One of
the most frequent questions I receive from law firm leaders today is "how
should I manage this new generation?"
The
Millennial Generation (born from 1981-2000) have been entering the workforce
for more than a decade now. Baby Boomer and Generation X leaders are sometimes
perplexed with this tech-savvy, multi-tasking and ambitious group of
professionals.
Who are the Millennials?
The
Millennial Generation are said to be "trophy kids" raised by
"helicopter parents." Their parents — often Generation Xers who grew
up as "latchkey kids" with two working parents or a single working
parent — tend to compensate for their lack of available parents by becoming
very involved in their child’s activities. Millennials are used to having a
parent "helicopter" in to save the day, whether it is forgetting
their lunch at school or, as I have heard, appearing alongside their child at
their first job interview.
Afraid
of communicating a negative self-image, parents of Millennials made sure that
everyone is a winner in childhood competitions, so everyone gets a trophy in
youth sports and activities. This is the "E" generation — a
generation with high expectations of themselves and their workplace; a
generation that feels entitled to a wide range of benefits from society and a
generation that is highly enthusiastic about work and life.
For
Millennials, work is not a place to go; rather it is a thing to do (and
something that can be done anywhere, from home to Starbucks to the office).
More than other generations, they will surf jobs to be open to new
opportunities. In general, they have a distaste for menial work and red tape.
While they crave feedback, they have difficulties with conflict and negative
feedback. "Paying your dues" is something your grandfather did at
work, and is not for them. One HR manager told me: "Some Millennials seem
to want to fit their work around their personal life, and not the other way
around."
Despite
these negative stereotypes, Milliennials have a lot to offer their employers.
In school, they were subjected to years of group projects, resulting in better
teamwork and collaboration skills than prior generations. They are highly
networked, skilled at using social and virtual networks to accomplish goals.
They are optimistic about the future. They want to save the world and focus
their altruism through volunteerism, pro bono work and philanthropy.
Perhaps
the most vexing characteristic of this generation to law firm leaders is their
attitudes and behaviors at work. To some Baby Boomer and Gen X managers,
Millennials have appeared unengaged with work, aloof and entitled. These issues
often arise around the issue of work/life balance. Millennials are perceived by
Baby Boomers (who are sometimes seen as workaholics) and Gen Xers (who felt
like they had to work hard to compete with Boomers) managers as wanting too
much life balance and not enough work.
How to Manage Millennials
The
goal in managing Millennials is to help them find the balance they seek while
getting work done (and done well). Here are some tips on managing Millennials:
1. Be the leader. Have a clear
vision of the future for your team. Clearly communicate expectations to every
team member. Give very specific direction, especially for new team members.
Focus on encouraging positive behavior and attitudes. Don’t forget your role as
a mentor.
2. Give meaning to work. Demonstrate
how work makes a difference to clients, the firm and the community. Communicate
the why, not just the how. Find ways for your team to give back,
including group volunteer or pro bono projects.
3. Give feedback. Develop a team
culture where constructive feedback among all team members is the norm. Don’t
wait until the annual review to give feedback. Integrate feedback into your
daily management routine.
4. Share power. Respect their ideas and
contribution. Find ways to give them a say in decisions and access to
management without abdicating your role as leader. Focus on participatory
leadership without making it a democracy.
5. Provide a clear path for advancement.
Provide options to advance in the department. Illustrate a career path. Promote
from within as much as possible. Support learning opportunities, including LMA
and industry conference participation. Open the doors for experiential and
on-the-job training in other disciplines.
6. Reward and encourage. Understand
what motivates each individual team member and find ways to reward her or his
effort and results with personalized rewards. Focus on performance-based
incentives such as time off, sports or concert tickets, additional training or
conference attendance. Reward performance publicly and with fairness. How you
reward people should reflect the values of the team and firm.
7. Be flexible. Understand that how the world
works is changing and be open to flexible work arrangements. Focus on the
quality and completion of projects, not location. Understanding that
face-to-face time is important in many jobs, be clear with team members what is
negotiable and what is not regarding work location.
8. Encourage team work. Millennials
will naturally want to work in small groups. Communicate that it is OK to work
in groups, with certain parameters, such as deadlines, work quality and
accountability. Be clear with the limits you set. Find a conference room or
other shared space reserved for team work. Track contribution to team work and
give feedback to both under contributors and over contributors.
9. Create community. Millennials
look to work as a social outlet. Find time and ways for team members to get to
know each other on a personal level. Bring back the monthly team lunches, go
bowling or skiing together, take the team to happy hour to celebrate a team
success. Have fun.
10. Leverage their strengths. Look to the
Millennials on your team to tackle technology-oriented projects such as
coaching lawyers on how to use LinkedIn or Twitter. Let them use their extensive
network to build relationships with peers in client industry associations. Plug
into their altruistic nature to lead firm volunteer and pro bono
efforts.
For
Millennials who want to succeed in a Boomer and X’er dominated work place,
consider this advice:
1. Learn the language of success.
Understand the "optics" of your behavior, including use of
smartphones, how you dress, when you arrive and leave work. Showing old
fashioned manners, listening carefully and being grateful will earn points with
Boomers.
2. Use your strengths. Find ways to
leverage technology to do your job more effectively and efficiently. Be a
leader in your firm and the community.
3. Build your network. Tap into your
network to make introductions to others for business development.
4. Show initiative and autonomy. Most jobs
don’t have a definitive checklist or path to get the "A." It is
better to try and fail (and learn from your mistakes) than not to take any
action at all. Communicate often and ask questions.
5. Realize that constructive feedback is a gift. Welcome
feedback to improve your performance and career options. Don’t take it
personally.
Whenever
a new generation enters the workplace, a shift occurs. How people get work done
changes. The entrance of this generation will be no different. How law firm
leaders manage these enthusiastic, optimistic and ambitious employees will
determine whether their teams succeed.
Mark
Beese is President of Leadership for Lawyers, LLC. He helps lawyers and law
firm leaders become more effective leaders and business developers through
consultation, training and coaching. Mark may be reached at [email protected].
Originally published in ALM’s Marketing
the Law Firm Newsletter, July 2012. www.leadershipforlawyers.com.
