Doyle - Transitioning Millennials Into Leadership

8/10/2019 Doyle - Transitioning Millennials Into Leadership

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Running head: TRANSITIONING MILLENNIALS INTO LEADERSHIP

Transitioning Millennials into Leadership

Jeremy Doyle

College of Saint Scholastica

Project Committee

Sponsor: R. John Welsh, Jr., Ph.D.

Reader: Erik C. Burns, MA MBA

Approved: April 11, 2014

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business

Administration and Masters in Management, The College of St. Scholastica.


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TRANSITIONING MILLENNIALS INTO LEADERSHIP 2

Acknowledgements

Foremost, I would also like to thank my wife for her continued support, love, and

guidance to encourage me to pursue further education. I would not have been able to successfully

complete the degrees without her. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to professor R.

John Welsh, Jr. and Erik Burns. Without their leadership and advising I would not have been

able to finish this thesis and the culmination of my dual masters degrees. Continually I find that

with the proper motivation and guidance anything can be accomplished. Finally, thank you to my

family and friends for their love and support this past year.


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Abstract

Organizations in the United States have a difficult task in managing the multigenerational

workforce that they are presented with today. Organizations need to understand and engage all

generations, however, a new challenge is presented with the Baby Boom generation retiring and

needing to fill the roles they are vacating. This succession planning should come from the

Millennial generation. Analysis of current literature and case studies resulted in the development

of a framework organizations can utilize to effectively transition the Millennial generation into

leadership roles. The framework developed outlines techniques organizations can deploy to

attract, retain, and develop these employees to fill these pivotal leadership roles.

Keywords: Millennial generation, leadership, succession planning, multigenerational


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Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 6

Introduction to the Problem ...................................................................................................... 6

Background of the Study .......................................................................................................... 7

Statement of the Problem .......................................................................................................... 9

Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................................... 11

Rationale ................................................................................................................................. 11

Research Question .................................................................................................................. 12

Significance of the Study ........................................................................................................ 12

Definition of Terms................................................................................................................. 13

Assumptions and Limitations ................................................................................................. 14

Organization of the Remainder of the Study .......................................................................... 15

Literature Review.......................................................................................................................... 16

Generational Preferences ........................................................................................................ 17

Millennial Preferences ............................................................................................................ 18

Generational Conflict .............................................................................................................. 20

Attract ..................................................................................................................................... 21

Retain ...................................................................................................................................... 22

Development ........................................................................................................................... 25

Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 27

Introduction .............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

Research Design...................................................................................................................... 27

Procedures ............................................................................................................................... 28

Data Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 29


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Reliability and Validity ........................................................................................................... 30

Ethical Considerations ............................................................................................................ 31

Summary ................................................................................................................................. 32

Summary and Discussion of Results............................................................................................. 34

Summary ................................................................................................................................. 34

Discussion and Conclusions ................................................................................................... 34

Limitations and Recommendations......................................................................................... 39

References ..................................................................................................................................... 40

APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................. 44


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Introduction

Introduction to the Problem

The typical workforce is difficult to define in todays organizations due to the diversity

and multiple skills that are needed to accomplish business tasks, these are some influences each

corporation has in its population (Durkin, 2011). The traditional diversity factors are present in

the workforce such as gender, age, sex, religion, and so on. However, there is another form of

diversity that has an effect on how a business will conduct its operations. The staff to which an

organization is faced with managing can be difficult at times, and each generation has different

skills and needs in which they provide the organization. Effectively managing these generations

can be difficult. However, if done effectively it can increase the productivity as the goods and

services provided in todays economy is more about the skills and talents that the employee has

rather than the good or service the organization offers (Srinivasan, 2011). This suggests that in

the marketplace a consumer can acquire relatively the same product or service from many

different organizations. In that case, in order for an organization to set itself apart it needs to

focus on managing their talent in all generational cohorts of the organization.

Each generation has their own perceptions and preferences in the workplace with respects

to communication, the work habits, direction, and leadership among others. It is these

preferences that can create conflict in the workplace, and present a challenge for the leaders in an

organization to overcome. If a business does not address the conflicts and actively strive to

incorporate all generations into the workplace there will be lower production, increased turnover,

and frustrated employees which leads to reduction in profits (Deyoe & Fox, 2012). These can

create issues for companies. This is not isolated to one industry but rather across all industries.


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By 2025, it is projected that roughly seventy-five percent of the workforce will be

comprised of the Millennial generation (Dhawan, 2012). With this type of transformation the

majority of the work being completed in the workplace will transition from the Baby Boom

generation to the Millennials. The transition will not only take place for entry or even mid-level

positions but it will need to take place for the leadership roles as well. Organizations who do not

effectively attract, retain, train, and develop their Millennial generation employees will

effectively leave themselves in a difficult position when the remaining older generations begin to

retire.

Background of the Study

The typical workforce is difficult to define in todays organizations, due to the diversity

and multi-generational influences each corporation has in its population (Durkin, 2011). For the

purposes of this paper the generations will be defined as follows:

Traditional: born prior to 1946

Baby Boom: born between 1946 and 1964

Generation X or Gen X: born between 1965 and 1976

Generation Y or Millennials: born between 1977 and 1997

Me Generation: born after 1997

These generations could all be in the workplace at the same time and possibly presenting some

difficult talent management opportunities for the leaders of that organization. The workplace in

the United States has the majority of positions filled with Baby Boomers, however it is expected

that the Millennial generation will take the majority of the workplace by the year 2015 (Meister

& Willyerd, 2009). This suggests there will be a major shift in the preferences in the United

States workplace preferences in the next few years.


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Generational preferences are shaped by the experiences they have endured. The

generational preferences are mere guidelines, and not all of the individuals in these generations

will exhibit these preferences. They are generally how each generation would prefer to work and

engage within the workforce. The Traditional generation is shaped by mainly the Great

Depression in which they developed a strong work ethic and loyalty to a company in which they

work for (Cekada 2012; Cook Ross Inc. 2004). This generation also respects management from a

top-down approach that they learned from their military background (Cook Ross Inc, 2004;

Jenkins, 2008). The Baby Boom generation declares a higher priority for work rather than their

personal lives, distrusts authority, and is extremely competitive (Cekada 2012; Jenkins 2008).

