I understand that Millennials grew up with the internet, instant communication and social networks – all at their finger tips. This unprecedented access to information and gratification almost certainly has impacted their expectations at work.

To best engage Millennials, we need to be conscious of what makes them tick. But, a comment on a recent post by a Millennial colleague of mine made me think: isn’t this just good leadership? And doesn’t it apply to workers of any generation?

1. Don’t Manage Me Like a Millennial

On TLNT, Lance Haun offers an interesting perspective on the Millennial debate:

“If there is one thing that will get me going early in the morning, it’s this whole idea of a multi-generational workforce issue being presented as something shiny and new. It’s like previous decades of workplaces, where 20, 40 and 60 year-olds worked together, never happened. Or that previous generations didn’t bring in expertise in new technology when they entered the job market.”

Haun suggests that the issue lies not in different needs or expectations of Millennials, but instead in a “leadership void” in which leaders don’t pay enough attention to their employees or set them up for success:

“If you treat your employees with respect, if you are clear to them what your expectations are, if you give them the resources to accomplish the job, and if you provide regular formal and informal feedback, not only will your Millennial problem magically fix itself, but I’m guessing many of your other employee issues will be solved too.”

Haun concludes: “While multi-generational management may be the hot management technique of the day, rejecting it for a more simple and logical system that gets results is the best way to fill that leadership void.”

But isn’t that what experts like Karie Willyerd and Jeanne Meister call for when they say that Millennials have different needs at work and that leadership needs to be aware of them in order to attract, develop and retain top Gen Y talent? (Karie Willyerd is hosting an upcoming webinar on this topic as part of the Rypple Leadership Series.)

2. The Zombie Workplace Survival Guide

This Harvard Business Review article focuses on an aspect of leadership that both sides of the generational debate should agree upon: “how certain workplace practices can destroy employees’ willingness to use their higher cognitive functions, like imagination and trust. “

H. James Wilson and Kevin Desouza describe four “contagions” that could lead to the creation of a “zombie workplace” one in which “creative people and good ideas disturbingly molder.” They provide a “survival tip” for each contagion.

Based on the survival tips, attention from managers, capturing and sharing learnings, and building trust with colleagues are key to creating an engaged and creative culture. (“Organizations that show a lack confidence and trust in creative people may be showing signs of a zombie workplace outbreak.”)

We’ve seen in recent studies that attention from managers has a seriously positive impact on motivation, engagement, retention and performance.

So, does the attention managers give need to be different depending on the generation of an employee or specific to each employee, regardless of generation in which they may fall? Perhaps at the end of the day, the issue here on both sides of the debate really is leadership: if managers pay more attention to their employees, specifically to ensuring they get the resources and feedback they need to succeed, then they’ll succeed.

As the percentage of individuals over the age of 65 who are in the labor force continues to grow, it’s increasingly important to figure this out.

Photo of hands by miss karen. Licensed under CC.