Why you need millennial leaders in your business

You should be hiring millennial leaders. Here's why.

Millennials - those born between 1981 and 1996 - are soon to be the driving force of business. The future success of your business depends on how you can hire and develop millennial leaders.

Over the next few years, millennials will become a majority of the workforce, but despite this, most businesses not making the leadership development of millennials a priority.

Here is why millennials make excellent leaders.

They are self-motivated and driven

Millennial leaders are intrinsically motivated, meaning they thrive from personal development and are always looking for ways to improve.

In fact, it’s thought that 65% of millennials believe that self-development is the most important factor in their role.

This focus on self-improvement puts millennials in the perfect position to be great leaders, as they inspire more from themselves and their teams. Millennials enjoy teamwork but also value autonomous ways of working. They are dedicated and determined, never taking no for an answer.

They focus on work/life balance

Unlike baby boomers (people born from 1946 to 1964) who were happy to trade happiness for a salary, millennials don’t live to work.

They value work-life balance and are therefore likely to have lower salary expectations in return for flexible ways of working. Don’t be mistaken, pay still matters, but if you’re willing to offer flexibility and employee rewards then you’re likely to motivate employees more than simply offering higher salaries.

Millennials are genuine

Gone are the days of sucking up to the boss in the hopes that one day you’ll score big and take over.

Millennials tend to be more honest and down to earth, and willing to take constructive feedback and advice on the chin. The most effective leaders have a routine of frequent check-ins that are purposeful and action-oriented.

The traditional check-box annual review is no longer effective. Millennial leaders favour frequent, meaningful interactions that prompt change.

Millennials are also quick to question out of date or ineffective policies. This honest and open approach leads to positive changes across businesses and the attitudes of the workforce.

They’re digitally savvy

Most millennials have grown up around technology, and were the first generation to have access to computers at school.

At the same time, being savvy with technology is essential when it comes to promoting your company, as many key marketing platforms are based online.

Experience with technology over such a large part of their lives means millennials pick up new technologies and platforms very quickly, saving you time on training and helping you get ahead of the game and your competitors.

They carry fewer bad habits

Anyone working in the same role at the same company for a long time is likely to pick up some bad habits. This 'job for life' mentality is less prevalent in the millennial generation as they enjoy the variety of experiences from multiple roles and companies. As a result, millennials tend to have formed fewer bad habits and can more easily be moulded to suit the ways of working for specific businesses.

Overall, hiring millennials gives you access to the best talent around, the upper hand over the competition, and a loyal and digitally savvy workforce.