These characteristics were shaped by their upbringing in a nuclear family, the Vietnam War, and

the vast population in the workforce today among other experiences (Jenkins, 2008; Sherman,

2006). Generation X was primarily left to fend for themselves as children with increasing

divorce rates, the stock market crashed and there was a lot of time spent alone in front of a TV or

computer (Cook Ross, Inc. 2004; Sherman, 2006). Generation X then developed skepticism

toward the workplace because of the scandal they have seen, and are very self reliant as they

were left alone most of their lives (Jenkins, 2008; Sherman, 2006). Finally, the Millennial

generation who were raised in team sports and born with technology available at their fingertips

bring a need for social interaction, meaningful work, and an ability to multitask (Cook Ross, Inc.

2004; Jenkins 2008; Sherman, 2006). While these values show some basis for how the

generations view the workplace simply listing them out will not allow a manager to effectively

lead their team. Additionally, these are merely a basic understanding of the different generational

preferences. The preferences are simplistic, and each individual may exhibit some of the

preferences, not all and leading a team effectively takes more than the basic understanding of the


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generations. With these differences organizations could potentially have challenges to work

through in conjunction with the transition of generational representation in the workforce. The

conflicts in the organizations would arise from the different preferences each generation would

exhibit.

Statement of the Problem

A multi-generational workforce could present difficult talent management opportunities

for the leaders of that organization. Each generation has a unique set of skills and values to

which an organization and manager need to fully understand. Furthermore, the workplace in the

United States has the majority of positions filled with Baby Boomers, it is expected that the

Millennial generation will take the majority of the workplace by the year 2015 (Meister &

Willyerd, 2009). Talent management can differ by industry as well, for instance, in the nursing

industry the hospitals are faced with increasing demand for nurses in an environment where the

supply is decreasing (Nelsey & Brownie, 2012). This succession of employees presents a

particularly unique situation for organizations where they need to manage the transition from one

generation to another while maintaining the production of their organization.

Organizations will have a challenging time transitioning the Millennials into leadership

roles, while striving to retain employees from all generations. Each generation brings its own set

of values and strengths to an organization. These values and strengths that each generation

develops can create conflict in the workplace as well (Cahill & Sedrak, 2012). These conflicts

can create a hostile work environment, ultimately leading to decreased productivity. In addition

to the conflicts an organizations will experience an increase in retirement from the Baby Boom

generation. In the United States ten thousand Baby Boomers are turning 65, and this will

continue until 2030 (Dunphy, 2011). This is a large amount of individuals reaching the


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retirement age each day. With the vast number of employees reaching retirement age so quickly

organizations are going to need an action plan in place that will develop their staff to fill the roles

left vacant with the Baby Boom generation exiting the workplace. Traditionally this may have

been something that took a substantial amount of time and occurred naturally.

Furthermore, as outlined later in the paper, the Millennial generations could be more

difficult than others to retain as employees long term based on their work preferences and the

ability for organizations to meet those requests. The Millennial generation enters the workforce

technologically advanced, connected, and with an unmatched sense of entitlement (Herbison &

Boseman, 2009). Herbison and Boseman (2009) continue and stated, if we cling to what has

always worked, the Millennials will look elsewhere for their employmen t opportunities. (p.34).

Millennials do not show the same company loyalty that the previous generations have. The

generation requests as much from the employer as the employer may request of them.

Organizations will need to focus on programs that attract and retain talent for the long term,

rather than sticking to what may have worked in the past.

Ultimately this transition will call upon the Millennial generation to move into leadership

roles, while potentially leading individuals who may be representing the older generations.

Identifying the leadership preferences will allow for the transition to progress more smoothly by

allowing the current and future leaders an understanding of what the organization prefers in

leadership style. In conjunction with attracting and retaining talented Millennials, an

organization must understand the preferences of leadership. This will allow the future leaders to

understand how their leadership style best fits within the organization. Additionally the company

will be able to coach and develop the leaders to understand how to navigate their leadership roles

in the most effective manner possible.


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Purpose of the Study

Diversity and preferences in the workforce are becoming more complex, additionally the

workforce is aging at a rapid pace. No industry is exempt from these two factors affecting the

workplace. Initially organizations will need to identify programs and opportunities to attract and

retain talent within the Millennial generation. This task will be different than it has been

historically. New programs may evolve as the preferences of the Millennial generation are met

by organizations. This will be a necessity for organizations to attract and retain the right talent, if

they dont the Millennials will look for work at other companies. Furthermore, corporations will

primarily need to identify a transition plan to which their organization will be able to transition

the younger generational employees into leadership roles prior to all of the older generations

retiring so they can gain knowledge and experience from these employees. The mentoring and

The study will focus on the Millennial generation, their preferences, and how an

organization can work to effectively transition these individuals into the next leaders without

significantly disrupting a profitable organization. While the paper will focus on the Millennial

generation it is critical to understand the general preferences for each generation. With these

preferences there can be significant challenges for leaders in a company to work through, and

understanding the origin of the conflict will help alleviate the conflicts in the future. This will

allow companies to identify and incorporate a transition plan more effectively as the leadership

styles will then be identified.

Rationale

Once again, organizations are faced with a significant shift in the workforce. The shift in

the workforce has begun, however, may have been slowed by the economic downturn of 2008

and the health of the older generations. These older generations will not remain in the workforce


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forever and at some point will retire. The study is intended to gather information from the field

of multigenerational workplace management and determine effective techniques to transition the

Millennial generation into leadership at an organization. Due to the significant shift in the

workforce population from primarily Baby Boomers to the Millennial generation organizations

need to develop strategic plans for attracting, retaining, and developing talent from within.

