Law Firm Leadership: Managing Millennials

One of the most frequent questions I receive from law firm leaders today is “how should I manage this new generation?”

The Millennial Generation (born from 1981-2000) have been entering the workforce for more than a decade now. Baby Boomer and Generation X leaders are sometimes perplexed with this tech-savvy, multi-tasking and ambitious group of professionals.

Who are the Millennials?

The Millennial Generation are said to be “trophy kids” raised by “helicopter parents.” Their parents ' often Generation Xers who grew up as “latchkey kids” with two working parents or a single working parent ' tend to compensate for their lack of available parents by becoming very involved in their child's activities. Millennials are used to having a parent “helicopter” in to save the day, whether it is forgetting their lunch at school or, as I have heard, appearing alongside their child at their first job interview.

Afraid of communicating a negative self-image, parents of Millennials made sure that everyone is a winner in childhood competitions, so everyone gets a trophy in youth sports and activities. This is the “E” generation ' a generation with high expectations of themselves and their workplace; a generation that feels entitled to a wide range of benefits from society and a generation that is highly enthusiastic about work and life.

For Millennials, work is not a place to go; rather it is a thing to do (and something that can be done anywhere, from home to Starbucks to the office). More than other generations, they will surf jobs to be open to new opportunities. In general, they have a distaste for menial work and red tape. While they crave feedback, they have difficulties with conflict and negative feedback. “Paying your dues” is something your grandfather did at work, and is not for them. One HR manager told me: “Some Millennials seem to want to fit their work around their personal life, and not the other way around.”

Despite these negative stereotypes, Milliennials have a lot to offer their employers. In school, they were subjected to years of group projects, resulting in better teamwork and collaboration skills than prior generations. They are highly networked, skilled at using social and virtual networks to accomplish goals. They are optimistic about the future. They want to save the world and focus their altruism through volunteerism, pro bono work and philanthropy.

Perhaps the most vexing characteristic of this generation to law firm leaders is their attitudes and behaviors at work. To some Baby Boomer and Gen X managers, Millennials have appeared unengaged with work, aloof and entitled. These issues often arise around the issue of work/life balance. Millennials are perceived by Baby Boomers (who are sometimes seen as workaholics) and Gen Xers (who felt like they had to work hard to compete with Boomers) managers as wanting too much life balance and not enough work.

How to Manage Millennials

The goal in managing Millennials is to help them find the balance they seek while getting work done (and done well). Here are some tips on managing Millennials: