style="font-size:15px;"> Technology upgrades serve(d) as a catalyst for change. Since Millennials’ whole world growing up was constantly changing, they learned to be malleable with any future shift. To Millennials, change and disruption – in a broad sense – are critical to success.
❯❯ How it manifests: When change occurs at work, they are the most comfortable. In fact, most times, they embrace it or seek to make it happen themselves. In the social world, they are progressive like any young generation before them and fight for progressive societal changes.
❯❯ How others view it negatively: They have no loyalty to structure or tradition if they can so easily adapt to a new environment. Adapting is good, but demanding that others adapt at the same pace is not.
Exploring what Millennials value (outside of family, friends, and fortune) can give you extra credit in your Millennial education. For any generation, values drive decision-making. For Millennials, the following three values drive it the most.
Most Millennials believe that if you aren’t working to make the world a better place, then you aren’t an exceptional global citizen. Their parents told them to follow their passions, and the media highlighted what happens when your decisions aren’t motivated by those passions (corruption, lies, the disasters of Wall Street and big business, and so on). In purchases they make and places they work, they want to know that their decisions serve a higher purpose – not in a religious sense, but in a “make the world better for those who live in it” sense.
To gain respect with a Millennial, the worst thing to do is construct a façade of non-truths. What were pillars of business etiquette to one generation (three-piece suits, politically correct language, and hiding in an ivory tower) now alienate another generation. Given the media’s outreach and social media’s exposure of issues and psyches, the world is too transparent to hide behind a suit and tie.
The rise of customizable everything, from phone cases to sneakers to design-your-major undergrad programs, has instilled in Millennials the justified desire to choose their career paths, office environments, and work environment.
We’re going to let you in on a not-so-secret secret: Millennials hate being called Millennials. In 2015, Pew Research Center asked each generation how they felt about themselves. The result: Millennials were the least proud of belonging to their generation, with 60 percent not considering themselves part of the generation. You may wonder why, but ask yourself who would want to see themselves as a generation that is self-absorbed, wasteful, and greedy? (FYI, those were the top traits they used to describe themselves in the survey.)
This is just one survey, so if you’re wanting to challenge the report’s findings, we’re with you. It’s much more complex than one study. Over the years, we have always relied on qualitative research to support statistics, and writing this book is no exception. Throughout the rest of the pages, you’ll see quotes from managers of Millennials and Millennials themselves. To support this notion that Millennials are tired of their stereotypes, here’s a sample of what we heard:
“Everyone says we are lazy, entitled, we get bored and just switch jobs for the sake of switching jobs, and that we are impatient.” – Michael S., Millennial
“We want to be CEO day one is the most obvious thing I hear about Millennials. We have a sense of entitlement and need to be in charge.” – Kara F., Millennial and Manager
The good news? Millennials also view themselves as idealistic, tech savvy, and socially accepting. These are great traits they’ll bring with them as leaders who will have their own work to do accepting a younger generation of workers.
GEN X AND BOOMERS HAVE OPINIONS ABOUT THEMSELVES, TOO
In Pew Research Center’s 2015 survey, the older the group, the more positively they saw themselves. Maybe you become more generationally proud with age. Maybe the younger generations are more self-critical (we hope this isn’t the only case). For your purposes, here are two things to know:
1. Fifty-eight percent of Gen Xers embrace their generational label. We find that if Gen Xers learn more about their generation, they are more willing and prouder to align themselves with their own cohort (Pew Research Center, 2015).
2. Boomers love being Boomers. They did in their youth, and they continue to love it today. To them, Baby Boomer does not equal old or out of touch. Unfortunately, other generations can view them that way.
"Most Millennials Resist the 'Millennial' Label" Pew Research Center, Washington, DC (September, 2015) http://www.peoplepress.org/2015/09/03/most-millennials-resist-the-millennial-labe1/9-2-2015_01/
The Kryptonite of understanding generational differences is stereotyping. As best you can, avoid thinking about or focusing on any common stereotypes that Millennials are
❯❯ Narcissistic
❯❯ Lazy
❯❯ Entitled
❯❯ Trophy-obsessed
❯❯ Needy
❯❯ Impatient
❯❯ Overly sensitive
❯❯ Distracted
Don’t let us be the only voice; hear from some Millennials themselves about what they really think is true about their generation:
“I think our generation is so global. We study abroad, we travel, we grew up in a very global society with the Internet, so many things are at our fingertips. I think our perspective is open-minded.” – Alexa S., Millennial
“[I think we’re] tech savvy [and] eager to do well. I think it’s naïve to say we want to be a manager without doing anything. We know what we want and … are more realistic than other generations.” – Kara F., Millennial and manager
Millennials are a hot topic. Google the word “Millennial” and 12 articles will pop up from the past hour – or at least it’ll feel like it. The challenge is that the media hasn’t really decided how it feels about Millennials. Does it hate them? Love them? Think they’re the corporate plague? Or the corporate miracle? Regardless, the word “Millennial” has oversaturated media’s conversation.
Have you fallen victim to the Millennial fatigue epidemic? Take this quiz:
Do you cringe every time someone says the word “Millennial”?
Do you groan when you