The intent of the study is to develop the framework for an organization to effectively

execute on strategies to attract, retain, and develop the Millennial generation. These strategies are

intended to be effective without the other generations leaving the workforce. Organizations need

a framework for tactics to use in the workplace, without them they would be guessing. The study

will identify these tactics that are shown to be effective with studies from experts in the field of

multigenerational workforce management.

Research Question

Within a service organization, where intellectual resources are most important, what are

the most effective techniques to attract, retain, and develop the Millennial generation?

Significance of the Study

Not many organizations have succession plans in place; only 35 percent of companies are

actively planning for their next leaders (Cairns, 2011). An organization might be able to get by

without some leadership roles, however, not every leadership role can be eliminated.

Additionally, there are certain roles that should not be left vacant for long. At the rate to which

employees are leaving the workforce, there are going to be leadership positions vacated. The

succession planning for an organization needs to include the Millennial generation, as this is the

generational cohort that provides the most abundant supply of employees. This is not to say all

leaders should come from this generation, however, the Millennials will provide roughly 85


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million to the population in the United States (Catalyst, 2012). This provides organizations with

an opportunity to plan and develop the talent within an organization, and identify the needed

leadership roles that need to be filled externally.

In order to fill the roles in an organization with the Millennial generation, organizations

are going to need to attract, retain, and develop them into the next leaders. Organizations may

need to develop benefits packages, or work structures that will allow them to attract the

Millennial generation to their company. These plans are not going to be the same things that

attracted and retained previous generations. Some of these programs may need to allow for

individual selection of benefits as needed. Once the corporations have hired an employee from

the Millennial generation, the work is not done. The challenge then is in developing a successful

plan to retain these employees.

An organization has a difficult task presented with the multigenerational workforce they

are presented with today. Corporations need to understand all generations to help prevent and

resolve conflict amongst the generations. Additionally, a new challenge is presented with the

Baby Boom generation retiring and needing to fill the roles they are vacating. This succession

planning should come from the Millennial generation. The study will indicate methods an

organization can utilize to attract, retain, and develop the next leaders in an organization. The

intent of the study is to determine appropriate methods to execute without reducing the

productivity, and keeping all generational cohorts engaged in the workplace.

Definition of Terms

Consistent with Durkin (2011), Cekada (2012), Cook Ross Inc. (2004), Houck (2011),

and Patterson (2005) for the purposes of this paper the generations will be defined as follows:

Traditional: employees born prior to 1946


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Baby Boom: employees born between 1946 and 1964

Generation X or Gen X: employees born between 1965 and 1976

Millennials or Generation Y: employees born between 1977 and 1997

Me Generation: employees born after 1997

Assumptions and Limitations

This study is operating under the assumption that the organization has a staff that they are

able to identify leaders within. If the employer cannot identify leaders within the organization, or

does not have enough staff available to do so they would need to seek external candidates. This

article focuses on the generational cohort preferences and is applicable to the broad population.

The external candidates however typically need to go through a different process when being

hired into a company to ensure they are informed of the organizational policies and proceedures.

It is difficult to fully understand the rate at which the employees in the United States

workforce will retire. There are estimates, however, there are quite a few variables that will

affect how quickly or slowly the workforce will retire. The social security, retirement savings,

and health will all play a significant role in the retirement age and rate for the workforce in the

United States. Since it is difficult to determine the exact savings, or health of an individual or

generational cohort all together the study is limited to rough estimates based on the available

information. As this information changes over time the transition strategies may need to be

altered.

The preferences in a generational cohort are described later in the study. These are

generalizations for the generations. These are descriptors of the generations, not all individuals

born between the specified years of a generation will exhibit the preferences exactly the same as

the rest of the generation. In addition, there are individuals who are born close to the cut off


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years for generations and may exhibit preferences from both generations as they have similar

experiences. The study is limited by these generalizations. It is a good starting point for the

workplace preferences in general, however, leaders in an organization should understand their

employees preferences more specifically to ensure successful execution to attract, retain, and

develop their employee base.

Organization of the Remainder of the Study

The remaining portion of the thesis will be organized into four main sections. The

literature review will gather and synthesize relevant information in the area of multigenerational

workforce management. The literature review briefly describes the four main generations in the

workforce today and provides the most in depth information on the Millennial generation. Next

the literature review provides information on conflict caused from differing views in generations,

providing an opportunity to understand some of the prominent conflicting points. Finally,

synthesis of the current literature on attracting, retaining, and developing the Millennial

generational cohort. The next section of the paper discusses the methodology. Specifically, the

theory and reasoning behind how the paper was compiled. Following the methodology is the

results that there arent any as this paper did not conduct original research, but rather synthesized

previous studies. Finally the paper outlines summary and discussion to provide clarity on the

framework an organization can utilize in transitioning the Millennial generation into leadership.


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Literature Review

A generation is a grouping of people who share similar birth years, history, and a

collective personality as a result of their experiences (Sherman, 2006). The workplace contains

up to five generations in it today, the Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, the

Millennials, and the Me generation. These generations have differing values and characteristics,

however an organization should engage all generations for an effective work environment

(Cates, 2010). By engaging all generations an organization does not miss out on the long term

knowledge and skills that some of the older generations bring, and the new ideas that the

younger generations bring. The workplace needs to effectively include all generational cohorts as

they each bring their own unique benefits to the organization.

The Baby Boom generation represents the largest generation in the workplace today,

however, it is estimated by 2025 that the Millennial generation will represent about 75% of the

workplace (Dhawan, 2012). Sooner than that the Millennial generation will represent the

majority of the workplace. They will not immediately take leadership roles, however the future

leaders will come from this generation, as they will represent the largest generation in the United

States workforce. Organizations need to develop a framework to effectively transition the work

expertise, knowledge, and leadership competencies from the generational cohorts retiring to the

younger generations that will be in the workforce for years to come.

Cairns (2011) stated that only about 35 percent of organizations have a succession plan,

to outline the specifics on how the organization will transition employees into leadership.

