Jennifer GreenmanMillennials are the fastest growing segment of workforce and have proven their mettle as individual contributors and managers. Are organizations ready to reinvent themselves in order to be lead by the millennial enterprise leaders?
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Transcript
Sanjog Aul:
Hello and welcome to this segment on CIO Talk Network. To learn more, please visit www.ciotalknetwork.com, and as always, we invite you to join the discussion on Twitter and look for this show as #millennial and #leadership. Today’s topic is the The Millennial Enterprise Leader, and we have Jennifer Greenman, who is the Vice President and Chief Information Officer with Moffitt Cancer Center. Hello, Jennifer, how are you?
Jennifer Greenman:
I’m wonderful. Thank you for the opportunity to attend your show today.
Sanjog Aul:
Great and it would be, it’s a privilege to have someone like you who’s at the cusp of Gen X and millennials, as we were talking before we got started, to have someone like you to join us and share your views on what does it take to become a millennial enterprise leader, and to just set the stage, we know that millennials have been the fastest growing segment of the workforce, and they’ve also proven their mettle as individual contributors as well as managers. So now the next step is for us to start seeing that, are we going to pave the way for them to become the leaders? And if yes, how? And what are they supposed to be doing as a generation, as individuals, to step up to the plate and take that role? So that said, the first question for you, Jennifer, is we know they have, that the millennials have really proven themselves. They have different ways of doing things, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t delivered. Now they are supposed to be getting to the next level. Are they ready? Are they at a point where they are even thinking that they have to assume the other role of a leader?
Jennifer Greenman:
So, I guess in my own personal and professional experience, the answer to your question as to whether they’re ready is a confident yes, this position, in my opinion, is well positioned, or excuse me, this generation is well positioned for success given the environment that they were educated and trained in. This is a generation that was raised to be comfortable with tools and processes that are inherently very collaborative and very engaging. So I think keys to their success in the future will be the ability to adapt their leadership style to a broad spectrum of personalities, backgrounds, and motivations that they will be both leading and interacting with at an organizational level. One example that comes to mind is as it relates to communications, that’s something that’s obviously an essential success factor for any leader, and when you look at the preferences across your workforce, as my workforce today, there are some employees who prefer all of their communications, whether they be synchronous or asynchronous-based communications, to be electronic, and really, for the most part, don’t necessarily want to have one-on-one interactions on a very frequent basis. Other employees would be comfortable— would be very uncomfortable if certain discussions were not handled directly and in person.
Jennifer Greenman:
So I think, for a millennial leader, it’s going to be essential that they be able to adapt their approach and understand what the preferences are of their workforce and be able to adapt their approach accordingly. Having been raised with email and instant messaging and social media, millennials may be inclined toward electronic communications but really do need to be sensitive and adaptive to the preferences of others, as well as very effective at both preparing and delivering in-person communications when appropriate.
Sanjog Aul:
So based on your response, you’ve given a response which says, “I should have,” or “should do this.” And, that’s something which we start doing to anyone, they kind of cease to blossom. So is this coming from inside out, or are we trying to set expectations for them which is going against their DNA? And when we do that, then we kind of demote them from a person who has potential to become a leader to become a manager.
Jennifer Greenman:
So I think that, it’s going to be essential for for them to for a millennial leader to be successful, I think it will be essential for them to be able to adapt to the needs of the workforce they’re leading and the institution that they are a part of. Now, they absolutely will have an integral role in evolving the culture that exists within that institution, but it’s going to be essential that they also be able to be flexible and work with, again, the individuals throughout their organization to be able to, advance and enable their success.
Sanjog Aul:
So, if you were to validate for us, so when I personally talk to millennials and as I at least hear, and I’m not going to generalize it, there are people of all different personalities, they are looking at things which is more inside out versus a leader is supposed to be someone who is looking at outside in and is always to be not not servant leader all the time, but someone who understands more other people versus seeking to be understood. Would you think that can be fundamentally removed for them to, it’s almost like shedding a skin for you to grow a new one because that’s the DNA?
