I’ve been writing and speaking about millennials since they first made their way into the workplace as teenagers in 1998. Since then, I’ve interacted with thousands of mature business owners and leaders who’ve confessed their struggles and frustrations in managing this enigmatic generation.
Today, over half of all millennials (born 1980-2000) are 25 or older, and the part-time teen workers of 1998 are now 35. They dislike being grouped into a generation that has been labeled and often criticized for being lazy and entitled. This is particularly true for the hardworking millennials who are far from lazy or entitled.
But what makes overachieving millennials even angrier is when they have to manage other millennials who personify the negative stereotypes their generation has been given.
Right now, one in three of my readers and audience members is a millennial who owns or runs a business. After engaging with thousands of these young go-getters, I believe they dislike entitled and lazy people even more than we baby boomers did. The issue we face is now becoming their issue, with baby boomers retiring at a rate of 10,000 each day. There aren’t enough Gen X’ers (born 1964-1979) to fill the leadership void. That means millennial achievers have to manage non-achieving millennials.
A golfer might put it this way: Baby Boomer business leaders are on the back nine and heading to the clubhouse. Millennial leaders are just teeing off.
MILLENNIAL ACHIEVERS MUST LEARN HOW TO INSPIRE OTHER MILLENNIALS TO ACHIEVE
There is good news for millennial achievers (i.e. those young adults who are out in the world working hard, making their own way, living independently without help from the government or their parents, saving and making sound financial decisions, paying their taxes, voting in elections, and living principle-centered lives.) The future is brighter for you than it has ever been for any of us who’ve gone before you. That’s because you are in great demand, and in very short supply. Every organization wants you, needs you, and is scouring the earth in search of you.
Take pride in that and keep up the good work.
The bad news is that being an achiever is not enough to get you where you ultimately want to go. If you want to make it to the next level (and achievers always want to reach the next level), you’ve got to be able to transform your non-achieving peers into achievers, and you must be able to lead them and develop them into leaders. As management guru Tom Peters says, “Leaders don’t create more followers, they create more leaders.”
And as if that’s not enough of a daunting task, you’re now being charged with managing underachieving old fogies who are on the back nine and may have their head in the clubhouse. And they don’t take kindly to being told what to do by young overachieving whippersnappers. That’s a very tall order.
ON POINT – The call for young leaders has never been louder. It’s a daunting challenge, but the rewards are significant for those who survive and succeed.