Last week I had the honor of being a guest on “The Cycle” on MSNBC to talk about the launch of my new book, Becoming the Boss: New Rules for the Next Generation of Leaders. Right before we went on the air, one of the hosts asked me if I thought Dark Vader was an effective leader (my answer: Yoda was better). This set the tone for a fun discussion, as you can see from the video below.
My favorite part of the discussion was around the issue of Millennials’ “entitlement.” That word comes up a lot when discussing this generation and — as I say in this interview — I think it’s a tired argument. Millennials are our current and future leaders and it’s beyond time to stop bashing them.
However, there is a lot of evidence, including The Hartford’s 2014 Millennial Leadership Survey (on which I was a collaborator), stating that Millennials do have a lot of confidence. According to The Hartford’s survey, 83 percent of Millennials already feel like leaders today, even if they aren’t yet in a formal leadership position.
On the flip side, the same study found that Millennials are craving training and development. Yes, they have the confidence to be leaders, but they also know they need some support and guidance. Millennials said employers can demonstrate their investment in Gen Y as future leaders by offering training and development (50 percent), a clear career path (35 percent), and ongoing coaching and feedback (34 percent).
My belief is that once we combine Millennials’ natural confidence with significant training in leadership skills (such as communication, people management and strategic thinking), this generation will be unstoppable.
What do you think?
