Millennial workforce problem solving skills
Millennials today do not follow the apprentice style of learning. When I am working with companies and seeing some of the ‘problems’ that millennials cause in the workplace they have more to due with management changes that need to be made then changes to those being led. The leadership/management of older generations want millennials to learn by watching and then doing exactly that, as they learned. I want to go further into leadership with a later article but today lets focus on problem solving habits with this leadership method in mind.
We as the younger generation go online for everything from learning how to build all the way to learning how to solve. This has created many individuals who do not focus on the problem but go only towards the answer or many answers to that problem. The management teams (by far not always leadership) try to control or tell those under them how and what to do as the old style permitted. This creates a huge separation from what millennials want to do, FIND THE SOLUTION THEIR WAY.
We are not blacksmiths in the middle ages where technology stayed very consistent for long periods of time with little change in how things are done. Companies are switching software and other tools used day to day trying to find the best fit for the startup or smaller sized company. With this change comes new problems, one being managers not knowing the new tools fully while passing on an outdated working model to an employee that found a better way faster wont be listened to or implement (yes the manager could be a millennial with an ego as well). I am sorry to say but we as millennials are the worst people to treat as if we will fall inline. Most of us are not even after large amounts of money or money at all but experiences traveling the world, meeting new people, and having a meaningful work environment. I have seen in a number of situations that the technology changes but startups or small companies do not have the leadership skills to listen and they just force employees into doing what they have always done. The employees have no voice, they get disgruntled and they leave for greener pastures at a new company. We have to listen to those younger people in our organizations and realize that they may know the answer before leadership or management, that is perfectly fine, put that ego away and implement it.
Millennials its now your turn to really listen, ‘you don’t always know what is best for the company or look into the future for longterm affects your solutions may have.’ Work harder at perfecting these skills, if you step up and say something should be done a certain way, you better be able to back that up with solid reasons.
Does this describe all millennials? NO, some of us are complete idiots that have no idea how to do anything but isn’t that true with all generations really?
Remember this management, you did hire these employees. If they are bringing down your organization not being able to have an input only get coffee and mess up on, well everything, then change up how you hire.
We hire the way we do for those below us to step up and manage or lead someday, as Steve Jobs said “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” I think we can take a lot from that statement to stop only looking at the problem, start to force ourselves into only looking at the solutions! Millennials can solve ploblems, we dont need the solution spelled out, trust us to find it.
