RECAP: Millennials - Hold onto your Hats

RECAP: Millennials - Hold onto your Hats - Learn how to Lead and Work with the Next Generation with Passion and Purpose
By Terry Dear

On February 21, 2019, WITI Orange County hosted Susan Inouye, Executive Coach/Bestselling Author in Leadership Development and Organizational Change, to speak to a group of 60+ men and women about working and leading the next generation.

Millennials, by one definition, is the population between 20 and 38 years old. They are the generation that saw their parents get laid off and jobs outsourced to other countries. They are the generation that saw the Internet boom. They are also called the 'entitled generation' as parents raised this generation to follow their dreams since 'company loyalty' no longer has any business meaning.

Millennials are considered a frustrating group of individuals to work with. They question everything and immediately want a seat at the decision-making table. They are the first generation that did not have to go through authority to get information so they view authority differently. Not every organization wants to learn how to work with Millennials. I was talking to a homebuilder corporation executive who stated that they don't go out of their way to hire Millennials. Why change our management style?

Why should we care about working with Millennials? Susan talked about the three drivers behind the 21st Century LeaderShifts . (Yes... Leadership is modified to LeaderShifts.) In a nutshell, ONE, millennials are the next generation of leaders. TWO, technology and business are moving in dog years with the business edge constantly being redefined - business leaders have to stay ahead of the curve. THREE, the 4th Industrial Revolution is here with robots replacing people. What do you have that robots do not?

Susan then proceeded to educate and engage us on the five simple LeaderShifts using real life case studies and group activities. The LeaderShifts are 5 simple statements but they carry a lot of weight. The LeaderShifts are based on a proven inner-city millennial youth "Gift-Centered Approach" developed by Tony LoRe, founder and CEO of the Youth Mentoring Connection. This method is at the heart of Tony's leadership approach called Sawubona (Zulu for "I see you").

I am about to share the five LeaderShifts. All I can say, is that you'll have to engage Susan to fully understand and embrace what is the "Gift-Centered Approach." A gift is what we were born to bring into this world. It is what we naturally do, exceptionally well. A 'strength' is something that we must work hard at to be competent in.

Five LeaderShifts
- From Control to CONNECT & RECEIVE
- From Conformity to SEE & ACCEPT
- From Expectations to INTENTIONS
- From Authority to AUTHENTICITY
- From Bottom-line Myopia to BELONGING

Intellect is no longer enough to be a successful leader. Robots may have taken away our intelligence strength. But that is only 1/3 of our innate abilities. As humans, we still have our heart and body for emotional and somatic intelligence. How you connect and receive, see and accept, define your intentions while being authentic, and create belonging (for all) is important for leaders and workers to survive and work in the upcoming years of the 21st century.

Susan Inouye is the author of Leaderships' Perform Storm: What Millennials Are Teaching Us about Possibilities, Passion and Purpose. Susan's focus is on Coaching to Transform for Lasting Change. More information can be found at https://susaninouye.com.

Opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of WITI.