It has become a culturally acceptable phenomenon and bonding experience to complain about Millennials in the workplace (and elsewhere). Although I am not a Millennial by age (my sister swears I am otherwise), I continue to defend this generation and argue that they are not really all that different from previous generations. What they want is pretty much the same as what every other generation has wanted but simply never felt empowered or deserving to ask for it. The Millennials are most certainly not afraid to ask for it. Instead of waiting to pay some arbitrary dues, they want to advance when they are ready and capable. When they are told what to do, they want to know why so they can understand the value and purpose. And perhaps more than anything else, they do not want to be told what to do. Instead, they want to be coached and empowered to learn and grow. They want to be active participants in their own professional development. Don’t you? Is this really any different than what you want? What everybody wants? I mean, how much do you like being told what to do?
Today’s managers often struggle with supervising Millennials as well as those from other generations largely because they have never really been taught how. Unfortunately, more than half of managers never receive any management training and it shows. When the challenges of management arise, as they inevitably do, managers are unprepared, frustrated and confused. Without the skills and support they need, they often resort to the only management style they have known- telling staff what to do. They learn quickly that this doesn’t work, but they have not been trained or coached on how to do it any other way. It doesn’t get any better until they do. Once managers realize that the way to motivate and develop staff is not to lord over staff but to lead collaboratively and work with them, this all begins to change.
Leading collaboratively involves a shared voice in and commitment to professional growth and the achievement of goals. Rather than determine goals for their staff, managers who lead collaboratively work with their teams to choose their goals together. Instead of telling staff what trainings they need to attend, managers who lead collaboratively help their teams identify where they want to grow and create opportunities for them to get there. Rather than choosing how to recognize staff, managers who lead collaboratively ask their teams how they want to be acknowledged and praised. Leading collaboratively allows staff to become agents in their own development rather than mere recipients.
Many managers are hesitant to lead collaboratively because 1) they don’t know how 2) they think it takes away from their own power 3) they think it will be too much work or 4) they don’t think it’s effective. This is largely because most managers have never experienced what it is like to be led collaboratively, and we are steadfast creatures of our own perceived comfort. When we don’t know what to do, we resort to what we know. The good news is, all the unknowing and reservations that accompany leading collaboratively for the first time can be overcome.
Leading collaboratively with staff instead of bossing them around is a skill that can be practiced, developed and learned, and contrary to popular belief, sharing power does not diminish your own. In fact, it is quite the opposite. When staff experience your leadership as respectful and collaborative, they will respect and follow you all the more. Additionally, involving staff in their own development takes a great deal of work away from you. When you give staff voice, opportunity and space, they come up with their own answers, work through their own mistakes and seek out their own opportunities to grow. And finally, most importantly, leading collaboratively works. Keep doing otherwise and let me know how that goes.
As a leader, it is your responsibility to create an environment that fosters collaborative leadership. Like all components of organizational culture, you, as a leader, set the tone. It involves an intentional, consistent effort that permeates your workplace. The list below is not a roadmap, but it does intend to demonstrate some actionable items that comprise a true culture of leading collaboratively:
- Ask staff where they want to grow and give them opportunities to do so.
- Involve staff in troubleshooting and problem solving.
- Always explain the why.
- Encourage creativity, risks and mistakes.
- Have patience with the growth process.
- Praise, recognize and encourage your team in the ways in which they want to be praised, recognized and encouraged.
- Provide safe spaces for honest communication and feedback.
- Give staff what they need to succeed.
- Be open to new ways of doing things.
- Be clear in how each staff’s role contributes to your mission.
- Create opportunities for staff to do what they do best.
- Be transparent, including when you are not able to be transparent.
- Communicate your own communication preferences.
- Allow for disagreement.
- Acknowledge the power differential and what it does and doesn’t mean.
Creating a culture of leading collaboratively obviously takes a lot more than simply completing 15 items on a list, but hopefully this gives you some idea of what leading collaboratively looks like in practice. At its core, leading collaboratively means that staff are involved nearly every step of the way in their own experience at work. They have ownership, voice and opportunity to be an active participant in their own work experience. This may sound too Millennial for you, but when you think about it, doesn’t everyone want to have a say in what their work life looks like? Don’t you?
With Millennials taking over as leaders in the workplace, this new wave of leadership is already on its way. Embrace the gifts they are bringing with them and experience the benefits and joy that result from leading collaboratively rather than authoritatively. Coach instead of command. Support instead of criticize. Lift up instead of tear down. Lead with instead of lord over. Work with one another, not against one another. The results both in terms of productivity and morale will give you a level of satisfaction, pride and joy you simply cannot get otherwise. Leading is never easy but it should be fulfilling. Leading collaboratively is the best way to get there.
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