Weekly Posts and Insights

Millennial Talent Development: Areas of Focus for 2015 (TD.org)
Matthew Harrington Matthew Harrington

Millennial Talent Development: Areas of Focus for 2015 (TD.org)

Originally posted on TD.org in ATD's Management Community

Although Millennials may think they come to the workforce primed and ready to go, needing little to no development, they would be wrong (and I’m a recovering Millennial so I can say that). We all need development, and we all need help identifying strengths and identifying ways to neutralize our weaknesses.

Here is a list of eight areas of development for you, as a manager, to work on with your Millennials in 2015.

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Refuse to Walk by Shoddy Millennial Behavior Again
Matthew Harrington Matthew Harrington

Refuse to Walk by Shoddy Millennial Behavior Again

I had an opportunity - yes let’s call it opportunity - to callout poor Millennial behavior recently.   The behavior was around providing me with what I had previously asked for on time and in the form I needed it.  I had asked for it twice and now I was waiting.  At the point that we were clearly beyond the polite lateness stage (this was one of my first interactions with the individual) and we began spiraling into the realm of rude lateness, I had a choice to make – keep going as if everything was normal (and keep waiting), or put a stop to the behavior in its tracks.

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XPollination (Ep. 9) - Leading Where You Stand in 2015
Matthew Harrington Matthew Harrington

XPollination (Ep. 9) - Leading Where You Stand in 2015

Matthew Harrington is joined once again by co-author and partner Deborah Mackin as they discuss emerging trends, hotspots and pitfalls in leadership in 2015.  Join the dynamic duo as they bring practical, real-world experiences into the podcast and provide insight into where leadership is heading in the New Year.

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Why Technology Has Splintered What We Know About Generations
Matthew Harrington Matthew Harrington

Why Technology Has Splintered What We Know About Generations

We may be seeing the splintering of the Millennial generation into 'older' and 'younger' due to all the culture-evolving events that are being packed into this time period.  Why doesn’t the Millennial generation fit into a nice, little bracket of time like every other generation seems to?  My theory would be that technology has created the splintering effect of this generation unlike any other generation before it.  

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Creating a Company Structure That Supports the New Era of Millennial Retention
Matthew Harrington Matthew Harrington

Creating a Company Structure That Supports the New Era of Millennial Retention

Are we suppose to change the retention-adverse Millennial worker and figure out ways to keep them in our organizations?  Or, should we acknowledge this paradigm shift in the ways new workers move around from company to company and figure out new ways to equip our organizations to handle the swinging door?  

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XPollination Podcast: Young Leaders in Nonprofits (Special Guest Eli Harrington)
Matthew Harrington Matthew Harrington

XPollination Podcast: Young Leaders in Nonprofits (Special Guest Eli Harrington)

Eli Harrington is the new Executive Director at Technology of Tomorrow.  As the Director he is responsible for working with the board of directors, volunteers, and program participants to rapidly increase the scope and scale of his nonprofit.  We sit down with him and discuss how he's developing new programs, community outreach and his interest in the Millennial generation.

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What Target’s ‘Bullseye View’ Website is Doing to Brand their Internal Millennial Culture
Matthew Harrington Matthew Harrington

What Target’s ‘Bullseye View’ Website is Doing to Brand their Internal Millennial Culture

The mix of internal branding with the  increasing ease and availability of media platforms will be the next marketing and communications explosion.  This is not just for the Zappos or the Targets of the world, but we will see this from small to mid-size companies as well who look to create a more engaging and dynamic workplace culture for Millennials.  

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Millennials! Stop Playing The ‘Jump to Conclusions Mat’ In Your Relationships!
Matthew Harrington Matthew Harrington

Millennials! Stop Playing The ‘Jump to Conclusions Mat’ In Your Relationships!

Do you remember in the movie Office Space when Tom talks about his great ‘million dollar’ idea called the “Jump To Conclusions Mat?”  According to Tom, “It would be this mat that you would put on the floor and would have different CONCLUSIONS written on it that you could JUMP TO.”

Not a great idea, like his friends pointed out in the movie, but it also isn’t a great idea for us to jump to conclusions in real life as well.  When we jump to conclusions in conflict we are putting “2 plus 2 together to make 5” which is never good math and leads to mistrust, communication issues and deeper conflict. 

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