As a professor, millennials intrigued me. I see them as engagement ready - plug-n-play if you will. They want to contribute in the classroom, the workplace and to society.

Talent acquisition, knowledge transfer, generational diversity, and retention will continue to be serious concerns. I think the golden thread is equipping management to work with Millennials. Let's face it. We are going to see organizations needing to replace 40% to 60% of their workforce. Management has never been more important!

Authenticity is not an innate quality - that is, you are not born with it. Being an authentic leader is not something you can say about yourself; it must be attributed to you.

It was a natural progression for me to write about Millenials transitioning into management but I found myself getting emotional as I wrote. I really do want to repay them for all they have given me. What better way than to help them transition to the next level of their career!

Millennials are first and foremost problem solvers. They are optimistic. They are well educated. They are creative. They are open to change. They are learners. They are technologically savvy. They are open-minded. They are imaginative. They think third-way. They want to achieve. They want to contribute. They are flexible. They are achievement oriented.

I am concerned that Millennials are stressed out. They have a higher suicide rate than other generations at their same age. They have the highest diagnosis of depression at their age than other generations. I think we have raised a generation that does not know how to be sad. They are programmed for success and the threat of failure is devastating.

We should always be learning or we will cease to be able to change or adapt. I think the best work on leadership today is by Ronald Heifetz. His work is focused on adaptive leadership.