Research into the views and values of the UK’s future leaders has revealed how the C-Suite is set to change under Millennial leadership.
You often hear that the Millennial generation have a different way of looking at things –more collaborative, less fiercely competitive. Now there may be research to back this idea up.
According to American Express 75 per cent of Millennials think that successful businesses of the future will see management look beyond the usual models of doing business and be more open to collaborating with new partners. Millennial professionals also think that teamwork is a more important quality in leaders than Gen X-ers, suggesting that the C-Suite of the future will promote a much flatter structure in the organisations they lead. Millennials also ranked passion as an important quality in leaders (30 per cent) much more highly than their Gen X counterparts (19 per cent).
The research also found that no less than 76 per cent of future Millennial leaders think that businesses of the future will need to have a genuine purpose that resonates with people. 63 per cent of Millennials say that it is important for them to be known for making a valuable difference in the world.
This does not mean, that Millennials don’t care about money – are just socialist thinking, touchy-feely types.
UK Millennials were found to have a keen eye on maximising shareholder profit, with 53 per cent of Millennials saying that shareholder profit will be important for the success of businesses in the future compared to 46 per cent of Gen X-ers. To achieve success in the future, 71 per cent of Millennials also think that businesses will need to manage costs tightly, and 77 per cent say that financial transparency will be important.
The research also found that while over half (56 per cent) of Millennials surveyed in the UK said that a C-Suite role is attractive to them, and that they are more likely than their Gen X counterparts to want a job that gives them status, Millennials also indicated that they want to shake up traditional business leadership.
