How To Communicate With A Young Gun

This is part one of a two-part series on millennials in the workplace.  Specifically, how to communicate across generations – a common issue at the office and during a job interview.  This series was guest written by Aaron McDaniel, the author of the Young Professional’s Edge blog (YP Edge).

Most of us have heard of the famous John Gray book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. One of the overarching ideas within is that men and women fundamentally think differently.

Just like people from different parts of the world, the same can be said for each generation of people; we think differently at a fundamental level.  For the sake of illustration, let’s say that as a baby boomer or Gen Xer you are from Switzerland, while millennials are from Japan.

Being from Switzerland (Boomer/Gen X) you are used to speaking a certain language, eating regional food and fulfilling certain cultural traditions.  Because you grew up in Switzerland all of these customs are practices are normal.  Someone from Japan (millennials), however, may see what you do as weird or more appropriately, foreign, because of the environment they grew up.

The same can be said for people of different generations. Each generation grew up in different political, economic and technological environments.

To succeed in this type of landscape the goal should not be to focus on how someone from Japan (in our analogy) or another generation is “different” or wrong, but instead should be to understand the differences so you can work together.

Let’s explore some ways that you can relate to and communicate with Young Gun millennials:

Use technology

Millennials are accustomed to communicating their multiple mediums.  Routinely I will email a friend about having dinner, receive a text message back, and call my friend to work out all the details; posting a Facebook status when we actually get together. Millennials are digital natives (as MIT’s Mark Prensky puts it), growing up in a world of the internet and mobile phones.

For those that are more digital immigrants, it is important to communicate in the way that millennials do.  Even in a professional environment a text message or an email may be just as effective as an in person conversation for a millennial (plus you will have a record of what exactly was said).

Work does not equal our entire life

For older generations the typical concept discussed related to this topic is work-life balance.  For millennials, this is an obsolete term.  A more appropriate moniker is work-life integration.  For a millennials it is normal to go to work all day, grab dinner with friends and then go back home and log in for some late night work emailing.

Do not rush to put rules on millennials saying that have to do something the way you would do it.  Allow freedom and set clear expectations for the results you want. More often than not you will get the results you are looking for, and more.

Explain the “Why”

The whole “because I said so” argument does not sit well with millennials.  They need to understand why they are being asking to do a certain task or why a goal was set the way it was.  Moreover, explaining how they will benefit and gain experience from fulfilling a certain task will allow you to connect better with a millennial and foster better results from him or her.  Ultimately explaining the impact (s)he will make generates buy-in and motivation.

Now that you have a better understanding of how to communicate with millennials, the next (and most important) step is to leverage this understanding. Diversity is a great thing. Just like experiencing different cultures can enrich your lives, valuing and utilizing the talents of millennials can be a huge advantage for you.

Appreciate and channel a millennial’s energy, focus their creativity and use their desire to gain experience to reach your goals.  Remember that even if you are from Switzerland, Mars or Venus doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t give sushi a shot.

Read Part 2 Now

Aaron McDaniel (aka “Mr. Business”) is the author of the Young Professional’s Edge blog (YP Edge). He is a corporate director, entrepreneur, public speaker, community volunteer, author and avid world traveler. He has experience in sales, customer care, marketing, operations, strategy and business development and has managed over 110 different direct reports and organizations as large as 60 at a Fortune 50 company. Ready more from Aaron at http://ypedge.com

Thanks Ed Yourdon for the great photo via Flickr

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