Organizations in the service industry should be determining their succession planning much

more deliberately, especially because the most valuable resource in these types of corporations is

intellectual property (Henry, 2011). Considering the imminent transition of the workforce,


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organizations should be focused more on the succession planning now than before. The transition

may have been delayed by healthcare improvements, life expectancy extension, and the decline

in the economy and market over the last few years. However, there will be a need to transition

the leaders of an organization from the older generations to the younger. The next leaders could

come from within the organization or externally. If planning from within an organization should

attract, retain, and develop the talent accordingly.

Generational Preferences

A generation is a grouping of people who share similar birth years, history, and a

collective personality as a result of their experiences (Sherman, 2006). The workplace contains

up to five generations in it today, the Traditional, Baby Boom, Generation X, Millennial, and the

me generation. These generations have differing values and characteristics, however an

organization should engage all generations for an effective work environment (Cates 2010). Each

generation brings a general set of values and traits to an organization, which has been crafted by

the experiences to which each generation has been through. In Table 1 some basic characteristics

are outlined as shown by Cekada (2012), Cook Ross Inc. (2004), Houck (2011), and Patterson

(2005).

Generational Cohort Workplace Characteristics

Traditional Baby Boomer Generation X

Practical Optimistic Skeptical

Patient, Loyal and Hard Working Teamwork and Cooperation Self Reliant

Respects Authority Ambitious Risk Taking

Rule Followers Workaholic Work-Life Balance


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As the table shows there are many different characteristics to which each generation brings to an

organization. These characteristics are what make each of the generations unique, but can create

challenges for the leadership as they determine ways in which they can engage the aspects of all

generations that would benefit the organization.

The Traditional, Baby Boomer, and Generation X have a preference to work in

organizations that have leadership styles focus on the top down or hierarchical in nature (Balda

& Mora, 2011). This preference stems from the experiences with the generations in the military.

Decisions in these organizations come from the top, and the employees left to execute on the

directions provided from leadership.

Twenge (2010) reviewed multiple studies on generational differences over time that

found differences amongst the generations with respects to work-life balance, altruism, work

values, social values, and job satisfaction. The results compared the Traditional, Baby Boom, and

Generation X against the Millennial generation. The older generations are more work-centric

focusing on longer hours in the office over time at home (Twenge, 2010). Traditionals, Baby

Boom, and Generation X seem to be less satisfied with work, however Generation X and the

Millennials will embrace new opportunities if presented with them (Twenge, 2010).

Millennial Preferences

The workplace in the United States has the majority of positions filled with Baby

Boomers, it is expected that the Millennial generation will take the majority of the workplace by

the year 2015 (Meister & Willyerd, 2009). The transition in employee generations force

organizations to understand the preferences more so for the Millennial generation as they are the

least understood at this point. While the data continues to be gathered there are some themes

about the Millennial generation that are evident in the current workplace.


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The Millennial generation is shaped by their upbringing receiving constant care and

attention, involved in teams and groups, and self-confident (Balda & Mora, 2011). The

Millennial generation tends to be well educated, often times beyond high school, have a sense of

entitlement and self-worth that can bring increased productivity (Herbison & Boseman, 2009).

Millennials bring a significant knowledge and understanding of technology because they grew up

with technology in every aspect of their lives (Herbison & Boseman, 2009; Balda & Mora,

2011). Regarding work, Millennials have higher work satisfaction than previous generations at

the same age, prefer a position that offers work life balance, and dont show a decreased work

ethic than previous generations (Deal, Altman & Rogelberg, 2010). Millennials are not as

interested in the working overtime and not being paid for it (Twenge, 2010). The Millennial

generation prefers to have careers that provide the opportunity for meaningful work, although

they are not higher on altruistic values than other generations (Twenge, 2010). Finally, these

preferences lead to the Millennial generation needing relationships and open communication

from all individuals in their networks (Balda & Mora, 2011). These generational preferences

may not be present in all individuals in the Millennial generation.

Integrating these preferences into the organization will cause challenges with the other

generations. The communication preferences particularly can cause conflict in the workplace.

The Millennial generation prefers to innately understand the business strategies from all layers of

the organization from the entry level positions to executive business strategies. This

communication preference is different than in previous generations, where they prefer the top

down communication technique (Balda & Mora, 2011). The challenge with leadership will be

keeping the appropriate levels of communication between all generations and not appearing to

favor one over the other. Social networks bring an added level of communication into the


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workplace. Millennials are accustomed to using social media in their communication it adds

another layer of accessibility to the individuals in the organization. Organizations that have been

successful at integrating the added communication amongst all layers see an increase in

productivity. Balda and Mora (2011) stated the organizational competitive advantage in the

workplace today is found in collaborative and participative culture that fosters open

communication amongst all levels in the company. These preferences not only create challenges

to engage and retain the Millennial generation, but they create conflict amongst all of the

generations.

Generational Conflict

The workplace is increasingly becoming more age diverse with the older generations not

retiring, possibly due to economic or health reasons, and the younger generations continue to

enter the workforce. Generationally above discussed the preferences amongst the generations,

and these preferences directly correlate to the conflict organizations are facing in the current

workplace. When businesses do not focus on engaging all generations, and reducing the

generational conflict they ultimately reduce the profits they would realize (Deyoe & Fox, 2012).

When an organization can resolve the conflict and generate a workplace to which all generations

cohesively work together they are getting the job done more effectively, and all generations are

learning from the other (Deyoe & Fox, 2012).

Time management is a contentious point among the generations, the Baby Boom

generation prefers to work long hours and stay to get the job done, where as the Millennial

generation would prefer to come in complete the task and have more free time available (Deyoe

& Fox, 2012). Additionally, the workplace as seen by the Traditionalist and Baby Boom

generations is a place that you go to, and the workplace as seen by the Generation X and


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To attract employees who are seeking opportunities to have more control over their time

management organizations are offering flexibility within the workday itself. Corporations are

offering job sharing, remote working arrangements and flexible working hours, or seasonable

months off to accommodate some work-life balance needs (Cahill & Sedrak, 2012). Technology

has enabled organizations to expand their reach and hire talent that is needed to fill the gaps as

individuals can telecommute rather than needing to physically be in an office to accomplish the

needed tasks. This additionally allows for the individuals to manage their work hours to meet

their lifestyle more effectively, and allows an organization to offer work-life balance methods to

their employee base.

