Have you noticed as modern-day employees make their way into the workplace, they expect to play by an entirely different set of rules than those of past generations? Most likely you have Millennials, the generation that reached young adulthood in the early 21st century, as part of your team. As a team leader, have you adapted or are you still trying to play by yesterday’s rules?

In times past, employees would be given orders and were required to implement them if they wanted to hold their positions. However, times have changed. Younger workers want to be given the freedom to experiment, a voice within their organization, and the ability to pursue what they view as meaningful work. Anything less they view as limiting.

Sadly, leaders from previous generations often misunderstand the younger generations’ motivations. As a result, they underinvest in employee training, assume that all young people are the same, or even worse, question their drive and work ethic. To do this would be a big mistake, essentially, it means throwing away the future of your company!

As a team leader, one of your biggest challenges (and opportunities) is to create and foster an environment that lends itself to engagement and productivity. Today, more than ever before, to ensure high levels of workplace output and morale employees need to feel valued and challenged. It’s also clear that to be able to respond to and stay ahead of change, leaders need to develop workers who are comfortable thinking independently and contributing to the team.

It’s time to shed the old-fashioned view of “the boss” and start viewing yourself like an orchestrator.

Have you heard of ikigai? It’s a Japanese term that doesn’t have a direct translation in English. However, the concept revolves around your reason for being, your meaning or purpose in life.

I love learning new words because like John Keating once said, “No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.” When I was introduced to the word ikigai, I instantly saw that it had that kind of power, especially for leaders.

How do you identify your ikigai? It lies in the center of four intersecting circles – what you love, what you do well, what the world needs, and what you’re paid for doing.

This is just the concept leaders need to embrace now that we are shifting from an industrial economy to a knowledge economy. We’re transitioning to a new economic framework that, especially for millennials, is rooted in purpose. Today your job in and of itself is not your purpose, as it was in previous generations.

As I consider my own Ikigai, I find…

Are you aspiring to be a great team leader? What does that involve? I love this quote by Orrin Woodward, “Average leaders raise the bar on themselves; good leaders raise the bar for others; great leaders inspire others to raise their own bar.”

In any goal-oriented community, we learn and grow by observing and practicing in a safe space with other learners.  I’ve found that the establishment of Communities of Practice for leaders to share, develop and learn about leadership is a way to aid in the growth of burgeoning leaders exponentially. Not only does the primary leader becoming more effective in their own work, but all members of the community also become powerful thought partners for each other.