Dive Brief:
- A study released by Future Workplace, an executive development firm, shows that a growing number of Millennials are managing Gen X and Baby Boomer professionals, according to an article at HR.BLR.
- "The Multi-Generational Leadership" study, which had 5,771 participants, also found that this shift in leadership might not be a good thing. For example, 83% of respondents have seen Millennials managing Gen X and Baby Boomers, yet 45% of Baby Boomers and Gen Xers believe Millennials’ lack of managerial experience could negatively impact an employer's culture.
- While 44% of Millennials view themselves as being the "most capable generation" to lead in the workplace, only 14% of all participants agreed, HR.BLR reported.
Dive Insight:
“As more Baby Boomers retire, millennials are moving into leadership positions and are faced with managing older generations, which they were never trained to do,” Dan Schawbel, partner and research director at Future Workplace, told HR.BLR.
Schawbel, the New York Times bestselling author of Promote Yourself, added that “millennials need to respect and support the needs and careers of Gen X and Baby Boomers if they want to learn, develop, and eventually become the executives corporate America requires to move forward.”
What can employers do? One thing might be to boost mentoring and leadership programs for those ascending Millennials. Yet, while 89% of survey respondents said that "building strong leadership skills" is important to them, only 47% work for employers who actually have mentorship programs to support their leadership development -- a clear disconnect.
