Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Authors to Provide Insight into Managing Young Employees During Cal State Long Beach’s CBA Notable Speakers Series

Mick Ukleja and Chip Espinoza, co-authors of the book “Managing the Millennials: Discover the Core Competencies Needed for Managing Today’s Workforce” will discuss techniques to manage 20-somethings in the workplace on Tuesday, April 6, from 7-9 p.m. during the Notable Speakers Series at Cal State Long Beach (CSULB).

CSULB’s College of Business Administration (CBA) established the Notable Speaker Series to add relevance to current students’ learning experiences and to offer opportunities for professional development and intellectual engagement to students, alumni, staff, faculty and the community.

Ukleja and Espinoza will discuss how managers of all ages can engage the burgeoning demographic of nearly 80 million current and future employees who are now between the ages of 14 and 31. “Managing the Millennials” is based on years of research, interviews, case studies, ideas and practices that have proven to help managers and other leaders address the challenges generational diversity presents.

“We have a generation of managers who were taught and trained to reach up to their bosses. This was important in order to get the information one needed for growth and development. We also have a new generation that wasn’t taught to reach up. Managers have to constantly reach down to them,” according to Ukleja, a CSULB alumnus with a B.A. in philosophy who helped found the Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership at CSULB.

He continued, “Milllennials are the first generation in history that did not need an authority figure to access knowledge or information. So, managers need to learn how to overcome the bias of their own experience; that the way they do things is the only or right way. They need to know how to recruit, retain, integrate and develop these young people.”

Ukleja, who also earned a master’s degree in Semitic languages, and a Ph.D. in theology, is the founder and president of LeadershipTraQ, a leadership consulting firm based in Los Alamitos. He also hosts LeadershipTraQ Televised, an interview-format talk show that profiles outstanding leaders.

Ukleja has also co-authored “The Ethics Challenge: Living with Integrity in a Greedy World” and “Who Are You? What Do You Want? Four Questions That Will Change Your Life,” which has been praised by legendary coach John Wooden, golf champion Gary Player and many other prominent leaders. He is renowned for his work with entrepreneurs, corporate executives of many businesses and organizations.

Espinoza, executive vice president LeadershipTraQ, teaches at the Edna Davis Hobbs California Student Leadership Institute at CSULB and consults in the civic, corporate and non-profit sectors to a client list that ranges from The Boeing Company to the Special Olympics.

Espinoza is considered a leading expert on the subject of generational diversity in the workplace. He specializes in helping leaders initiate and negotiate change in their organizations and frequently is a keynote speaker for corporate events, conferences and organizations across the country regarding his research about young employees and their value in the workforce.

Espinoza, who is working on his Ph.D., is also the content director for LeadershipTraQ, an adviser to The Ukleja Center and has authored several articles on the subject of leadership. He produces an award-winning monthly podcast that focuses on the subject.

“Through our research, we have identified nine orientations of millennials that are points of tension between them and their managers. These tension points either make or break the manager of millennials,” explained Espinoza. “Since all the managers in our research experienced millennials in the same way, we discovered that the difference was the competencies that the successful managers had in leading this group. So our hope is the people who leave our Notable Speakers presentation will understand not only the nine orientations, but also the nine competencies that are essential for integrating this new generation into today’s workforce.”

About the Notable Speakers Series

The Notable Speakers Series is taking place on select Tuesdays from 7-9 p.m. in the CBA building Room 140A during the 2010 spring semester and features renowned professionals from a variety of fields who share their expertise on leading edge business issues.

There is no cost to attend, but reservations are required. Visitors to the campus must purchase a $4 parking permit at the yellow kiosk in Lot 15.

To register or learn more about the Notable Speaker Series and its speakers visit http://www.csulb.edu/colleges/cba/nss.

-- Paul Browning

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