The Millennial Generation is 80 million members strong, and each year more than 1.5 million enter the workforce with little to no idea of how to succeed.
These Gen Ys need a wake-up call and "The Young Professional's Guide to the Working World" by Aaron McDaniel fills this void, a reference guide offering relevant advice on building a strong career foundation. McDaniel can relate to Millennials/Gen Ys on a fundamental level--he is one.
Drawing on personal experiences from the beginning of his own career, McDaniel provides insights on topics essential to success within the first 5-10 years of any corporate career. The next 40 years of your career will be supported by your self-knowledge foundation. Take the time now to learn the best practices and avoid common pitfalls, or learn the hard way by making your own mistakes.
So much about being successful is about the ability to learn. Taking lessons from every situation (Chapter 9) and being a fast learner (Chapter 6) are important foundational characteristics, but your coachability really reveals your willingness to learn in action.
We have all had a coach at some point in our lives, from organized sports to an organization like the Girl Scouts. Coaches can be very helpful in getting us to perform at our best. Everyone needs a coach. We need others to help us identify our gaps and offer suggestions for improvement. Potential coaches are all around us. A personal coach can be a professional career coach, a mentor, your boss, a peer or even someone experienced who cares about your success.
Being open to feedback from all angles is the center concept of effective coachability. Unlikely sources can provide you with some of the best lessons. Being coachable isn't a reactive trait. Someone who is coachable actively hunts for best practices and lessons in her experience, and also is able to take a step back and observe (a self-coaching practice).
Working with an personal coach can help you to be clear on the communication style at your level within the company and to confidently practice this style so you will be heard at work. Of course, you must agree to be coachable before deciding to work with a personal coach.
Gen Y/Millennials Shaking Up the Workplace
Organizations must recognize that Millennials expect coaching and step up to offer it--and when it comes to recruiting and retaining the best and brightest, companies can build strong bonds by reaching out to the boomer parents of their young employees.
In today's workplace, we have four generations attempting to work well together. Helping managers better understand how each of their generational associates make meaning is of great importance to the leadership of organizations--since all of the work is done through relationships. Effective coaching can help to bridge the gaps and oil the skids of communication between generations. Effective leadership can happen on the dance floor of communication when engaging in respectful conversations.
Lynne C. Lancaster: The M-Factor: How the Millennial Generation Is Rocking the Workplace
John Agno: When Doing It All Won't Do: A Self-Coaching Guide for Career Women
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