The Leadership Insiders network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in business contribute answers to timely questions about careers and leadership. Today's answer to the question, “How can you help millennials feel like they're part of the company?" is written by Lisa Hovey, head of people at Vacasa.
Complaining about millennials has become commonplace. I often hear, "They're lazy, selfish, and entitled." "They expect to be coddled." "Their childhood bedrooms are lined with -- God forbid -- participation trophies." "They never put down their phones."
More than a quarter of Americans are millennials, meaning that they were born between 1982 and 2000. Clearly, they're here to stay, and they're only becoming more ubiquitous in the workplace. They're a huge, diverse population, and instead of complaining about them, we should be leveraging their experiences and passions to make our businesses work better -- to iterate, to improve, and to innovate at every level.
As head of people at Vacasa, I work with lots of millennials. While there are lots of opinions on the vast differences between millennials and other generations, my experience tells me that their core motivations aren't that different from people in other age groups. The main difference is that older people have more experience understanding business frameworks, setting career goals, and navigating challenges. Millennials don't have this depth of experience, but their enthusiastic, innovative approach to projects makes them an invaluable asset to any organization. So the question is: How can we empower younger employees to create better teams, products, and organizations?
Here is my advice on how to turn millennials into engaged employees who will drive your business forward.
Harness their energy and passion.
Millennials get a bad rap for being listless and self-absorbed, but as a generation, they've been encouraged to pursue their passions and develop their talents. Managers have to point them in the right direction. When we do this, we get great work and innovative results.
It's no secret that passion is a key ingredient in motivation, for people of any age. It's an organization's responsibility to connect its employees to the big picture. Millennials want to feel connected to the reason they spend so many hours at work. It's crucial to articulate your vision and connect your employees to the "why."
I advocate a "choose your own adventure" approach to work and career. Set clear goals and define expectations for millennial employees, but allow them to take initiative, approach challenges from different angles, and figure out where they excel. Millennials are great at blazing unconventional paths to success.