In this keynote, Margaret Spence challenges HR professionals to discard the negative stereotypes they hold about millennials and to view them as the next generation of leaders. She argues that HR, as the organization’s change agents, must shift from resisting change to actively embracing and empowering millennials. By aligning HR’s mission and purpose with millennial values, facilitating knowledge transfer, and relinquishing control, HR can ensure a smooth succession of leadership and preserve institutional HR knowledge for the future.
Chapters
I say one word to you, that one word, millennial. Everybody's face went, "Ugh." You had that look on your face when I said millennial. And just that look invokes this visceral, "Oh my God, them." And that's exactly what we think. When we think about millennials, we think, "Oh my gosh, those folks." But let me tell you, my goal today is to take an eraser and erase every thought that you have about millennials. I want to change how you view them. I want to change how you engage them. I want to change how you visually perceive them. Because as HR professionals, the number one thing that we have to do is see them for the leadership qualities that they have and to embrace them as our next generation of leaders. And if we don't start changing our perception today about millennials, we're going to miss an opportunity to engage them and to be a resource for them for them and to push them forward. Because guess what, ladies and gentlemen? None of us will be in our seats forever. None of us. We are eventually going to retire. We are eventually going to go out to the proverbial retirement pasture. And when we go out there, someone has to sit in your seat. You know, the funny thing about HR, we talk about change. We are the masters of change. We sold an entire society on being change agents. But when it comes to embracing millennials, we don't feel like we wanna change. So let me break it to you. It's not about them, guys. It's about you. They are here. They are the leaders of tomorrow. We've gotta let go of the steering wheel and allow them to drive it. We have to be visionary. We have to have purpose. And we have to connect our missions to the millennials that are out there. And if we don't do that, we miss an opportunity to really impart the knowledge that we have to them and keep the historic knowledge of HR going while we empower them to become the next leaders that we want them to become. Because ladies and gentlemen, we need them to lead us.
