Do you lead a team composed fully or partially with Millennials? If you’re like many of the Gen-X or Gen-Y or Baby Boomers you’re likely having a difficult time leading them.

From Fast Company Magazine:

In the last five years, a growing number of studies and surveys have highlighted the importance of innovation for the economic health of companies and countries. Perhaps the most significant survey related to innovation was conducted in 2011 by GE, which interviewed a thousand senior business executives in twelve countries. They found that “95% of respondents believe innovation is the main lever for a more competitive national economy and 88% of respondents believe innovation is the best way to create jobs in their country.”

Companies need innovators–individuals who willing to take risks and who bring a spark of imagination and initiative to whatever they do. And millennials–because they have grown up as “digital natives” who use technologies to learn, connect, collaborate, and create on a daily basis–are a huge potential talent pool for companies. They are driven to create and to make a difference in the world more than any generation in history. However, as I discovered in researching my new book Creating Innovators, many millennials are very averse to working for large corporations–and many companies, in turn, don’t know how to work with this generation.

Ellen Kumata, who is managing director and partner at Cambria Consulting, works closely with senior executives in Fortune 100 companies. She told me that big corporations are “really nervous about the Millennial Generation. They work differently–and are not as focused on individual achievement. They don’t want to ‘make it’ and see themselves in multiple jobs. The real question is, will organizations be able to capture their strengths?”

How do the Millennials work–what motivates them–and what must companies do to attract and retain highly talented twentysomethings?

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