Retain

Organizations should identify the high potential individuals they would prefer to retain

and ensure that they are deploying the appropriate methods to retain these employees. In

managing high potential talent there are different ways in which an organization can do so.

Luenenburger, (2012) suggested that one in three of the employees who are high potential are

disengaged in the workplace, and are thinking of leaving within a year for another organization.

This disengagement presents a problem for employers who need to retain the current high

potential talent they have. There is a three step process in which employers can use to engage

their employees by evaluating the engagement level, setting clear goals, milestones, and metrics,

and evaluate the progress in which adjustments can be made (Luenenburger, 2012). Additionally,

Luenenburger (2012) stated that employees who can use their top talents every day are six times

as likely to be engaged in their jobs. Srinivasan (2011) described his talent management tactics in

a four-tiered approach providing professional and personal development, providing a higher

purpose, giving a work-life balance, and having a woman friendly workplace. Additionally,


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there are a few factors to which arent explicitly expressed but should be considered such that an

employer should understand humans evolve as do their goals and ambitions, and beneath the

physical nature of a human there is a need for harmony which can create lasting commitment

(Srinivasan, 2011). Both studies show that to retain talent an organization should be focused on

the engagement of the employee. Without engaged employees they are very likely to leave, thus

increasing costs to hire, recruit, and train new employees.

Organizations must also understand that the talent will not remain around forever and

there should be a plan of succession, or talent management plan in which they have in place to

prepare for events where employees leave the company for retirement or to pursue other

opportunities at another organization. Knowledge in todays economic environment is a

competitive advantage for many organizations, and the dissemination of this knowledge is

critical in maintaining that advantage for the corporation and can be done by developing

capabilities to absorb, retain, develop, organize and transfer this knowledge (Mu, Tang &

MacLachlan, 2009). The information that is being transferred from one employee to another or

one group to another should be carefully considered as not all individuals need to know the piece

of information and it should be delivered in a manner that individuals can understand and retain

the knowledge (Mu et al. 2009). Knowledge is critical to an organization; there could be trade

secrets, or information that an organization doesnt want to get out to the public for a particular

reason. However, employees need a certain level of knowledge and knowledge transference in

order to compete in their industry, as organizations competitive advantage is the employee,

which is substantiated by the studies completed by Mu et al. (2009), and Srinivasan (2011). GE,

much like other corporations decided that it would offshore its manufacturing operatio ns to

Korea, later with pressures from the market to keep costs down they moved the manufacturing


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back to Kentucky next to their research and development location (Immelt, 2012). This radical

move was made to maintain the organizations functioning departments together in one location

and provide an opportunity for the entire organization as a whole to learn and develop products

that cost less to produce and are produced more efficiently (Immelt, 2012). For GE the

knowledge transference was easiest done if the functional jobs were all in one location, this

increased their communication amongst the roles in the company. With increased

communication every employee owns their production numbers, and if there is an opportunity to

develop the product in a more efficient or lower cost method the employee owns that project as

well (Immelt, 2012). This tactic combined with the developed culture for open communication

among all members of the organization allowed for increased productivity and collaboration to

innovate the process.

The Millennial generation, in particular, expect the organization to be invested in their

development and focused on their ideas as stated by Cahill and Sedrak (2012) and Balda and

Mora (2011). This stems from the Millennials need for open communication, and their no fear

attitude when communicating with individuals at any level of the corporation. Organizations that

offer open forms of communication from all levels will be able to engage the Millennial

generation in particular, this in turn will motivate the Millennials (Balda & Mora, 2011). By

keeping the communication open, and allowing them to work with some autonomy the

Millennials may be more loyal than some of the older generations (Balda & Mora, 2011).

Ultimately the goal for the organizations is to retain their top tiered talent in all levels, and in

particular the next level of leadership will come from the younger generations as the Traditional,

Baby Boom, and Generation X retire. Thus, the focus will shift to retaining the Millennial

generation.


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Development

With the vast number of employees that will be at an eligible retirement age,

organizations need to fill leadership roles earlier in careers than previously completed before.

Organizations are enrolling Millennials into internal mentoring programs, internships, rotational

programs, and other fast track to management programs (Cahill & Sedrak, 2012). Filling the

roles with the appropriate candidates allow organizations to control the development for the

employee, and provide enough advancement opportunities to potentially keep them employed for

the long term.

Mentoring programs have been utilized significantly within organizations. Ferri-Reed

(2012) stated that the older generations should use mentoring programs to mentor the Millennial

generation so they fully understand how to communicate within an organization and understand

the hierarchy that exists in organizations today. This method focuses on mentoring from the top

down, which isnt necessarily the preferen ce of the younger generations. Kulesza and Smith

(2012) suggested approaching mentoring from a different method, by allowing for mentoring

from all parties involved. This method will enable open lines of communication from all

individuals in the mentoring relationship. It is suggested that the biggest benefits the younger

generations can provide are with respects to technology, where the older generations can provide

knowledge and experiential learning to the younger generations (Kulesza & Smith, 2012). This

mentoring relationship achieves two benefits for the organization, it will allow for open lines of

communication and additionally provide a method to share knowledge among all parties

participating in these relationships.

Millennials have an insatiable thirst for knowledge, and today organizations are set apart

by intellectual capital (Henry, 2011). The development programs that organizations are


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deploying to fast track the development of the Millennial population are similar from one

organization to the next. There is typically a core curriculum that provides the participant on

opportunity to learn skills that are transferrable between all departments such as communication,

basic leadership competencies, critical thinking, basic finance, technology, and mentoring to

name a few (Henry, 2011). Henry (2011) described the second grouping of development as track

curriculum where the participant has the opportunity to develop role specific competencies. For

example if the development program is for a finance role they would learn finance competencies,

technology leadership roles would focus on the needed technology competencies. The third

grouping of development for these participants is the department curriculum that provides

development opportunities focused on department specific roles (Henry, 2011). These programs

are becoming an integral part in development for the next leadership within an organization as

they plan and prepare to fill these roles when the current leadership exits the workforce.