Jennifer Greenman:
Well, that is true. I mean, I think that, again, in order to be successful, that any leader, whether they be a millennial, Gen X, baby boomer, is going to have to be able to take the perspective and be very, externally focused to to understand what the external business environment and the factors that are changing the business or the industry that they’re a part of, but also be able to have an appreciation for and evolve with the trends that are shaping both their business as well as their internal workplace dynamics. So again, I think I would go back to I think that that skill that you described is a very necessary and essential skill for any leader, and certainly for millennials to be successful is something that they will have to adopt and embrace.
Sanjog Aul:
So when we say the word again, have to, and which is understood, and they will see that either they do it or they would lead a life, but not the life that they wanted. With that said, many times people kind of struggle, and if that is a struggle, if you were to come in as their mentor or someone who’s going to groom a millennial enterprise leader, what would be your advice to them?
Jennifer Greenman:
So I think, kind of as we discussed before, the characteristics of successful millennial leaders in today’s workplace are not very different from those, in my opinion, of other generations. So, being very action-oriented, adaptive as we’ve discussed, the ability to build effective teams and also to define and execute on a vision. Those are all essential success factors. I think millennials do have an advantage in these traits, again, because their education and their early professional experience has been very much tailored to these, modern business imperatives. The disadvantage, of course, that millennials face is a lack of real or perceived experience, especially the type of experience that more senior leaders may consider important when it comes to things like hiring and promotions. This is especially true in an industry like in information technology where longevity of experience and connections are often valued over education. So how can millennials overcome this? A few pieces of advice I would suggest would be first and foremost to seek rich opportunities to distinguish distinguish themselves early in their role. For example, by participating on multidisciplinary teams or projects or requesting additional responsibilities, particularly those that will provide visibility at the executive level.
Jennifer Greenman:
Those are really great opportunities to define themselves and position themselves as leaders in the face of the organization. I would say second, and this is probably more of my own personal advice, but I think it’s an important one, is to always always be prepared when given leadership exposure. So, always have well thought out, well developed presentations. Consider in advance what questions, what concerns may be raised, and be prepared to address those. Third, I would say to constantly seek professional development and educational opportunities. So, not just conferences and training, but the wealth of articles, web presentations and content, networking events that exist today, particularly within the information technology industry, and then last but certainly not least, cultivate a formal or informal mentor relationship. In my own experience, my own career progression has been entirely supported by leaders who really helped me advance through effective coaching and giving me promotional opportunities that maybe I wasn’t entirely ready for, but I really they were wonderful opportunities and gave me a chance to evolve my own career in a very rapid way.
Sanjog Aul:
So if you were to compare a boot camp created for others versus millennials, would you see a distinctive, characteristic of a boot camp which is specifically created for millennials? Because all the things that you suggested they should do, they are the right suggestions. Would something change in the implementation? Because you’re telling them to do exactly the same thing which we heard when we were growing up and we were supposed to become leaders.
Jennifer Greenman:
I think the nature of some of those strategies may be somewhat adapted for a millennial, again, when you look at, for example, professional development opportunities that exist, almost all the things that I do personally, and I’m sure many of my colleagues, many of my, team members do today, are online-based and very interactive, very engaging. I’m not necessarily one who would want to go sit for 2 days in a meeting, but I will very actively participate in online and forums, online, presentations, anything that will, basically let me sort of drive the timing and structure and delivery of the information that I’m receiving to advance my own knowledge. So I think that the overall to your point, the overall strategies are probably very similar, but I think the nature of how they’re delivered, how we interact with them, is going to be a little different for today’s workplace and particularly for millennials.
Sanjog Aul:
So, if you were to look at the tendencies, would you, and please confirm this for me, is there more autonomy expected and requested out of any environment that a millennial would work in?
Jennifer Greenman:
More economy requested?
Sanjog Aul:
Autonomy, autonomy.
