The conversation about Gen Y and their habits never stops. There is always someone out to bash them and then there is always someone ready to stand-up for them. Over at Fast Company there was a great article from the CEO of Do Something, Nancy Lublin. Nancy discusses how she is proud that most of her staff at Do Something are made up of this generation. The real trick she says is not about trying to change or convert them to your habits but learn how to exploit what they are great at.”The very same characteristics that are frequently maligned are the very qualities that make millennials awesome employees.” Nancy says.
Nancy notes 4 key characteristics that make Generation Y awesome:
1. Multi-tasking: “Where I make a list and slowly cross things off one at a time, Aria Finger, Do Something’s 27-year-old rock-star COO, will sit in front of three screens (two PC, one iPhone) and plow through three times as many tasks in the same amount of time.”
2. Lack of boundaries: “For instance, when our summer intern tweets and Facebooks about something he achieved at work, that’s free marketing for Do Something to the 1,500 people in his immediate network.”
3. Self-confidence: “Earlier this year, Melanie Stevenson, who does business development at Do Something and is all of 26, walked up to me and said, “I’d like to expand us to five international markets by the end of this year.” Awesome. Bold. Audacious. Every employer should want a dozen Melanies working for them.”
4. Entitlement: “We should give feedback more than once a year in a stilted annual performance review. If your people aren’t worthy of praise, get rid of them. If they deserve praise, then be generous with it. Praise is one of the most affordable tools out there: It’s free!”
It’s great to see someone embracing the fact that with young people come these traits. Forget fighting it, learn to look at these things as opportunities for your company and figure out how to leverage them. If you stop resisting change and instead look to work with it you will end up with a lot fewer headaches.
