Why Your Power Button Doesn’t Work…

From your millennial staff:

Dear Old School Leader,

We are not impressed by how powerful you are, how much time you’ve put in, and the “do as I say, not as I do” way of leadership. We are impressed by your honesty, vulnerability, and candid ability to lead with head and heart. We are significantly impressed when you take the time to listen to and invest in the people who are helping build the company. We want to know you are human too. Social media and the digital age have painted a picture of “Great Leaders” as superheroes, but we want to see your human side.

We want to be led by a human—a capable person who cares deeply and is not focused on themselves.

You see, it’s not that we don’t want a leader; it’s not that we are lazy or even “anti-establishment.” Quite frankly, we love the idea of community and co-collaboration under one roof that moves toward a clear vision. We need real leaders who will help us go places we would not, or could not, go on our own.

It’s more like this:

• We want to know that our leader cares more about the people building the machine than what the machine produces.
• We want to hear a leader ask how we are doing…and see that they mean it.
• We want a leader who encourages us to work hard toward a meaningful purpose.
• We want a leader who partners with us in building a clear vision for all stakeholders.
• We want a leader who exemplifies with their way of life that they know how to leave work at the desk and enjoy life.
• We want a leader who cares about his or her people.
• We want a leader that walks way more than talks.
• We want a leader that says with their actions: ” You can trust me, I want what’s best for you even if it’s not best for me… but remember I, too, am human.”

We don’t expect perfection. But we struggle to trust in the self-absorbed leadership we’ve seen, heard, and grown up with. You see for us. The information age has been both a gift and a curse. We’ve had information flooded to us, through us, and around us from all angles since an early age.

Please hear us when we say, “We want a leader,” and we want to work together, but we want to know we are cared for before we go to war for you.

It’s not that you have little power over us as your teammates and builders of a vision. On the contrary, you have significant influence over us, and we want to trust that you will honor that.

Meet us there. We want to show up.

At DRYVE Leadership Group, we want to help Business Leaders develop a culture that invites millennials to the table and builds a team that progresses with clarity. Contact us today!