Jennifer Greenman:
Autonomy, I’m sorry, autonomy. I think the answer, I think that from the millennial’s perspective, the answer is yes, or at least generally it’s going to be yes. I shouldn’t say that’s true 100% of the time, but I think that, Millennials often do feel very empowered, they have, throughout their lives been empowered and involved in decision-making, whether that be, at the family level growing up or in their education, and so I think that there is a strong desire and a very worthy desire, to be empowered and engaged in decision-making, but also be given a fair amount of independence and autonomy, as you say, to execute on the direction of the organization. So I think that is absolutely something that we as enterprise enterprise leaders need to be sensitive to, void micromanagement, to avoid, to really, avoid any sense or any instilling any sense of anything that would undermine a millennial leader or staff members feeling that they are empowered to execute, to drive success within their areas of responsibility.
Sanjog Aul:
Let’s take a quick break, listeners. We’ll be right back, and let’s look at this thought about if you wanted to go so somewhere fast, you would want to go alone, but if you want to go far, you’ll take other people along. Let’s talk this in context of the millennials. How are they? How accepting are they to this fact? Because that’s one of the traits of a leader that the person will take you along. So when we spoke about the word autonomy, let’s build on it. Does autonomy mean just let me do the job my way and I would want to work independently for me to deliver? Or are they saying, Give me the autonomy, I will lead the troops.
Sanjog Aul:
Please stay tuned, listeners, we’ll be right back.
Speaker C:
Today, enterprise technology is both strategic and global. Each week on CTN CIO Talk Network, IT thought leaders from around the world share their experience with listeners as they discuss with Sanjog Aul how they are trimming costs and partnering with business to innovate and help IT become more competitive. Better care for customers, and improve the corporate bottom line. If you want to keep up with IT thought leadership, listen to CTN, CIO Talk Network with Sunjogal at ciotalknetwork.com. You are listening to CTN, CIO Talk Network with Sunjogal. To learn more about our program, please visit ciotalknetwork.com. Now back to the show.
Sanjog Aul:
Welcome back. So Jennifer, when we look at leadership trait, which primarily is inclusive. So you have to take people along and even individual contributors and managers, you for the most part may not be needing that skill, and in case of manager, perhaps, but coming to a leader, you definitely have to be inclusive. You have to understand other people better. You have to listen to them more and perhaps put their agenda before yours. That’s what a leader is supposed to be. Do you think that grooming of an individual contributor and a manager for a millennial is really preparing them to suddenly transform themselves into what is required of a leader in this context?
Jennifer Greenman:
I think so. I think that there are, certainly some professional development opportunities or professional development imperatives, if you will, necessary to help evolve an individual contributor’s perspective into a leader or even a manager into a leader, because those are also very different and distinct leadership traits required to be successful. I think, as it relates to millennials, when you talk about about the concept of team development and collaboration, both internally within their own department as well as across departments. I think that’s actually something that millennials are well suited for. Again, they’ve been educated in many cases, particularly if they went to business school or any other type of professionally oriented training. They are accustomed to working in teams to achieve a desired outcome. They are very likely early in their career working within teams in whatever professional environment or industry that they’re involved with. So I think that this is just a key part of the fabric of many of our younger workforce members is this concept of being collaborative and being team-oriented
Jennifer Greenman:
and that’s truly a great quality as we evolve our business. I think that the real opportunity that exists for the millennials or any relatively new leader is going to be connecting the work that they do, the work that they are responsible for with the overall strategy and mission of the organization. I think that’s the piece is sort of evolving that somewhat focused point of view into the broader organizational context. That is probably the really most important and in many cases challenging part of the evolution of a leader, and so that’s really where we as enterprise leaders have to focus our mentorship and our development for these emerging leaders is to help them evolve their way of thinking and their views into that organizational context. I’m fortunate in that I work for an extraordinarily mission-driven organization. So, we have all of our colleagues, leaders, and team members reinforce these values on a daily basis, the values of our institution. In an organization where the mission may not be as embedded into the institutional fabric, then the millennial leader really does have a responsibility and imperative to integrate this into their own approach.
