These 3 Skills Will Allow Millennials To Excel As Leaders
Jul 02, 2021

​​At the start of the 2010s, the internet was flooded with articles debating the role of Millennials in the workplace. Arguments were made in favor of hiring Millennials and giving them the chance to excel in leadership positions. Others disagreed, citing that Millennials were too young for these responsibilities and were not yet ready to manage or take the lead.


The world has changed dramatically in the last 10 years. It’s no longer possible to write about Millennial youth because the generation has aged out of it. Millennials are now into their early to late thirties. Presently, the youngest individuals considered to be Millennials are 24 years old.

Many Millennials can recall the struggles of graduating during the Great Recession and finding employment as post-graduates. However, the most defining moment in any Millennial’s professional life—and for Gen-Z, the next generation climbing up the career ladder—will be the Covid-19 pandemic.


In an unprecedented time, Millennials have managed to survive, and thrive, thanks to possessing certain skills that allow them to remain resilient and agile as leaders and even entrepreneurs. Now and into the future, these are the skills necessary for Millennials to excel in leadership positions.


1. Emotional intelligence


Our changing world has been quietly reflecting the value of emotional intelligence, or EQ, in the workforce for several years. This is often referred to as the other type of smart. It is the notion that traditional benchmarks of intelligence, such as a high IQ, are not always synonymous with top performance in the workplace. Emotional intelligence argues that individuals who possess four core skills are actually better able to experience the most success and satisfaction in their job than those lacking EQ.


What are these four core skills?


  • Self-awareness.This is the ability to understand and be aware of your emotions.

  • Self-management. In understanding your emotions, you are able to develop personal competence. As such, you may be able to direct your behavior in a positive manner.

  • Social awareness.Aside from understanding your own emotions, social awareness allows you to pick up on the emotions of others. This helps to develop social competence and understand what is happening in any given circumstance.

  • Relationship management. Interactions, ranging from how you engage with customers to collaborate with coworkers, are better managed as a result of picking up on the awareness found in your emotions and the emotions of others.

You may be reading this and feeling excited because you possess the four core skills. If you don’t possess emotional intelligence, however, it is still possible to develop it. Our brains have what is known as “plasticity.” Whenever we learn new concepts, brain cells grow and develop new connections; in fact, as many as 15,000 connections made be made in a single brain cell. Connections made in one brain cell have the ability to branch out and reach other brain cells, continually making thousands of new connections.


In the long run, this enables us to develop emotionally intelligent habits. Becoming emotionally intelligent gives Millennials in leadership roles the ability to be more empathetic with one another, provide assistance when there are setbacks, and inspire each other to show up and do their best. The same may be said of Millennials in entrepreneurial roles. Those possessing EQ have the ability to seek out other individuals who also possess emotional intelligence and hire them to join their respective teams and build up their businesses.


2. Nimble behavior

What comes to mind when you think of someone who has a nimble nature? When I hear this word I tend to think of entrepreneurs. Possessing a nimble approach means being flexible and fluid. Millennials understand there are times when they need to stick to a script, and there are also moments when the script must be thrown out and rewritten.


When the unexpected happens, like a global pandemic, everything changes out of necessity. There are new customer needs to meet. It’s simply not feasible to act as though nothing out of the ordinary is happening. Millennials who worked during Covid-19 will likely be able to recall at least one moment where they needed to suddenly pivot and transform their existing processes to complete tasks.


Luckily, nimble behavior is not completely unprecedented. Millennials have lived through massive changes. They understand that one of the keys to getting through uncertain times is to embrace uncertainty and be willing to act in an agile manner. Understanding how to scrap one plan entirely, write a new one from scratch, and then act on it alongside the team is an incredibly valuable skill to carry forward post-pandemic.


3. Connectedness


Are there other traits I could have listed in this third slot? Certainly. I could have talked about how the innovative nature of Millennials will allow them to learn new concepts and adapt. Or, I could have played up the always popular Millennial characteristic of being tech savvy.


In the pandemic, I have watched how the Millennials on our team treat each other. While there certainly is an emphasis on working hard together, team members also have found a way to check in on one another.


Amid the pandemic health crisis is a mental health crisis. Employees all around the world have been experiencing high levels of depression, anxiety, and burnout. In another timeline, much like the aforementioned early 2010s, you’d see thought leadership articles online about how to avoid burnout at work. Now, it has become a lasting issue that is impossible to ignore.


Millennials prioritize people. If a colleague is acting off or seems down, they will be among the first to pick up on it. They will also be among the first to try to offer to help out. “What can I do?” and “Are you okay?” are two examples of questions they will ask. Answers will help them get to the root of the issue and provide support.



