How to lead young employees today

- The results show a different picture than what the public debate is representing. Surprisingly the study points out that the young people, opposed to the public narrative, want to be part of a working community, says Associate Professor Karen Christina Rasmussen from Cphbusiness.

She is the project manager of the research and development project called ”Ledelse af unge II”, a qualitative study of young people's realm of understanding and sense-making focusing on feedback, acknowledgement and relations.

Make up with current performances

- The study from Cphbusiness breaks with several of the common beliefs about young people, says Karen Christina Rasmussen. Among the main conclusions are:

• Good relations accelerate the development of young people
• Young people seek authority
• Inexperienced leaders challenge the young people's well-being
• The young people are not vulnerable but insecure
• The young people do not ’disrupt’ - they are willing to adapt

- The young generation born and raised in the 1990s wish to be led through attentive relationships and feedback that makes sense to them, says Karen Christina Rasmussen and continues: The conclusion is that managers in the business community and voluntary organisations can get better at creating a framework for the collaboration, can get better at developing relations and can get better at giving appreciative feedback in ways that mutually make sense and thereby realize the best possible support to tasks, the organisation and the purpose.

The manager's most important tasks

• The manager should be able to set the framework for the young employee
• The manager should be able to distinguish between the private and professional relationship with the employee
• The manager must acknowledge the young employee professionally and personally at one-on-one meetings
• The manager's acknowledgement and feedback must be in the form of specific action instructions for the young employee.

Brief: Digitally native and so what?

Read a brief with the highlights from the study here (only in Danish): Digitalt indfødte og so what? Ledelse af unge i dag.

Report as eBook

See the research report as eBook here (only in Danish): Ledelse af unge II and find more about “Ledelse af unge II” at Danske Erhvervsakademier’s knowledge portal eaviden.dk here (only in Danish): Ledelse af unge II.