The Millennial Whisperer

Generations Defined

• Baby Boomers: Born 1946-1964
  • Loyal employees;
  • Feel privileged to have a job, are willing to put in the work and time to get a pension and earn a “gold watch”;
  • Often difficult for them to recognize/endorse workplace trends of younger employees (job-hopping, etc.);
  • Often have difficulty demonstrating vulnerability in front of employees;
  • Ideologically, however, what Boomers are looking for is not that far off from what Millennials are looking for.
• Generation X: Born 1965-1980
  • Often more of a differential between Millennials and Generation X;
  • X’ers believe “you never stop working” -- working late is social currency;
  • They experienced big recessions (both firsthand and through their parents), so they believe it’s up to them to earn their keep in the world; 
  • They “drop their feelings at the door”;
  • Loyalty is high.
• Millennials: Born 1981-1996
  • What are they looking for? Pay & benefits (like everyone else), but also a positive work culture and work flexibility;
  • Really more like two different generations under the Millennial name, based loosely around when they adopted technology and when the recession of 2008 hit them/their parents;
  • The older “Oregon Trail” Millennials – had beepers, not cellphones in college and experienced the 2008 recession firsthand, in the workplace;
  • The younger “Snapchat” Millennials – were given smartphones as tweens and experienced the 2008 recession via their parents.
• Generation Z: Born after 1997

The Impact of Millennials

• It’s a two-way street: there are certain things that Millennials can learn from Baby Boomers and Gen X’ers and vice versa.
• For the first time ever, you’ve got a generation that will walk unless you start meeting them on their own terms.

Millennial Stereotypes

• “Lazy”, “entitled”, “needy” – and there’s an element of truth in all!
• All human beings have a need for connection: to fit in, to be loved and to be accepted – and for the first time we have a generation that is looking for these things at work, the place where they spend the majority of their days.
• That Millennial need for connection is often satisfied with workplace rewards and recognition.
• The fact of the matter is, Millennials ARE a product of “helicopter” parents and “participation trophies”, but they are also a product of what social media has done to ALL of us – we are all fueled and recognized by social media likes, etc.
• As a result, for the benefit of Millennials – and all of us, really – leaders need to create an environment where there’s an underlying feeling of empathy and caring.

What Millennials Want from Leadership

• Inspirational leadership
• Autonomy
• Transparency
• Continuous Learning

What Allows Generations to Thrive

• It’s The Culture, Not The Cereal Bar! 
• Connection is critical – follow your people on social media to foster/create that connection. Also: conduct monthly one-on-ones with your people – can be fifteen minutes, can be five minutes, ask them how they are doing. 
• Without building these kinds of connections, your Millennials will quit.

The Millennial Leadership Assessment

• Much of “The Millennial Whisperer” book focuses on leadership.
• A leader’s ability to be inspirational can be difficult for that leader to assess – that’s why Mr. Tuff developed The Millennial Leadership Assessment in conjunction with Vanderbilt University.
• This assessment is a critical element used in Mr. Tuff’s corporate workshops.

Resources

• Millennials will surpass Baby Boomers in numbers by the end of 2019
• By 2025 Millennials will comprise three-quarters of the global workforce
• The Deloitte Global Millennial Survey 2019

Chris Tuff: Backstory

• Degree in Human and Organizational Development from Vanderbilt University
• Began career as a Copywriter (and then Founder and Trendspotter/Sunao Department) at Moxie Interactive

• Currently serves as the EVP, Director of Content Marketing and Partnerships at 22squared

Contact

• Chris Tuff: chris@themillennialwhisperer.com
• The Millennial Whisperer website