It is that kind of support that matters across all generations. Regardless of how the workplace looks in the future and how soon we return to a “normal” way of life, what will be forever normalized will be the continued support, care, and concern for employees.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2021/02/11/these-3-skills-will-allow-millennials-to-excel-as-leaders/?sh=165ddea37110

14 Aug, 2023
Rephrasing the famous song, “Love is in the air”, let’s talk about change is in the air – and everywhere. We grow. We change. Look at your childhood photos. Watch your kid, your nephew, your niece. The change is there, and it’s incredible. Nature is constantly changing. We wait for summer as the time to enjoy outdoor activities and gardening, for a quick visit to the beach, or simply take time to relax and spend time with family, friends and loved ones. We wait for winter (even if we never see snow falling) to decorate the house for the holidays, pack presents for the people we love and unpack our own. The colour of the leaves changes, the weather shifts, and flowers blossom in their time – the landscape is constantly transforming. The world around us is changing. We travel to other countries and learn new things, cultures and languages. We take on new hobbies. We get new skills. After a couple of minor kitchen accidents (sometimes), we can cook delicious dishes and get compliments from family and friends. We transform our bodies at the gym or simply by creating the habit of walking every day. We meet new people, we sometimes fall in love, we build families, we have kids. And if you step back for a second, you realise you might have met your other half by pure accident. But you took a leap of faith into the unknown. We embrace many types of unknown change, except for the one that can change how we live five days a week – to change jobs. “I am too old/too young to change”, “I’m used to this environment; It’s my comfort zone”, “Well, I don’t get any promotion, and what I do doesn’t change the world, but it’s stable”, “I am afraid to ask for more interesting projects. What if my manager fires me?”. We often don’t want to change because that step requires a vision, courage, external support, and a leap of faith into the unknown. Scary? Yes. But also promising. A step into the unknown? Yes. But it can open a new door. Do your inner values marry what you do? Yes, it is essential. There is nothing terrible about staying in your comfort zone. At some stage of your career, staying put can be an excellent decision. But if you feel that you need a change – talk to Kelly. We don’t mind going the extra mile and support your wish to embrace the change. The one which will give meaning to what you do, feel proud, motivated and fulfilled. Ready for changing? We’ll make sure your talent can truly shine.
10 Aug, 2023
You’ve seen these guys before when a circus came to your city or maybe on TV. They walk on a wire at an impressive height, sometimes without insurance, sometimes with a long stick that probes the void right and left. They walk slowly, trying the wire with their toes first, making small steps, their eyes fixed on the small platform where they plan to land soon. They never watch down. They don’t listen to an audience that applauses or gasps in awe. They are concentrated on keeping their balance. To keep balance. Let’s come down from the wire above the arena or stage. Let’s look closer at balance, where it has its roots and the secrets of keeping it. Is it an art? Or is it a skill? Can you learn to keep balance? Or is it an innate skill that only gymnasts, figure skaters, circus artists and ballet dancers are born with? Want to know the secrets of a ballerina that must perform 32 fouettes, a complex ballet movement that requires turning 360 degrees at a high-speed standing on the point of a ballet shoe? First, keeping balance is a skill people must learn for years. In ballet, sport, circus, real life, and… work life. A ballerina is taught to pick one point and to fix her eyes on it when she makes her 32 fouettes, a complex ballet movement that requires turning 360 degrees at high-speed standing on the point of a ballet shoe. She focuses on one thing that keeps her upright. She doesn’t look anywhere else. Gymnasts in some disciplines are constantly trained to feel the bar under their feet. They are prepared to land precisely on the bar after they jump, and the incredible contortions we admire in competitions. But let’s come back to the circus artists we have begun with. Often, they have a long stick in their hands to keep their balance. Is their secret hidden in the stick? And what is the secret? You don’t need to be a ballet dancer, a gymnast, or a circus artist to get the idea of balance. Here are your first two steps in your balance training: 1. Keep your main priorities in mind. And have a clear idea about what is very important for you and where you are ready to compromise. But don’t listen to external opinions that don’t align with your ideals. Forget about the audience’s applause – focus on you. 2. Use some help to stay upright and get to your goals. Imagine your life split on two ends of the helping stick, your job is on one end, and your private life is on another. How comfortable do you feel at your height now with the load on both ends? You need support. We at Kelly pay a lot of attention to balance. The balance between people’s private lives and their jobs. The balance between feeling appreciated and professional goals or between achieving extraordinary results and being inspired. Talk to Kelly today. We are not ballet coaches or sports trainers, but we know much about how important work/life balance is in our lives.
03 Aug, 2023
We often associate certain qualities with individuals who seem to possess a natural talent for creativity. We convince ourselves that painting, singing, or dancing are pursuits reserved for these "real" artists while we remain mere spectators. Creativity? Inspiration? No, it's not about me.
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