The Millennial Generation, born between 1977 and 1997, is a powerful and talented group in our workplace today. They are more than 75 million in size and bring with them different talents and strategies than other generations. They are in their twenties and early thirties and sometimes given the names: Gen Y or Net Generation. They are the most technologically savvy generation to hit the workplace, sharing information on social networks such as; Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Linkedin. Here are some of the World Events that have impacted them:

• 1983- First Functional Laptop
• 1987- Exxon Valdez Spill
• 1989- Berlin Wall comes down
• 1990- Persian Gulf War
• 1995- Oklahoma City bombing
• 1998- President Clinton lies about Monica Lewinski and is impeached
• 1999- Columbine massacre
• 2001- 9/11 and War on terror declared
• 2003- Invasion of Iraq

These world events have created a generation most concerned about safety on the job. They also are very socially responsible, concerned about the environment and the planet. In addition, Millennials are highly educated with the desire to achieve great things and move up the ladder quickly. With the baby boomers’ retirements looming, the Millennials will be asked to transform into leadership roles at an accelerated rate. So what are they looking for in a job and how can we speedily develop them into great leaders?

According to a global survey of 862 Millennials, “Generation Y: Unlocking the Talent of Young Managers”, Millennials want to work for an organization that does something they believe in as well as develop new skills and good career prospects with their employer. They also want to work for companies that are supportive, empowering and inspiring. However the biggest benefit they value according to a PricewaterhouseCooper poll is training and development. Nearly one third chose that as a most important benefit for their careers. This generation is eager to be coached, mentored and trained to become leaders. For Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, this is a golden opportunity to step in and begin both a formal and informal training and/or coaching program for the Millennials. Setting up frequent feedback sessions and sharing skill knowledge would be beneficial and welcomed. Some of the areas to concentrate on mighty include: communication; delegation; conflict resolution; dealing with difficult people; visioning; goal and objective setting.

Organizations need to find a way to integrate the Millennials into their work environments and mesh all the generations into a high performing team. Are you up for the challenge? Do any of the Millennials have any other insights to share in developing as future leaders?