Remember what interviewing was like ten or even five years ago? When most candidates felt “honored” at the prospect of working at your company? There was very little feeling of entitlement, most people were more than happy at doing what they were told, and more or less the boss was always right. There was a very clear hierarchy of decision makers which basically went in line with the seniority of designation. When you think about it, professional life was much more simple than it is now.
But simple’s not always good. Today we see far more initiative being taken by millennials and a spurt of intelligence coming from relatively young minds who are not afraid of taking risks and making changes – the Skillpreneurs, the wave makers, the ones that traditionalists are often wary of but should welcome with open arms.
So what kinds of people are we seeing in the workforce these days? The dynamics of the workforce have changed and the individuals who make up your teams is also different. Knowing what roles to pair different people with could create magic that you never thought possible with so many different kinds of people.
The Entrepreneurial Spirit
I’m biased. I love people who take the reigns and see an initiative from beginning to end. I respect those who can think for themselves and inherently possess leadership skills which simply make other people want to follow their footsteps. The Entrepreneurial Spirit really is the one that you should be grooming to drive the business in the future. These are the people who have the vision and the grit to steer your organization in the future. It doesn’t matter if they’re just starting their career – if you groom them right, you’ll be creating a solid leader.
Where they fit best: A variety of experiences will suit these people best. But make sure their experiences takes them on an upward spiral of growth so they don’t feel stagnated at any point.
The Overconfident/Entitled Individual
These millennials are tricky and I’ve noticed, quite prevalent in frontier markets. Because of the extremely large disparity between the types of education that different income groups can afford, there’s one group that feels like they’re the crème de la crème of the workforce. Unfortunately this simply isn’t true because any one with even a little bit of experience knows it’s by far only education which makes a person “the best” at what they do. And though this group is usually far more refined than others, you must handle them with tough love to keep them in check.
Where they fit best: Not as the leader of a team, at least not until they prove their worth. But with enough responsibilities for them to learn their own strengths and weaknesses.
The “Yes Sir” Person
This is the opposite side of the overconfident/entitled individual. They usually come from the other end of the education/background spectrum and even though they’ll have hidden qualities they usually have serious confidence issues. And this leads them to agreeing to everything that everyone else says. Not only is this damaging to their careers, it’s hurtful to the team in general. Until you get them to break away from their self-doubt, they’ll never reach their true potential.
Where they fit best: Slowly but regularly force them to take on leadership roles. Obviously make sure they’re equipped to do the job, but push them out of their comfort zone and have them start giving orders instead of just taking them.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the dynamics of teams is absolutely fascinating now. There’s so much to be extracted from every generation, the collective power that can be unleashed is just phenomenal. Join me in discovering new paths in talent management and transformational leadership.