The shift has happened. More than one-in-three U.S. workers are millennials, surpassing Generation X, according to the Pew Research Center. With 53.5 million millennials in the workplace now, a new majority is quickly emerging and the time is here to tap into this power.

Organizations have a dual responsibility. Fostering millennial talent is a must, as is unleashing a refreshed mindset to take your business to the next level of performance and relevance. To make this shift requires a renewed mindset. Start with a millennial mindset.

A millennial mindset is a terrible thing to waste. Millennials are the next generation to lead, and their experiences are based in current environmental and technological trends. In some ways, “be the change” can happen in a business sense by embracing the generation that represents the change. 

Fostering Millennial Mindsets

To embrace the millennial mindset, older generations have a responsibility to engage as well as share and develop. Highlighted below are at least four ways to foster your millennial talent and mindset throughout your organizational culture.

Develop Depth Experience

Depth of experience only happens through the act of doing the work. It is not inherited, practice is the only way. Most 20-somethings experience this. They are not hired because they do not have the experience, yet they cannot get the experience without being hired.

To develop the talent of experience, involve millennials in cross-functional teams to broaden their capabilities and interests. Positioning millennials in these cross-functional initiatives translates into cross-generational experiences, too. Bonus talent points are scored.

The responsibility of leaders is to provide a platform for meaningful, challenging experiences. While doing this is important regardless of someone’s generation, it is even more vital for the next generation of talent.

Enhance Empathy: Self and Others

Empathy is the new required leadership skill. Understanding customers, partners, team members, and other stakeholders helps us build better products, resolve problems with less conflict, and gain greater momentum in meeting our goals. The power of empathy unleashed.

Certain elements of empathy can be learned. Millennials can read about how to develop and strengthen their empathy skills. Reading strengthens our empathy skills because reading develops our ability to process information and determine how to apply it.

Within the workplace, an added opportunity exists. No task is too small nor too big. Within the tasks, people gain understanding in how work and impact are connected. Millennials need to be given tasks, large and small, to enhance their process empathy.

Complex projects also develop empathy skills. When people are stretched in mind and spirit, they develop a capability to listen to our gut instincts along with the instincts of others. Leaving our comfort zones challenges us to gain greater awareness of what and who surround us in these intense efforts.

Empathy begins with self-awareness. Accomplishing goals takes a community of individuals. Understanding their talents, perspectives, failings, and gifts give us a greater appreciation for what it takes to lead a business successfully.

Untapping empathy within millennials delivers healthy self-awareness along with healthy other-awareness. Both are required to make our work more meaningful and motivational.

Strengthen Problem Solving Skills

Problem solving is the lifeblood of any organization. Uncertainty always exists. How people navigate ambiguity and change is the difference between growth and decline. Millennials lean toward being active problem solvers, and this talent needs to be encouraged and used.

Depth of experience enters here, too. Providing your millennial team members with large and small problems to tackle will add to their capabilities. If you watch any cooking show, they always talk about the layers of flavors developed for a particular dish. Problem solving skills get better with different flavors of difficulties engaged and resolved.

Training provides an opportunity to add to a millennial’s toolkit. Offering problem solving tools is a worthwhile effort, gaining an amazing return on investment. Intuition and knowledge play a role in good problem solving, and they can be enhanced through the practical application of well-used tools.

Create Horizontal Mentors

Mentoring is often discussed and rarely done well. Everyone within an organization should have a conversation from a different generation and department each month. Cross-generational and departmental conversations are a key cultural principle. Each person should have at least four of these cross conversations each quarter. Imagine the mentoring power activated, especially when done with empathy!

Igniting these diverse pairs of conversations will have untold benefits in growing the talent of your organization.

Digital and Growth Mindsets Required

In parallel to developing your millennial talent and skills, a great opportunity is present to use and leverage the millennial digital and growth mindset. Older generations have the operational experience and millennials have the digital experience. Together, there is a real power to tap and re-energize key business initiatives and tactics.

Missing this opportunity to collaborate would be a leadership failing. Millennials are ready and willing to take on the challenges. Are you?

If yes, the result will be a powerful generation ready to remove roadblocks and create new paths forward for your business and teams.

Jon Mertz is the vice president of marketing at Corepoint Health and author of “Activate Leadership: Aspen Truths to Empower Millennial Leaders.”