Jennifer Greenman:
One example I can give you is, we I am the leader of information technology for a healthcare organization. So within my department, my team members do not deliver patient care or conduct research. However, we do interact constantly with physicians, nurses, researchers, and other employees who do deliver these essential and transformational services. So we have to be mindful that the work we do and the systems we develop and support directly impact the effectiveness of our clinicians and our researchers, and then in turn, the work that we do then has a direct impact on our patients and their families. So this is something that I as a leader have to constantly reinforce, and as well as all of my colleagues and all the leaders within my department. So we’re reminded both of the importance and the urgency of our responsibilities, as well as the fact that this is not a corporate objective, but really life-changing work that we do. I do think that this will be very valued and important for our millennial employees and leaders because, they often value a sense of purpose and fulfillment at the same or even greater level than things like financial compensation and benefits.
Sanjog Aul:
Now, when we talk about mentorship, so we always say that we all need to have mentors for us to move along. What value do you place for mentors and given millennials as the generation we’re talking here, what should be the type of mentorship they should be getting timely in order for them to kind of develop those traits which are essential to become leader?
Jennifer Greenman:
Sure. I think, as I mentioned earlier, for me personally, I feel that, mentorship has probably been the single most important and contributing factor to my own success. So, I absolutely encourage and embrace mentorship as an essential part of professional development. I think that, certainly, the opportunities for both routine coaching as well as more of the formal or even informal mentor type of role, it may vary based on the strengths of the individual that they are working with. I will say, though, in general, that one of the things I often see as an opportunity for many leaders, regardless of the age, is the ability to engage in constructive feedback feedback. So, for example, being able to identify when problems may exist, for example, and be able to address that in a very constructive and goal-oriented way with their own team member. So, I think that is an essential opportunity, and that’s something that millennials may not be comfortable with, particularly if they are in a situation where they’re having to deliver constructive feedback to someone of a different generation. So, I think that is an opportunity for engaging with a mentor, perhaps running different approaches by them, looking for both formal and informal resources to guide the delivery of constructive conversations.
Jennifer Greenman:
I think that is certainly one important aspect that any leader, but particularly new and emerging leaders, should be seeking assistance and guidance with.
Sanjog Aul:
Let’s talk about the social intelligence and the emotional intelligence. So these are the two areas which are essential competencies, if you will, or the DNA changes that are required for a leader to be effective. So let’s talk one at a time. So when we talk emotional intelligence, which requires you to kind of be mindful of where you are and who you’re talking to, what’s the environment, what in the heat of the moment, what are you supposed to do? Where do you see millennials gauging themselves or you as someone who’s perhaps working with them, gauge them overall?
Jennifer Greenman:
I think generally they’re millennials probably are as strong or stronger, than any other generation with respect to, emotional intelligence. I think it, as I mentioned previously, it comes back to the need for a millennial leader to understand the motivations of their employees regardless of what generation or background that they come from and tailor strategies to achieve these often individualized goals for their team members, or for that matter, other stakeholders, because obviously there is a great need for influence and engagement, both, with peers and colleagues as much as there is with staff.
Sanjog Aul:
So, when we look at the social intelligence part, so what you said about emotional intelligence does make sense where the people are, they’re gonna make an investment because they want to grow. When it comes to social intelligence, which is what do you say to who, what way does it get perceived, how are you seeing that particular competency being developed? Do you think they require, or anyone in their position would require, some support and/or mentorship, or is that something a nature versus a nurture issue?
Jennifer Greenman:
Well, I think that’s certainly a key part of mentorship and coaching is to help, evolve, consider different strategies, alternative approaches, provide perspective that is so valuable coming from a third party. I think it’s sometimes difficult to recognize in our own interactions with others where we are skilled and where we may have opportunities for improvement, and so getting that perspective from a mentor, from a coach, or someone else in a position to deliver that type of objective feedback is incredibly valuable.
