizations shouldn't ignore
weaknesses. Rather, they should minimize weaknesses and maximize strengths. They should make strengths-based
cultures, or they won't attract and keep their stars.

6. It's not just my job ― it's my life.

Everyone in the world wants a good job. This is especially true for millennials. More so than ever in the history of
corporate culture, employees are asking, "Does this organization value my strengths and my contribution? Does this
organization give me the chance to do what I do best every day?" Because for millennials, a job is no longer just a
job ― it's their life as well. Organization needs to consider this requirement of Millennials.

Top Companies Best practices for Millennials

The top employers have focus on education, working mothers, work-life balance, compensation, and giving back.

1. Northrop Grumman: Compensation and work/life balance were cited as the most attractive reasons to work there.

2. Discover Financial Services: It offers qualified U.S. based employees a full-ride online bachelor’s degree. With
rising tuition costs, this could be a huge hit among potential employees.

3. Kaiser Permanente: It takes healthcare seriously, providing more than just sick care. Employees benefit
from farmers market onsite at selection locations.

4. Delta: Its employees can take advantage of worldwide travel on the house with all the destinations Delta flies to.

5. Southwest Airlines: It offers the same travel benefit that its competitor Delta does, they also offer a Profit Sharing
plan. In fact, Southwest Airlines was the first in the airline industry to do so.

6. Apple: They have recently launched an in-house healthcare program bringing medical staff onto their own payroll
exclusively to care for Apple employees.

7. Pfizer Inc.: Like Southwest Airlines, Pfizer offers both a pension plan and profit sharing.

8. Capital One: employees are working on new challenges rather than being stagnant. Capital One was also
recognized on the 2017 working mother top 100 Best companies list. Employee aren't limited to a single team or line
of business. Curiosity and growth mindset are fostered, different internal jobs allocated to expand skills, learning about
other parts of the business is encouraged.

9. EY: They have been known to have a focus on their employees. They also provide ample opportunity to employees
to have global experiences.

10. The Dow Chemical Company: One of the highest on employee compensation. Despite what some may claim
about which benefits millennials value most, compensation is still very high on the list.

Future challenges

The generational shifts have dictated a reevaluation of the applicability of many of our classic leadership approaches
how they might be useful in leading the newest generation of organizational entrants. Researchers need to develop
new leadership theories for the latest organizational entrants.

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 Conclusion
All organizations need strong leaders in order to be successful. A well-designed leadership pipeline to lead millennials
is the key to identifying, attracting, filling, and retaining corporate leadership.

Organizations need to provide:

 More stimulating work environments for developing talent.
 Good financial rewards
 Enhanced workplace culture; where businesses and their senior management are diverse, and when the
workplace offers higher degrees of flexibility.
 Opportunity to increase interpersonal skills, confidence and ethical behavior along with technical skills—all
of which are essential for a business to be successful.

The organizations should shift it’s motives from inordinately focusing on making profit to balancing social concerns,
and to be more diverse, flexible, nurturing of and generous with its employees. Those organizations that are able to
deliver likely will attract and retain the best millennial employees and potentially strengthen their prospects for long-
term success.

References
1. https://elearningindustry.com/leading-millennials-vs-managing-difference-matters
2. https://www.business.com/articles/how-are-companies-changing-their-culture-to-attract-and-retain-
millennials/
3. https://www.inc.com/craig-bloem/what-great-leaders-know-about-leading-millennials.html
4. https://news.gallup.com/reports/189830/e.aspx
5. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236363/millennials-jobs-promote.aspx
6. https://donofrioconsultingpartners.com/2016/10/01/are-current-leadership-theories-relevant-to-millennials/
7. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kaytiezimmerman/2018/09/12/here-are-the-best-companies-for-
millennials/#7f20b0253783
8. White paper on Building a Leadership pipeline-insights.
9. An Oracle White Paper (June 2012)-Seven Steps for Effective Leadership Development
10. Leading Millennials in the Workplace: Recruitment, Retention and Integration: Exploratory Paper-Andrew
T. Smith, MHA, FACMPE (September 14, 2016)
11. Organizational Behavior: Stephen P. Robbins, Timothy A. Judge, Neharika Vohra

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