Millennial Leadership: The New Mindset
Boomer and Millennial Views
Presented by Professor David Buisson and Rowan Grant

Contrasting worlds:
‘Boomer’ experience and ‘Millennial’ ideals

Who are the Millennials?
The Millennials
Ethnically Diverse
Team Players
Optimistic
Rule Followers
Socially Responsible
Well Educated
Achievement Oriented
Source: Howe and Strauss, 2000. Boston College, 2012
Introducing the Generations: ‘Millennials’ and their ‘Boomer’ parents

Boomer Leaders Millennial Leaders
Big Business Micro Enterprise
Financial Growth Growth of Impact
Individualism Collaboration
Shareholder Value Shared Value
Millennial Leadership styles:
Different to ‘Boomers’, and sometimes in conflict

•Thinking globally
•Building alliances and
partnerships
•Cross cultural diversity
•Technological savvy
•Sharing leadership
•Learning agility
Managers of today: Leading through the ‘perpetual whitewater’

1880
1980
1990
2010
Industrial
Revolution
Computer
Revolution
Internet
Revolution
Information
Revolution
Participative
Revolution
2020
The Information Revolution was so last decade:
Welcome to the Participative Revolution

Intelligence
It's dangerous to follow dumb people.
Courage
People won’t follow you when you’re hiding behind them.
Restlessness
‘He who follows the status quo shall become great’ #said.no.one.ever
Plato’s three attributes of Leadership:
More relevant today than at any other time in history

Millennial Leaders are those who
drive change through their use of
cutting-edge technology.
Millennial Leaders participate in
solving local and global challenges.
- José María Álvarez-Pallete, COO Telefonica
Characteristics of a Millennial Leader
Passionate
Restless
Collaborative
Socially Responsible
Technically Savvy
Adaptable
Willing to Improve
Millennial Leadership:
A mindset for the 21st Century, not just a birthdate

•Why leadership and followership have changed over time
•Cultural evolution and technological revolution
•The balance of power between leaders and followers has shifted—with leaders becoming weaker and followers stronger.
Leadership into Followership:
Today’s management must change with it

•Millennials need help from other generations
What’s Required?
•Leadership assignments, training and coaching
•Assignment rotation (12- 24mths)
•The Corporate Lattice
Millennials want leadership: But we know we aren’t ready for it

- Julian Birkinshaw, London Business School
What would management look like if we defined it around the needs, fears and aspirations of our employees?
Employee-centred Management: Changing the culture of leadership in organisations

Positive Deviance: Spotting hidden innovations in development work.
Finding the positive deviant:
How to grow with them
•Somewhere in your organisation, groups of people are already doing things differently and better.
•To create lasting change, find areas of positive deviance and fan their flames.

The Participative Revolution: Awakening latent talents

Organisations must embrace openness, diversity and inclusion to
attract and retain top talent.
Millennials’ values:
Open, transparent and innovative leadership

© 2010, Future Workplace
FutureWorkplace: Working side by side in 2020.
90m
70m
50m
30m
10m
TRADITIONALISTS
BABY BOOMERS
GENERATION X
MILLENNIALS
GEN 2020
>1946 >1964 >1976 >1997 1997 - ?
???
1997 - ?
Five Generations in the workplace:
Is your organisation prepared to manage expectations?