Sanjog Aul:
Now, let’s talk about the type of people that may end up mentoring these millennials. So one is, of course, the person himself or herself chooses who they mentor within or outside the company, but if you’re going to have the organizational support, very likely you might get someone who may be a baby boomer or a Gen X or a different generation to come and share, and there is a perception, maybe that’s not reality, or there could be, is that many of them could have come from that command control type of approach. To how a person should be a leader. Do you think that’s gonna serve well, or is there a way by which even that mentorship can be tailored to support millennials’ natural DNA so that they’re not taken or groomed in the wrong direction?
Jennifer Greenman:
I think that so early on in their role, millennials will need to assess the preferences of their leader and tailor their own interactions accordingly, and again, I think that’s true at any leader, any staff member. What I have found most effective in my own background is actually engaging very directly with my leaders regarding their expectations for communications, escalations, schedules, prioritization, and any other topics. They seem to appreciate the opportunity to clarify these points, and I think it facilitates both trust and confidence, which is essential elements for success in any environment, and ideally, over time, this trust and confidence will result in greater independence and autonomy that is so important to the millennial workforce members.
Sanjog Aul:
Let’s take a quick break, listeners. We’ll be right back and try to explore the type of organizational setting that has to be created where millennial is more likely to thrive, because of course, when you bring a millennial into the organization or when they started somewhere, that could have been the point where they were just growing and, and/or developing their skills. It’s not that they’ll stop growing and developing their skills as a leader, but the environment does play a role. So if we want like that flower to blossom, what environment do we offer? Please stay tuned, listeners. We’ll be right back and explore.
Speaker C:
Today, enterprise technology is both strategic and global. Each week on CTN, CIO Talk Network, IT thought leaders from around the world share their experience with listeners as they discuss with Sanjog Aul how they are trimming costs and partnering with business to innovate and help IT become more competitive. Better care for customers, and improve the corporate bottom line. If you want to keep up with IT thought leadership, listen to CTN, CIO Talk Network with Sunjogal at ciotalknetwork.com. You are listening to CTN, CIO Talk Network with Sunjogal. Now back to the show.
Sanjog Aul:
Welcome back. So as a flower, we want it to blossom. We want to give the right soil, the right watering, the right sunshine. Let’s talk about that as a context. So if you want this millennial comes in with high hopes trying to change the world and comes into an organization, what would be the things that would stifle their potential and/or creativity, and what would help them blossom? Let’s talk about both.
Jennifer Greenman:
So I think in terms of stifling, we’ve touched on some of the the concerns or challenges that a millennial may be inclined to have with their leader. So, for example, micromanagement, lack of autonomy, limited or undefined career ladder. Those are all things that my experience have been perceived in a negative way by certainly many members of the workforce, but notably millennials or younger members of our workforce. In terms of what would be, what would encourage or, provide a great satisfaction for millennials, I think, many things have been, well-referenced, well-documented in terms of the principles and preferences of millennials, and so I think these are all things that an organization should at least be considering to encourage the retention and engagement of both millennial leaders and staff. Notably, work-life balance that often is referenced in many studies and many surveys. Millennials do often prefer flexibility in both working hours and working environment. So organizations will need to consider strategies to enable that flexibility, such as flexible working arrangements, telecommuting, job sharing, and casual dress codes.
Jennifer Greenman:
Many millennials also have young families or are planning to begin a family in the near future, so organizations will need to ensure their childcare benefits are generous and competitive in the industry. On a personal level, I am a major advocate for on-site sick care. Having two young children myself, I can say also that paid maternity and paternity leave are also very important. Important to those individuals. Also, there are some very progressive organizations that have extended benefits to include things like free on-site food and wellness options. I’ve read about companies that offer massage. I think that sounds really cool. I think equally important to providing these benefits, though, and in terms of creating a culture that supports this level of flexibility and openness, equally important to that, though, is going to be ensuring that there’s a framework for accountability that’s been defined and agreed to by both leaders and staff.