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Methodology

This will be constructed as a case study research project. The case study research

methodology is the most frequently used in business, organizations, and management research

(Latham, n.d.). This will allow the thesis to draw from multiple studies, articles, books, and other

resources available with relevant information. By compiling the articles the thesis will provide an

in depth understanding of the main generational cohorts, in particular the Millennial generation.

In addition it will allow for analysis and application of the methods utilized in previous research.

The references drawn upon will be chosen based on their merit. Primarily the study will

consist of peer reviewed journal articles. The articles typically have a literature review where the

author discusses the background to their study. This allows for the ability to understand the topic

more completely. For this study it allows to ensure the article contains applicable material. There

will. The main benefit this has is to bring multiple views on the topic together in one paper.

This synthesis allows for further interpretation and analysis of the multiple studies that

are selected. With multiple studies the reader will gain additional insight into the analysis of the

data from previous studies. There can be limitations seen from these studies however, especially

with the dates to which they are published, and the background research being used. The

workforce is changing rapidly, and the older the information is the less accurate it can be. To

help alleviate this limitation the articles will be chosen based on their merits described in this

section. This section will outline the methodology of the study.

Research Design

The case study research allows for multiple studies to be analyzed together where they

may not have been before. This allows the researcher to draw from multiple sources and often

times draw new conclusions based on previous research by cross referencing multiple studies


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focused on the same or similar hypotheses (Eisenhardt, 1989). Case studies allow for

triangulation of theories with the researcher identifying the interrelated aspects of studies

(Zivkovic, 2012). The interrelatedness of the studies allows for additional analysis by the case

study. Analysis that may not be completed with a quantitative or qualitative direct study due to

the additional time spent gathering data.

The design of the study was intended to review the studies focused on the multi-

generational management, generational cohort preferences, and the mainly the Millennial

generation. Gathering the research conducted and scrutinizing the studies provide an opportunity

to synthesize the results and draw conclusions among the articles. Ultimately, the synthesis

provides an opportunity to focus research specifically on the desired topics, choosing the

appropriate articles and summarizing the findings. Due to the size of the field, utilizing this

design allows for analysis in multiple areas rather than only being able to focus on one specific

generation due to time and resource limitations. For instance the synthesis of previous research

studies provides the opportunity to gather basic information on all generations as well as specific

information on the Millennial generation. Without this design the study may have only been able

to focus on one aspect of one generation, and would thus reduce the accuracy of conclusions

drawn from the results.

Procedures

Eisenhardt stated there is an eight-step process to completing an effective case study

research study. The eight steps include defining the research problem, selecting cases, crafting

instruments and protocols, entering the field, analyzing data, shaping hypotheses, enfolding

literature, and reaching closure (1989). The steps outlined by Eisenhardt provide a roadmap for

an effective case study analysis. Primarily the process focuses efforts in specific phases to ensure


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that the researcher provides appropriate setup and analysis of the data to synthesize and draw

accurate conclusions. Without a framework the researcher would not be selecting appropriate

studies. This creates issues in determining the conclusions because, a study needs to have

accurate information gathered to be able to accurately draw conclusions.

The cases for this study were selected specifically to gather results around a multi-

generational workforce. In an effort to select recent relevant cases the searches were elected

using the oldest publish date of 2004. The cases gathered provide results and analysis focused on

a multi-generational workforce, and the challenges that are present for leadership in managing

the staff. This paper aims to synthesize the results and analysis of other articles to determine the

most effective way to transition the Millennial generation into leadership roles. This is not a feat

that will happen overnight, but this study provides the framework to determine how to transition

Millennials into leadership roles within the organization. The intent is to develop the framework

within the discussion based on the studies and information gathered. The framework would

provide a starting point for the current leadership within an organization that is supported by the

literature in the field of multigenerational workforce management.

Data Analysis

This study is designed to review and interpret the results from previous studies to

generate a framework for organizations to effectively transition the Millennial generation into

leadership roles. The data provided within the studies is abundant, however, they do provide

summarization and analysis of the data which affords the opportunity to understand the data

without needing to comb through all of the data gathered (Eisenhardt, 1989). The framework

includes themes are utilized from multiple studies provided to ensure a well rounded, and

effective framework. Where themes overlap it provides additional support for the effective use of


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the tactics within an organization. The intent where the literature is contradictory is to analyze

the studies and determine the accurate results which should additionally have support in the field

from other completed studies.

Reliability and Validity

Case study research is presents an additional benefit to validity of the results. According

to Eisenhardt the case study research is inherently valid due to the ability of the researcher to

review the results from multiple studies and understand multiple sides of the arguments (1989).

In reviewing the cases with an external viewpoint the case study research project can be

composed with less biased synthesis in the results. As stated before, this allows the researcher to

review multiple viewpoints and studies in one area and determine the most accurate results from

previous studies (Eisenhardt, 1989). Within the synthesis itself the intent is to provide

information from all viewpoints, and the discussions and conclusions to describe the accurate

studies and provide an explanation on for why they are used.

It is the intent of this study to select prior case studies, articles, and materials that contain

their own reliability and validity. Primarily the case studies used have been peer reviewed to

ensure reliability and validity. The studies are selected from multiple viewpoints, and intended to

provide a broad perspective on multi-generational workforce management. The benefit that this

provides is twofold. First, the researcher is afforded the opportunity to review many more studies

than would have the time or ability to if they were conducting their own original research. This

fosters the ability to understand the topic in more depth and detail. Secondly, the synthesis

allows the researcher provide more accurate conclusions. This comes from the ability to review

differing viewpoints and articles on the same topic. Upon careful analysis of the research studies


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completed they will be able to draw conclusions that may not have been derived before due to

the specificity of the previous studies.

