Millennials are digital natives. They grew up in a digital environment and seem to embrace technology in all aspects of their lives. Although we often take for granted that this generation will lead us in digitization, are Millennials really up to the challenge? Perhaps not as much as we would hope. When comparing preparedness to meet nine critical business challenges (such as navigating through complexity, chaos, and confusion; and acting decisively without always having clear direction), Millennials—the generation born between 1982 and 2000—generally agree with their Baby Boomer and Generation X counterparts about the challenges for which they feel most and least prepared.
Are Millennials Ready to Lead with Digitization?
Millennials feel slightly more prepared to operate within a highly digital business environment than do Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, but all generations could use more development in this area. Even for Millennials, it ranks third from the bottom. Given that Millennials grew up with technology, we might think that these digital skills would be second nature. However, it seems that they need additional preparation and training to really excel at leading in the digital space.
In addition, Millennials rated themselves as slightly more effective at digital literacy and leading with digitization skills than members of Gen X and Baby Boomers did. Millennials are less confident in their effectiveness at leading virtual teams, perhaps because they lack overall experience in leading teams.
Again, although Millennials rated themselves as more effective than their older counterparts at some digital skills, these skills were rated low across all generations. Organizations will need to step up to prepare leaders to keep pace with rapidly evolving technology advancements. They would be wise to arrange additional training or to revamp hiring and collaboration strategies to flow digital experts into more functions.
Differences Due to Generation or Life Stage?
In 2017, The Conference Board and DDI collaborated on the research report Divergent Views/Common Ground: The Leadership Perspectives of C-Suite Executives and Millennial Leaders.* In that report, we found that much of the difference we often attribute to generation is more closely related to career or life stage. Millennial preferences are not largely different from those of previous generations at similar points in their careers.
We found this to be true in Global Leadership Forecast 2018 as well. As leaders climb the management ladder, they rate their effectiveness at mastering leadership skills higher. Higher-level leaders, regardless of generation, are more effective at connecting ideas, driving execution, and aligning toward common objectives. But there are some generational differences as well. Millennial leaders:
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Rate their intellectual curiosity higher than other generations.
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Are more likely to seek feedback and input from colleagues and mentors.
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Are more likely to want “stretch” assignments.
* Ray, R.L., et al.(2017, January), Divergent Views/Common Ground: The Leadership Perspectives of C-Suite Executives and Millennial Leaders, New York, The Conference Board.