Jennifer Greenman:
So millennial leaders and their employees will need SMART goals. I’m a major advocate of defining SMART goals, which are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. These need to be defined and tracked to ensure that, despite the fact that we may have a little less structure in our work environment, we’re still meeting and exceeding the objectives of the business. I think what’s also important when you talk about getting the organization to embrace these types of benefits, it’ll be important to demonstrate that these goals are being achieved in a consistent way, particularly for those stakeholders who may be less comfortable with flexible working arrangements. So they need to understand that performance is not compromised and in many cases is enhanced through the adoption of these more progressive approaches.
Sanjog Aul:
So if you were to look at the type of environment that we are creating where we have other generations also, and when we look at other generations and ask them, what are you doing to support millennials and earn their respect? The same holds true for the millennials as well. So, one of the ways for them to become more successful, even as an individual contributor, manager, or especially leaders, is that they have to earn respect of other generations who come from, like, see, as I mentioned, Gen X and/or baby boomers. What can they do, or should they? So what can the millennial do to earn respect from the baby boomers or Gen Xers?
Jennifer Greenman:
Certainly. Well, I think that many of the principles we’ve discussed already, are certainly very relevant in addressing that question. It will be incredibly important for the millennial leader to thoughtfully and carefully assess the preferences and motivations of all other leaders, stakeholders, employees, colleagues that they are interacting with at work and be sensitive to the fact that their preferences may be very different from the millennial leader. So I think that, again, the ability to adapt to that, the ability to tailor their approach and demonstrate a respect for that perhaps difference in opinion is going to be essential I think as with almost anything in business, it always comes back to are we achieving our goals? Are we demonstrating favorable outcomes? So I think that the more that the millennial enterprise leader can use data to demonstrate the effectiveness of their approach, the more compelling and credible they will be in the eyes of the entire organization. So that’s something that, the millennial enterprise leader should always be considering when trying to advance an initiative, a program, a project that is important to them.
Sanjog Aul:
So we know that organizations are already becoming, remote with distributed teams, and then you also have a structure which is being suggested to be better working, or it’s a preference for millennials. This is coming from a few surveys that were conducted that they like a flatter hierarchy, but then they’re coming into an organization which may have traditionally not embraced it for whatever reasons they are. So, do you think, it is onus is on the millennials to come and change the structure to suit them, or is the organization ready to fundamentally rethink the organizational structure to pave the way for the upcoming millennial leaders?
Jennifer Greenman:
I think it will be, I think it will probably be In some respects, a little bit of both. I don’t think to answer your latter question, I don’t think organizations will have a choice in terms of evolving their structure and their models because millennials are now the largest generation, and of course, that demographic is only going to increase. So even though some organizations may take longer to embrace millennial leadership, eventually they will be compelled to embrace these newer perspectives. I recently I had read an interesting article by Time from 2012 called Millennials vs. Baby Boomers: Who Would You Rather Hire? that talked about what these preferences are and how these models will change. In that article, the author notes that the general empowerment that this generation has felt throughout their lives, which really does differ from prior generations in many ways, has had a distinct impact on their professional expectations. So they do have an overall of a less lower appreciation, if you will, for an a desire for strict hierarchy and chain of command structures.
Jennifer Greenman:
As employees, these individuals value merit over things like experience or titles, and they feel that everyone should be able to contribute input on organizational decisions and participate in their implementation. So I have no doubt that we will see these perspectives reflected in future organizational models that have a less rigid overall design and a more team-based or matrix leadership structure. I think it’s also going to be important for leaders to be very intentional about routinely interacting with and soliciting feedback from employees at all levels to ensure that millennials feel empowered and informed with respect to organizational decision and strategy. Those organizations who appoint millennial leaders early are more likely to position themselves for success with these evolving leadership and workforce engagement strategies.
Sanjog Aul:
Now, if you were to look at the type of leader that we want and we are looking at millennials, are they having a vision of what they want to be as a leader, or what type of leader would they want to be? And is that really syncing with what the organization wants?
Jennifer Greenman:
I think that the vision of what kind of leader one wants to be is often a very personal and individualized decision. I think, millennials.