Ethical Considerations

The studies intent is to synthesize data, discuss, and design a framework for transitioning

Millennials into leadership. No participants were used in this study all of the research was

gathered based on previous case studies, articles, and materials. These materials were screened

for unethical biases.


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Results

The purpose of this qualitative meta-synthesis was to answer the research question: What

is the most effective way for an organization in the United States to transition the Millennial

generation into leadership? To provide an answer to this response a meta-analysis case study was

utilized. This study gathered findings, synthesized the data in an effort to provide a foundational

framework for an effective transition of the Millennial generation into leadership within an

organization. This is a critical issue for organizations with the Baby Boom generation nearing

retirement age they will need to develop the Millennial generation into leaders with less time

than has been historically allotted.

Summary

Based on the research and the population numbers in the United States it is estimated that

the Millennial generation will become the majority of the workplace in 2015 (Meister &

Willyerd, 2009). This is a generalization amongst all industries in the United States, and may

vary from one industry to another. Organizations in the workplace today are changing rapidly to

keep up with technology and continually provide additional products and services to their

customers. These changes organizations are navigating through in an ever changing marketplace

are primarily externally based. Transitioning the Millennial generation into leadership is a

challenge all organizations will face as the Baby Boomers continue to retire.

The workplace today is comprised primarily of four generations, the Traditionalists, Baby

Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials. The older generations, Traditionalist, Baby Boomer,

and Gen Xers prefer to work in an organization that is hierarchical in nature (Balda & Mora,

2011). These lead to other preferences within the organization which have shaped the way

business has been done in the United Stated. Cekada (2012), Cook Ross Inc. (2004), Houck


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(2011), and Patterson (2005) outline multiple characteristics as outlined in Table 1. These

characteristics have been shaped by the experiences the individuals have encountered. The

Traditionalist, Baby Boomers, and Gen Xers tend to work longer hours, and focus more of their

time and effort on work. Most importantly the older generations typically prefer to only have

communication when it is necessary, and feedback primarily when performance needs to change.

The Millennial generation preferences come from their upbringing of which the

individuals were involved in teams, exhibit self-confidence, tend to be well educated, and have a

sense of entitlement (Balda & Mora, 2011; Herbison & Boseman, 2009). The Millennials have

been provided an upbringing that involved teamwork and group activity in addition to the

expanding technological era which leads to an increased self-confident individual who exhibits

higher productivity levels. The Millennial generation prefers a work life balance that allows them

to have time to spend with family and friends. The Millennials prefer to have open

communication amongst all levels of leadership and consistent feedback provided to them.

These preferences exhibited by the generational cohorts add to the conflict within the

organizations. A significant conflicting point is the work-life balance amongst the generations.

The Millennial generation views work as something an individual does, and the older generations

tend to view work as a place you go, in addition the older generations prefer to work longer

hours (Cahil & Sedrak, 2012; Deyoe & Fox, 2012). In addition the generations have differing

viewpoints on what they would like to receive feedback for. The older generations would prefer

to be left to complete their work unless something is wrong, whereas the Millennial generation

would prefer to have constant feedback regardless of their performance in the organization

(Cahill & Sedrak, 2012). There are additional conflicting points amongst the generational


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preferences in the workplace, however the research indicated the work-life balance and the

communication as the two major conflicting points.

Summary and Discussion of Results

The purpose of this qualitative meta-synthesis was to answer the research question: What

is the most effective way for an organization in the United States to transition the Millennial

generation into leadership? To provide an answer to this response a meta-analysis case study was

utilized. This study gathered findings, synthesized the data in an effort to provide a foundational

framework for an effective transition of the Millennial generation into leadership within an

organization.

Summary

The goal of this case study was to provide a synthesis of the previous research completed

with regards to the multi-generational workforce in the United States. Within the meta-synthesis

the study intended to increase the validity, reliability. The study is intended to create a synthesis

of the studies to determine where they are similar and where they differ. This allows for this

study to create a more complete analysis than the individual studies on their own merit.

Discussion and Conclusions

The generational cohorts are different in their preferences. While the Millennial

generation has differing expectations than the older generations, it is another change that

organizations will need to navigate in the marketplace today. The intent of this study was to

develop a basic framework to which organizations in the United States could adapt to their

particular workforce effectively. The findings developed a basic understanding for organizations

on the preferences the Millennial generations may exhibit around their desires in the workplace.

One of the primary challenges organizations will face in the workplace today is the conflict


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amongst the generations due to the differentiation of preferences. Finally, the study determined

some best practices for organizations to attract, retain, and develop the Millennial generation into

leaders of tomorrow.

The Millennial generation has developed their own perceptions, and preferences of what

the workplace should be for them, much the same as every other generational cohort before

them. Due to their upbringing the Millennial generation is self-confident, prefers teamwork, and

require constant feedback. These preferences allow the Millennial generation to have typically

higher productivity than the other generational cohorts because they have the confidence and

ability to utilize other individuals when needed. The need for feedback allows for consistent

alteration of their tactics in the workplace, continually making them more efficient and better at

the tasks they are accomplishing. Millennials prefer to have a career that provides an opportunity

for work life balance, as well as accomplishing meaningful work . This doesnt indicate that the

Millennials have a lower work ethic, they just prefer not to spend all their hours at work each

day. With the efficiencies, ability to use technology, and team-oriented aspect it allows for more

work to be accomplished in a shorter amount of time.

The Millennial generation does present challenges to an organization. The need to work

on meaningful tasks can be difficult to provide on a daily basis. Organizations will need remedial

tasks done from time to time, and there will need to be individuals available to do these tasks, as

well as the meaningful work. Additionally the Millennials have a desire to understand the

strategies and direction of the organization. Leadership does not necessarily have the ability to

disseminate the strategies of the organization. Meaningful work and the desire to understand the

organizational strategy can cause conflict in the Millennial generation.


