Do You Have the Ten Talents Necessary to be an Entrepreneur?

Gallup, creator of the enormously popular StrengthsFinder 2.0, released the Entrepreneurial Profile 10 (EP10), a talent assessment that can identify the intensity of 10 talents entrepreneurs need to build a business that creates jobs.

Business Focus 
Confidence
Creative Thinking
Delegating
Determination
Independence
Knowledge-Seeking
Promotion
Relationship-building
Risk Taking

Entrepreneurs who scored in the top 2 percentile are seven times more likely to have a business worth more than $10 million compared with the rest, three times more likely to exceed sales goals and two times more likely to exceed profit goals. 

Many Millennials and those in Generation Z are interested in starting their own business but are not sure where to start. Ideally, students in high school should take the EP10 and learn about entrepreneurship. They can learn which talents they have that contribute to being a successful entrepreneur. More importantly, they can identify what types of partners they should be looking for so they can build a well rounded team. 

Watch Dr. Sangeeta Badal explain the importance of entrepreneurial talent.

Read More:
Gallup Entrepreneural Profile 10 
10 Traits of Blue-Chip Entrepreneurs (CNBC)

Betsy Flanagan and Jennifer Selke are Gallup Certified in both the StrengthsFinder and Entrepreneurial Profile 10 (EP10). Come hear Jennifer Selke speak at SXSW, Building Strong Teams in the Millennial Age.

SXSW 2014 Millennials As Supervisors: Strategies for Success

Jennifer Selke spoke at SXSW 2014 on the topic of Millennials As Supervisors. Below is a link to the slides and the tweets from the session. The session was written about in the Austin Chronicle under the headline #TheWorstPeopleInTheWorld

Here is a link to the slides at slideshare as well as the tweets from the session. 

What are your best tips or lessons learned from being a millennial supervisor or from supervising millennials? Leave a note for us in the comments.

Millennials As Supervisors: Strategies for Success
The Millennial generation, born between 1980-2000, is moving into manager and leadership positions rapidly with a desire to excel. They have a workplace style that is vastly different than their predecessors. Raised in a praise-based culture, college-bound since kindergarten, Millennials have been protected from failure by over-engaged parents. They have not bought into ‘climbing the corporate ladder and paying their dues’ and instead value equality over hierarchy. Millennials seek flexible schedules as well as time for personal pursuits yet they expect to make an impact immediately. They are comfortable challenging authority and the status quo and bring these values into leadership and management roles. They perform best when using their strengths; learn how focusing on strengths makes transitions into leadership and supervisory roles more successful. Understand what types of training and mentorship this generation of leaders needs to be more productive and engaged in their work.

Are millennials difficult to manage or simply less tolerant of bad managers?

I quit

Sixty-three percent of business decision makers and 68% of corporate recruiters say that it’s difficult to manage millennials while they offer different skills that are valuable to the workplace.  Bentley University Preparedness Study

As a manager of millennials, I have to say it is simply difficult to be an effective manager. Being a manager that cultivates an engaged workforce takes time and a certain skill set. Sure, millennials need a different type of managing or coaching than an older generation may be accustomed to. Let's face it, most managers don't know how to manage for engagement. If they did, we would not have a workforce where 70% report not being engaged at work. My guess is that GenX and Baby Boomers suffer in silence under poor managers where as millennials just quit. They may even post it on YouTube.

During the "Millennials in the Workplace” panel discussion at the Bloomberg Business Summit in Chicago, Shema Kabani, Founder and CEO of The Marketing Zen Group, relayed the story of her talented millennial employee who finally left her prior position after being asked to spend half a day filling out forms to get approval for buying a stapler. Having worked in government organizations where it has taken an inordinate amount of work to procure office supplies, I can relate to the ridiculousness of it. It often is symptomatic of an organizational bureaucracy. When employees of any generation are afforded coaching around using their strengths and the other elements that make up an engaged workplace, they can often tolerate the time it takes to procure a stapler. Millennials are not more difficult to manage, they are just less tolerant of disengaged at work and more vocal when they are not happy at work.

Are millennials ready for the work place?

2013 Bloomberg Business Summit panel on millennials in the workforce. 

I have been employing millennials since they entered the workforce. Since they spend most of their high school career in activities to support their college application, they lack an early work history common to GenXers. How is this lack of beginning jobs skills going to hurt them as they search for their post college job? This was discussed at the the “Millennials in the Workplace” panel discussion at the Bloomberg Business Summit in Chicago on Wednesday, November 20, 2013.

Bentley University President Gloria Larson said, "Businesses who find success with millennials have found ways to link workforce production with the passions of the individual. When millennials can align passions with businesses’ needs, they get it done every time, better than any generation.” 

All the millennials I have employed are hard workers, bright, quick to learn, and eager to make an impact. They need some coaching to turn their raw talent into strengths that can point in a chosen direction. As a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and long time employer of millennials, I am passionate about helping people hone their raw talents. It is a commitment I have to my workforce that takes extra time and patience. Businesses are not going to get ready-made workers like they did 20 years ago. 

The "Millennials in the Workplace” panel discussed a key insight from Bentley University’s Preparedness Study: the fact that the majority of business decision-makers, corporate recruiters and higher education influential give recent college graduates a “C’ or lower on preparedness. This means more work for employers once they are hired. For those employers who don't have the time or resources to provide this training, WorkStrengths has both in person and online training as well as ongoing professional development for your millennials recruits. 

Are your parents ruining your job search?

I have had my share of parents call me asking for jobs for their off-spring.  In nearly every instance their son or daughter is unaware a parent has taken on an over-active role in their job search. Most employers have caught on and just don't have the bandwidth to deal with both applicants and parents. My advice, parents help at a distance and be that welcome side-line coach and not the parent that gets the team kicked out of the game.

How helicopter parents can ruin kids' job prospects from CNN

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Hiring managers find that some parents are overly involved in their kids' first jobs
• "Helicopter parents" might call to inquire about benefits or job duties
• These parents can diminish their children's credibility and independence
• Employers and behavior experts advise allowing a child to make mistakes and grow