Thomas J DeLong, Professor of Management Practice in the Organizational Behaviour area at the Harvard Business School, has written a fascinating article about what the younger generations coming into the business world are looking for – they want to have significance. And yes, autonomy (which you can read more about here and here) is a large part of this.
Unfortunately, there is often a discrepancy between the views and attitudes of the different generations at work:
“We have a vicious cycle operating in many organizations. Senior leaders blame the young MBAs for being naive and entitled, and assume that the younger generation arrives at the company with “negative” attitudes intact. These younger employees, however, form this attitude only because they are in desperate need of someone who cares about them, who communicates that they matter, who lets them know they make a difference. They don’t need positive feedback when it isn’t deserved. What they need are managers and leaders who are aware that they want to feel significant and who make the effort to communicate this fact in small as well as big ways.”
Read Thomas’s full article, ‘Searching for Professional Significance’, and also read a few tips on how to manage Millennials.