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Conflict across generational cohorts will cause turmoil if leadership does not proactively

find methods to engage all generations. The workplace conflict stems from communication, work

life balance, and time spent with management. The preferences exhibited by the Millennial

generation are not necessarily accepted by all generations in the workplace today.

Communication preferences can be a primary driver in conflict, and because of this conflict they

can make it difficult to resolve the conflicts that arise. To alleviate these conflict points the

current leadership in an organization will need to continually reinforce the communication

culture. Even if this is something that will change over time, the leaders need to reinforce the

culture. Time spent in the workplace will be another conflicting point amongst the generations.

The older generations believe that the work is to be done at a location, while the younger

generations believe that work can be done from anywhere, at any time with the availability of

technology. Technology offers the ability for work to be done elsewhere, this availability is a

benefit to all generations, as they gain understanding of how it can help them the older

generations will appreciate the benefits of working from elsewhere if necessary. These conflicts

could be problematic if the current leadership does not plan and prepare to resolve them quickly,

before they affect the production in an organization.

Technology presents another challenge for a company attempting to hire employees

today. Access to information about an organization is becoming easier for the incumbent

employees, which can deter, or attract the candidates organizations are looking for. Attracting the

Millennial generation is a critical piece of the strategy current leadership needs to deploy in order

to effectively bring in the appropriate talent onboard. Corporations can offer flexible options to

select from with respects to benefits. This offers the flexibility for an incoming employee to elect

the appropriate coverage, and work options that would suit their needs and desires. These


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elections would show the flexibility and availability of an organization to provide an adequate

work life balance to an employee. These flexible options are more attractive to the younger

generations as they become aware of what their needs are both within and outside of the

workplace.

Once the employee has been hired, the current leadership needs to work to retain the

employee long term, especially if the employee is one that they deem to be a next leader.

Leadership can provide that by offering flexibility within the workplace, they could offer job

sharing, additional training opportunities, leadership seminars, and flexible work hours. This

would provide an opportunity for the Millennial employee to work on what they deem as

meaningful work, and offer the flexible work-life balance they would like to have. In addition to

the meaningful work the Millennial generation wants to have their opinion and thoughts heard

and see results from them. Hearing the ideas and providing feedback is key for the current

leaders to provide the Millennials. By providing feedback, whether it be instant or after some

thought, provides an opportunity for the leader to understand more about the Millennials

thoughts and keep them engaged in the workplace long term. This would continue to allow the

Millennial generation to come up with ideas and thoughts, while providing an open forum with

leadership discuss the direction of the organization. The concept is to allow the current leaders to

provide a work life balance, understand the thoughts of the Millennial generation, and continue

to provide a forum where there is open communication amongst all levels in the organization.

Providing these avenues will keep the Millennial generation engaged and aid in retaining them

for the long term.

The development of talent is crucial to the execution of successfully transitioning the

Millennials to leadership roles in an organization. Millennial individuals typically have a need to


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acquire knowledge or to know something about many different topics. This is something that can

be very beneficial to organizations today as they are working toward educating the younger

generations on how to become leaders in their corporations. The most effective technique to

engage and educate the younger generation is to provide a mentoring atmosphere where they can

be the mentee but also become the mentor. This would accomplish a couple of things. First, it

provides the opportunity for the current leadership top mentor the younger generations, and

provide focused energy and direction for them. This will also provide an opportunity for the

leader to gain some knowledge on items they may not know as much about. Finally, it will

provide an opportunity to the younger generation to understand what a mentor is, and allows for

the current leader to provide feedback to the Millennial. This feedback will allow the Millennial

to understand how to become a leader in a closed setting, with specific feedback, from someone

who has been in leadership within the organization. Additionally, by providing an opportunity

for the Millennial to be in an open communication setting rather than in a lecture setting, this will

keep them engaged and aid in retaining the employee long term. The primary challenge is fast

tracking the leadership development of the Millennial generation. An organization could do this

by providing mentoring relationships across multiple leadership roles within the organization.

Additionally, a resolution would be to have established leadership development programs where

the next leaders in an organization can be trained, and exposed in ways that were traditionally

not available. Ultimately, the organization needs to provide leadership mentoring to the

Millennial generation in a much shorter time frame than was traditionally afforded.

The transition into leadership for the Millennial generation could be a difficult transition

for an organization to navigate. However, there are some methods that can aid in easing the

process. The current leaders need to understand the generations and the conflict that are present


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in the workplace today. This understanding will allow them to be proactive in resolving the

conflict and aid in keeping all generations engaged. To transition the Millennials into leadership

an organization needs to take specific measures with respects to attracting, retaining, and

developing their talent. If they do not execute on all three strategies they will not be prepared to

have the Millennial generation become the next leaders in their organization.

Limitations and Recommendations

The intent of the study was to develop a framework for how an organization in the United

States can transition the Millennial generational into leadership in a strategic method. This was a

literary review, and did not study one specific organization. While the study did develop a basic

framework for how to make this transition it was not able to study the framework specifically in

a business setting. Additionally, the tasks are general in nature, and work to develop the specific

steps and timeframe should be taken when deploying the tactics in an organizational setting.

It is recommended that further research be done around the effects the Millennials will

have on the other generations in the workplace. The study did provide some insight into the

generational preferences, there should be research done around the effects on the older

generations as the Millennials transition into the leadership roles ahead of them. This will be a

contentious issue, as the older generations are accustomed to waiting for their time, rather than

being propelled into leadership ahead of someone who has been with the organization for a

longer period of time.


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APPENDICES

Table 1

Generational Cohort Workplace Characteristics

Traditional Baby Boomer Generation X

Practical Optimistic Skeptical

Patient, Loyal and Hard Working Teamwork and Cooperation Self Reliant

Respects Authority Ambitious Risk Taking

Rule Followers Workaholic Work-Life Balance

Risk-Averse Competitive Informality

Documents

Doyle - Transitioning Millennials Into Leadership