Millennials and Leadership: Why would I follow you?

All these years of teaching leadership development to Millennials prepared me to help others navigate the workforce today. Part of the leadership program involved bringing the 100+ leaders together three times a semester to learn and grow together. At one point over the years, the university welcomed a new president. He was going to be addressing the student leaders and so we made a special request that they would dress business casual and present themselves well for our president who was a Traditionalist. In the past, this would have been an expectation. In today's world, the response was, "I thought our president wanted to walk alongside of us, to be like us!" This is one of the most common areas of tension today. Older generations would like to be shown the respect that they feel they deserve (they have worked hard and made many sacrifices to be where they are today) and the Millennials want all things to be equal. They are quick to tell you that a leader does not have any more value than they do. As soon as a leader enters a room and expects to be treated as a superior, they will lose all those they are hoping will follow them. How are you presenting yourself as a person of influence in your space?