Sanjog Aul:
Do we see a pattern is what I’m asking? Is there a pattern?
Jennifer Greenman:
Potentially so. I mean, I think with I think I do think millennials, recognize that the transformation and disruption that is possible with, things like new technology, new organizational and business models, and I think that they are really willing to challenge, established and traditional models in a very exciting way to promote innovation and and those are well, that’s certainly not anything new. There have been transformational leaders for generations. I think that the DNA of millennials may be more well adapted or well-suited, if you will, for that type of transformation that needs to take place.
Sanjog Aul:
So, a question is that let’s take a quick break, and when we come back, I’d like to ask about the millennials’ tendency where they would like to have some exciting work, right? So, every day they come, they have some way to change the world or whatever other that they want to do. Now, there are organizations, in fact, many of them who thrive based on the fact that they have built a stable stability in the enterprise, and they have most things operationally tweaked to the nth degree, and now they want to keep that stability. Do you think when we are going to reach a point where such organizations need a leader and millennials would not want to do anything which is very status quo?
Sanjog Aul:
Are we gonna have a vacuum? And if that’s not the case, then how do you make such organizations be ready to embrace the leaders where they want stability and not as much innovation, and millennials want the other side? Please stay tuned, listeners. We’ll be right back.
Speaker C:
Today, enterprise technology is both strategic and global. Each week on CTN CIO Talk Network, IT thought leaders from around the around the world share their experience with listeners as they discuss with Sunjog Ahl how they are trimming costs and partnering with business to innovate and help IT become more competitive, better care for customers, and improve the corporate bottom line. If you want to keep up with IT thought leadership, listen to CTN, CIO Talk Network, with Sunjog Ahl at ciotalknetwork.com. You are listening listening to CTN CIO Talk Network with Sanjogal. Now back to the show.
Sanjog Aul:
Welcome back. So organizations come in different flavors, and while some of them will continually innovate and thrive on it, and then there are others who have made a legacy based on how operationally stable they have been, but both need leaders, and yes, at some point a millennial may have to take over from the previous generation. Do you think millennials are considering those not as cool, sexy, innovative companies who are primarily having a longstanding legacy to take on? Those are there, we have to do something to those organizations, make them more innovative to accommodate the millennials.
Jennifer Greenman:
Well, I think that, I struggle to conceptualize, any business that wouldn’t be seeking to innovate, even a long, well-established, established businesses with a legacy of success, always considering what strategies will transform their operations and ensure future growth and success. I can’t envision or think of an organization that wouldn’t be seeking that type of transformation. So, with that being said, I think that a millennial leader generally is likely going to want to be in a role where they can help drive the strategy and execution of that level of innovation, as a leader of their organization. I don’t know that’s necessarily a situation where the business needs to adapt to the leader, but I do think that the business will need to adapt to those circumstances in order to survive.
Sanjog Aul:
So I like one saying about an entrepreneur, while that is not what we are talking here, but a good entrepreneur takes an opportunity and maximizes the potential and changes it into to a bunch of opportunities, but a great entrepreneur creates an opportunity and then maximizes the potential. So when we talk about good or great leaders, so you’re saying that if such organizations, which may be doing innovation, but maybe not to that level, do you think millennials would have, the great millennial leaders would actually go and fundamentally rethink that organizations once they’re invited versus saying, build an organization that I can go and grow to the next level and, or, innovate?
Jennifer Greenman:
I think it’s probably going to be driven in some way by both. I think there are going to be individuals who are very entrepreneurial in spirit, as you’ve described, that would want to be able to shape that innovation from the ground up. I also think that there are many individuals who see great value in taking an established operation a very strong foundation on which to shape future innovation. So again, back to sort of the original message, which is adaptability. I think it’s going to be the millennial leader’s ability to adapt to the model that they are a part of, but also they may actively seek a certain type of business where they feel that they can contribute the greatest value to.
