Let's first define our demographics here. In general, a Millennial
is someone born since around 1980. Sometimes they are also referred
to as "Generation Y." It's a fancy way of saying anyone who is between
college age and about 30 years old. My generation, born before that
but after the mid-1960s, is the Generation X ("Gen X-ers"). We're
all between around 30 and 50. And, anyone over 50 is generally considered
a baby boomer, or, for short, "a boomer."
Millennials are generally the product of two or more Gen X-ers,
baby boomers, or one of each. They are nothing if not the by-product
of their environments. Neil Howe and William Strauss identified
the personality traits of this generation in two books:
Millennials Rising: The Next Great
Generation (2000) and Millennials
Go to College: Strategies for a New Generation on Campus
(2007). According to Howe and Strauss, the Millennials are:
-
Special: Raised
by overprotective and "quick-to-call-their-average-kids-outstanding"
boomers and Gen X-ers (collectively known as "helicopter
parents"), Millennials have been raised to think
of themselves as winners who deserve praise for
just showing up and trying. This is clearly frustrating
for those of us from other generations, but, keep
in mind, it's really not their fault!
-
Sheltered:
The same parents who gave every child a trophy just
for participating have managed to shelter their
kids from reality. Things like authority, protocol,
failure, embarrassment, politics, and exclusion—some
of these young adults have never experienced these
things. That, too, is not their fault.
-
Confident:
Their parents told them they could be whatever they
wanted. Millennials possess very high levels of
optimism that can come across as arrogance or "cockiness."
Remember, their parents, coming from a generational
norm of always doing better than
their parents,
have set very high expectations for their children.
-
Team Oriented:
In touch with their friends via email and social
media plus soccer teams and countless other activities
(that their helicopter parents required them to
participate in), they usually have very strong team
instincts and like to bond very closely with their
friends and peers. They also believe in the greater
good—the "why can't we all do this for the cause?"
kind of mentality. They need teamwork opportunities,
and they need to see that there is a purpose in
what they are doing with those activities.
-
Achieving:
Raised to have endless information literally at
their fingertips, this generation of Millennials
is poised to be the best-educated generation in
history. If you're over 40, think about how genuinely
uninformed you
were when you started college, unless you had exceptional
parental guidance and a push toward research, reading,
and cultural exploration. These amazing young men
and women walk into the workplace much better informed
and knowledgeable about a wide variety of subjects
than we ever were! But, the affluence brought by
their parents has often ended up with them never
working outside the home. They simply don't understand
what it means to earn a paycheck of their own or
how to behave in the workplace. Smart colleges of
business out there (yes, I'm completely bragging
right now on my employer, East Carolina University)
are incorporating leadership and etiquette training
into their curriculums to ensure that this shortfall
is overcome before they graduate.
-
Pressured:
The Millennials were raised and trained by a group
of parents who wanted them to be safe and protected.
As a result, they were taught not to take risks
but to study hard and take advantage of every opportunity
that presented itself. As a result, these students
feel pressured to excel. And let's not forget that
they always got the trophy, remember? So, they feel
very pressured to achieve but also to be recognized
on a regular basis. This means they are not satisfied
with an annual review like we were—they need regular
feedback and recognition.
-
Conventional:
Here's what's sort of shocking about all this. At
the end of the day, this generation has incredible
respect for their parents' values. So, they have
great respect for teachers, bosses, and institutions.
The difference, however, is that they have high
expectations in return. Gone are the days when "because
I said so" gets the job done. Also, this means the
loyalty of a steady paycheck "because it's a job"
is also nonexistent. These students want to be loyal
to someone; they just demand more in return than
previous generations might have expected to receive.
I'll be writing about these characteristics more in future commentaries.