I agree with your post. I also feel that it is hard for Gen Y to be managed by other Gen Y members. You're not used to having someone your age (or just a little older) being in charge of you. Sometimes it can be fun, but I also think you lose a little authority when you are managing other Gen Yers. Good post.

When I was working with a Fortune 500 firm on its generational issues, some of the older Gen Y's revealed discomfort with being lumped altogether with the younger Gen Y's and the negative stereotypes (entitlement, etc) that came with that. So now they have to deal with managing for the first time (difficult for any generation), managing peers (difficult for any generation), and managing a group that is characterized very distinctly and often negatively (fairly or not) in the workplace. These are tough issues, and many companies do not have management training at all, much less training for this specific subset. A good mentor can help navigate the minefields.

I understand how this can be a problem. I manage individuals that are the same age as myself and many approach me as a friend instead of their supervisor. This is great! Workers should never feel an us vs them mentality. Befriending one another results in the boss being more approachable and, overall, highly respected.

Hi Tim - Yeah, I guess there are some advantages and disadvantages to this. In one sense it's nice to be on the same page as your manager in terms of how you view work and life. Your example with communication preferences is a good illustration of this. But then again, you do have a (for lack of a better term) superior/inferior relationship with this person and maybe a little more formality is in order. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds in the coming years.

I think like any situation, it's easy to generalize and equally easy to reinforce or reject the generalization based on anecdotes.

My experiences with managing Millennials differs from person to person. Some are more experienced, some are more mature, some are more driven, some are more skilled.

My most recent Millennial report was a fantastic professional with an incredible future ahead of her. I'd love to continue to be her colleague in other forms in the future.

But she's not my friend on Facebook.

Not sure that I agree with Jim's comment above about having to delete your social accounts... I think one should be able to be a manager and also enjoy a personal life that utilizes social networking as well. Admittedly, I don't have the solution here - its quite a quandry. Its an interesting world we are living in where the line separating personal and professional seems to blur every day.

@KMS, thanks for the comment. I have not managed any Gen Xers yet, but I have managed a baby boomer. That was a tough situation. They had experience and clout but no skills. I had skills but no experience. It took almost 2 years to move ahead of them on the project.

Another issue with managing people that are closed to retirement, is that a lot of them don't want to continue to adapt and learn. They just want to do what they do until they retire. In the technology field, that is almost impossible and completely unacceptable.

Thoughts?

I think we manage people of our own generation best, because although there are always disadvantages, when two people are of the same generation, you eliminate a lot of that miscommunications that comes when two people of generations start working together.

I think the biggest disadvantage right for Gen Y managers is simply experience - and that will come.

As a Gen Xer, I would like to encourage you to continue writing about and exploring this issue. You will do us all a great service in unlocking the key to managing Gen Y.

Millennials (aka Gen Y) entering leadership roles at work is going to happen faster for them than it did for the generations before them. I discuss this a lot in the seminars I conduct on generational dynamics at work. Based on mass Boomer retirement (and being a big generation), combined with Gen X being a smaller generation, Millennials will find themselves moving "up" at work out of head count necessity. Someone needs to be able to fill those mid-management roles! And they'll not only be managing their generation, but Gen X, Gen Jones and Boomers. I was a guest on a talk show a few months ago discussing "How Older Employees Can Cope With a Young Boss", so the ball is already starting to roll rapidly.

My new book for Millennials entering leadership roles at work will be published this fall, and I discuss many of the dynamics that comes with this. Plus, I provide Leadership Coaching for Millennial employees so I get inside scoop into the challenges many of them face as young leaders, their fears, seeking respect from their peers AND older employees, etc.

Although getting promoted into a leadership role at 26 is exciting, it's not always easy managing people your age or a little younger, and it can be really challenging to manage someone 10-20 years older than you are... especially if YOU got promoted and they were also up for the position...and especially when you personally haven't been in the workforce for all that long.

BTW: Great blog topic. I'll promote it on my blog and send some link love.

Lisa