The blogosphere has been rife with experts, many of them Millennials, advising people about how to manage — Millennials. As with the Baby Boomers of 50 years ago, they’ve been hailed as “the next great generation.” But in spite of their demographic size, the Millennials are no more special than any other group. As with each cohort, they’re just products of the times in which they’ve come of age. So rather than the five things you should do when managing Millennials, how about the five things you shouldn’t do? Here goes.

Number One: Stop Thinking of Them That Way!

They are not the next great generation. I don’t say this to disparage them. I’ve been researching and writing about Millennials since the leading edge entered the workplace in 1998. But I’ve always tried to keep all the generations in perspective. Each has its own proclivities, its biases, and makes contributions that the others have not. The big difference now is technology. The Millennials have had a digital bullhorn. The Xers, Boomers, and those that came before did not give advice about how they should be managed. They just worked and learned how to fit in. Did they force transition? Of course. But employers didn’t have twenty-somethings trying to advise them how to manage — twenty-somethings. Maintain your perspective.

Number Two: Stop Assuming That They Know How to Think on the Job

This may sound harsh, but consistently more than half of surveyed employers say many Millennials have trouble with critical thinking. I could spend 10 paragraphs postulating why, but that’s not the point. The key here is to assess problem solving during selection. Assign tasks. Place them in uncomfortable situations. Pose problems that require judgment and see how each applicant comes to resolution. I may still hire newly minted college graduates who don’t possess work smarts. I just want to know before they come on board.

Number Three: Stop Comparing Them to Your Kids

Most people don’t do this consciously. But when the teenager behind your counter behaves the same as your teenager at home, it’s tempting to lump them together. We want to assume that the values will be similar, the family structure the same, the beliefs about money, faith, politics, entertainment, and social issues on the same plane as ours. And when they’re not, we instinctively think “Why not?” Countless employers have complained to me over the past several years that “These kids have no common sense.” The first thing I do is remind them that they’re not kids. They are the people upon whom we depend for our livelihoods.

Number Four: Stop Lumping Them All Together

In recent decades, one in four workers has graduated with a four-year degree. Yet those are the only ones studied and surveyed for the most part. What about the other 75 percent? Do you manage the 27-year-old engineer who’s earning $52,000 a year the same way you manage the 27-year-old tradesman who’s earning exactly the same thing? Do you inspire the middle class clerk from Minnesota the same way as you inspire the first-generation clerk from Ecuador? Today’s Millennials are extraordinarily diverse, even compared to those coming of age 15 years ago. When some Millennial expert says “always” do this or “never” do that, ignore them. Take time to examine the bigger picture. There’s so much more to each one than just age.

Number Five: Stop Getting Angry, Frustrated or Indignant About the Time Being Consumed by Managing and Leading These Eager Young Contributors

Instead, shape them. Show them how the firm really makes money. Be specific. Explain the organizational structure and its reasoning. Explain your firm’s role in the marketplace and industry. Introduce them to mentors who will light the way but also help them understand that promotions don’t happen every six months. Encouraging their passion is good, but so is finding ways to help them channel it so that both they and the firm thrive.

These are not the rantings of a bitter Boomer, just observations of someone who talks day in and day out with employers who are struggling to manage the ongoing transition within their workforce. The Millennials are here, but so are the rest of us. Let’s learn, grow and thrive together.

Things Every Millennial Should Know

I’ve often been amused by articles that promise Millennials the best way to get ahead in the workplace. Many are penned by non-Millennials who are proponents of our generation’s stigmas.

Just saying “Millennial” in a conversation will drum up eye-rolling and the accusation of erratic, disloyal, egocentric, competitive, over-dependence of technology, and other behavioral traits. Since it’s our generation’s responsibility to set forth a paradigm shift in such a perception, I’ll offer a few bits of advice to help my Millennial colleagues gain the trust and respect of their leaders:

1. Make an impact by supporting, not destroying your team.

Making an impact doesn’t have to come from shredding the “old school” ways on your first day. Start by establishing relationships with everyone you meet: your peers, supervisors, executives, even the friendly face at the front desk. Take the time to find out about what they’re working on, and how your skills may help them to accomplish their goals.

2. Use technology to help your company’s objectives.

Instead of fuming with frustration while senior leadership loads a PowerPoint presentation, lend a hand. The information is sound even if the technological skills are not. Likewise, eCommerce, cloud computing, and mobile technology are no longer frivolous options, but necessary tools for business success. Use your Millennial techno-skills to identify and support company objectives.

3. Your idea is not always the holy grail of ideas.

This may seem like an epiphany to a Millennial armed with an MBA and a 4G connection, but you may not have the most current and best information on how to shape a project, and the vast majority of successful plans do not materialize overnight. Seek collaborative input from your peers and supervisors. While your plan may have seemed brilliant to you in the shower, it’s probably only the ground floor of where you could take it.

4. Never stop learning.

I’ll admit that this one is a little self-serving for me as a training manager, but I’m a Millennial, right? There are countless ways to develop professionally and they don’t always include online classes. Try partnering with associations, local young professionals networks, nonprofits, and even your local chamber! Whatever you choose, make sure you stay active and keep challenging yourself.

5. Wait!

Exercising patience may be hard to do because we have grown up in an instant-gratification and celebratory world. Millennials have tried to turn the workplace into a grown-up version of the schoolyard game “King of the Mountain” where you fight everyone to get to the top and stay there as long as you can. Instead, embrace the journey. The titles, money, corner office, big home, and car will come. For now, learn from those around you.

While it is well understood that Millennials will become the next generation of global leaders, we must first negate the stigmas that bind us by acting contrary to them. In time, we’ll inherit all the responsibility that we’re so desperately looking to garner now.

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