Sanjog Aul:
So if you are looking at the loyalty factor, and this is a very interesting one where a lot of people have at least this perception that a millennial may not stay in a company for more than 2 to 3 years tops, and if we are thinking of a leader to come and make a lasting change, it does take minimum of that time. So what are we dealing with here? Someone who’s gonna come and we have to work towards somehow keeping this person for that much time and so that they can make a difference. So what is gonna create the stickiness in an organization to keep the millennial?
Jennifer Greenman:
So I think, for many millennial employees and leaders today, I think, leadership development is going to be very important, a well-defined career ladder, many of the benefits that we had discussed previously with respect to, working environment are all going to be important, but I think ultimately it’s that sense of fulfillment that we all desire, but it’s certainly very strong with millennials, it’s the desire to be contributing in a very positive and direct way to the organizational mission and goals, and I think the ability to connect their work to that mission is going to be essential for an enterprise leader. I think also the abilities of the millennial to participate in that development is also going to be similarly very important for an enterprise leader.
Sanjog Aul:
Would you think that the organizations internally have the resources to be able to groom these millennial leaders, or do we look outside? And if we have to go outside, where?
Jennifer Greenman:
So in terms of leadership development, you Depending on the organization, there may be very strong internal resources that exist. I think it’ll be important for the executive leadership to define what their human capital investment strategy is going to be and tailor that to the need of different types, generations, backgrounds of their employees. I think there’s also, of course, some very powerful and worthwhile external resources, though, in the form of professional development training. There are certainly firms that do that very successfully, and many events, many opportunities exist. So there’s really no lack of options out there. It’s really what is the best fit for the organization based on their human capital investment strategy as well as budget and time constraints that may exist within that organization. I will say that even in an environment of significant cost constraints, there are a number of inexpensive or free resources available to to help advance leadership competencies amongst employees and existing leaders.
Jennifer Greenman:
So, I think there’s really no there’s no excuse, there’s no reason that every organization can’t be seeking some tools and some resources for their workforce, and particularly for their millennial workforce, to help increase the overall level of leadership preparedness and effectiveness. Effectiveness.
Sanjog Aul:
If you look at the leaders today who actually are being more successful, they are demonstrating more than the technical expertise. Let’s talk the CIO track, for example. It is more than the technical expertise, is more the industry knowledge and/or understanding of how the business works, and in case, in many cases, we are seeing that the CIOs actually are coming from the business side. We got just less than a minute available. Would love to get your thoughts on how do we get a millennial to acquire enough industry knowledge and become more of a business person versus just knowing technical for them to get to a CIO role?
Jennifer Greenman:
Well, I think that’s a great point you make because I can say from my own perspective, I’m probably more closely aligned and familiar with the business in many ways than I am the technology side. So on a personal level, that concept definitely resonates with me. In terms of learning the business, I think that’s going to take it’s going to take a lot of effort and a lot of engagement from the employee, and that is true regardless of the industry they’re in, regardless of their current role. They need to actively seek opportunities to learn, to be more immersed in the business, and certainly, some roles are better at quick stuff than others. A business analyst or a systems analyst may have more opportunity to interact with the business than someone who is perhaps a little bit more deeply technical, but with that being said, that is an important conversation that a millennial employee or a millennial leader needs to have with their own leaders is how do they become more immersed and engaged with the business because that role of your leader, particularly within information technology, is to manage customer relationships and to have business excellence knowledge
Jennifer Greenman:
and so, if there isn’t that inherent knowledge or understanding of the business, it’s going to be very challenging for them to be successful in their role.
Sanjog Aul:
On behalf of the show and our listeners, I’d really like to thank you, Jennifer, for sharing your thoughts on how we can create the right type opportunities and create the environment where millennials blossom into fantastic leaders. Thank you so much again.
Jennifer Greenman:
Thank you very much.
Sanjog Aul:
And listeners, please like us on Facebook, search for CIO Talk Network, and be sure to follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn group. Thank you again for listening to this segment on CIO Talk Network. This is Sanjog Aul, your talk show host. Till next week, take care and God bless.
