Millennials in the professional world have been a hot topic for the past few years. It seems every second or third article online discusses how to communicate with them, what they seek in an employer and what gets them operating at their peak potential.
It makes sense, with more and more of them piling into the workforce, managers and leaders are trying to get a grasp on how to best handle this generation.
But, isn’t classifying millennials, or any generation for that matter, and acting as though they all follow the same set of rules and behaviors just like any other stereotype that needs to be dumped?
Your focus should not be on building a team or company that a single, monolithic blob of people are attracted to or want to join.
Why?
Well, it doesn’t make much sense.
Let’s face it. Every individual in every generation is different. You may have two people in different generations who have more in common than two other people in the same generation. You can’t simply label and identify individuals under a singular umbrella and expect them to adhere to a certain set of beliefs, principles, or behaviors just because an article that popped up on your Facebook feed told you so. If you do, you’ll likely find yourself blindsided by the results.
Instead, focus on building an environment that you want to be a part of, and then recruit people, from all generations, who fit that culture. That’s how you build a fast-growing company.
[bctt tweet=”The more you try to fit people into a mold, the more resistance you’ll run into, because each individual is unique.” username=”EngageColleen”]
And, you can only truly gauge their strengths, weaknesses and general behaviors by interacting with them and getting to know them.
Isn’t that the time-tested approach we should operate under, rather than following assumptions and stereotypes?
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