Young blood: harnessing the energy and ambition of millennial managers.

• Author: Penrod, Emma
• Position: Millennial Leaders

It is perhaps human nature for one generation to view the next as somewhat alien, but to many, the Millennial generation seems entirely foreign and unique. This is the generation that has little to no recollection of the time before the digital revolution. This is the generation that came of age during the Great Recession. And this is the generation that is now entering the professional world and quickly rising to take on leadership roles.

Some businesses are actively recruiting young managers, going so far as remodeling entire offices to attract youth and the tech-savvy, entrepreneurial spirit that comes with it. Others are slower to jump on the bandwagon, worrying about rumors of entitlement and disloyalty among Millennials.

But many local CEOs agree that, for the time being, the choicest real estate is the middle ground: employing a mix of Millennials and Baby Boomers allows the team to take advantages of the strengths of both generations' managerial philosophies--and helps them to learn from one another.

Thriving on Change

Though more experienced, older employees can struggle to keep pace and adapt to change in today's fast-paced, tech-centric business world. But Millennials thrive amid change--it's their native environment. "In our world today, we're much more open to change and looking at things differently," says Shelli Gardner, CEO of Stampin' Up!, a Riverton-based company that manufactures decorative stamps.

Rob Pikus, owner of Pikus Concrete and Construction, says he too has observed that his Millennial-aged managers tend to be more open to change and more willing to adopt new technologies or techniques in the workplace than his older managers. Change isn't scary to Millennials, he says--it's exciting. "The younger generation is looking for that change, instead of trying to avoid it," Pikus says.

But that doesn't necessarily result in personality clashes at work. Rather, he's observed that when his young managers become early adopters of a new technology, the other managers and employees will wait and watch how the change pans out over time. If it goes well, the managers who might have resisted change at first become more willing to try it for themselves.

When the two work together as a team, Pikus says, it can be a great boon to the company, because the Millennials can test out new ideas for their older counterparts, making everyone more comfortable with the change.

While some of this interaction may be unique to the differences...