Launching the Millennial Generation

Last week I helped my youngest son move to Scottsdale, Arizona, to start his work career. I am not sure I had envisioned what launching a millennial child out into the working world looked like. I know I had not envisioned driving a 17’ U-Haul truck, over 410 miles of desert, and unloading in 115* temperatures.

The Millennial generation has been referred to as the “Failure to Launch”, “Boomerang”, and “Trophy” Generation.

I am a baby boomer parent. Studies describe baby boomer parents as protective, hovering, attached, advocating, and interfering. I could say guilty as charged, but do any of those adjectives describe someone who would commit to drive a U-Haul, 410 miles, to unload in 115* heat? Right, nothing! Are there more flattering adjectives to describe the parents of millennial children? How about encouraging, supportive, engaged, and interested.

My boys are millennials or “Generation Y.”

Born between 1978 and 1996, millennials make up more than 25% of the population and 10,000 millennials turn 21 every day.

Studies describe millennials as special, sheltered, confident, team-oriented, achieving, pressured, and tech-savvy.

Surprisingly, the Boomers who largely raised this generation of millennials, describe them as entitled, narcissistic, self-promoting, whiny, sensitive to criticism and unable to work alone. What have we done? Is this what you get when you protect, hover, and interfere?

Research suggests they will boomerang themselves right back home. There is a greater than 50% chance a millennial child is going to bring their entitled, narcissistic, self-promoting, whiny, sensitive personality back home. So it will be easier for us to further interfere with their development!

Is this generation of millennials special? Looking through the research on the generations you can easily conclude that every generation believed they were special.

Why shouldn’t the millennials believe they are special? 

I was delivering motivational talks to my boys, before they could walk. Wouldn’t you need a motivational pep-talk if you were strapped into a high-chair, armed with a spoon, and facing a bowl of Gerber’s squash?

As they got older, my passion for motivating and encouraging them grew. I would talk and they would politely listen, even nod from time to time, and occasionally respond to a question. They ignored me more often then I would have liked, walked away, rolled their eyes, and shook their heads. I am sure they saw my interest, support, and encouragement as hovering, sheltering, and interfering.

I learned a few things about the millennials from my own parenting and leading a large organization. Here are five things you can do as parents, managers, and leaders of millennials to increase their impact and effectiveness.

1. Employ encouragement. The foundation for effective encouragement is knowing a millennial on a personal level. You might not like what they value or think is important, but your encouragement will be powerful if you can align it with what they value.
2. Coach and support development. millennials hate ambiguity so clarify expectations. Encourage and welcome questions and challenges. Make yourself available; create an environment where failing is safe. They have been expected to be perfect so they fear failing and not exceeding expectations.
3. Build relationships. Give them a reason to trust you. They will not trust you simply based on your competence, title, or position. They will largely trust you based on your character. Take an interest in them, and demonstrate you genuinely care. Millennials tend to be myopic and near term thinkers. Through relationship you will be able to broaden their view of the future.
4. Help them choose well. Millennials like to problem solve, but have limited exposure to the consequences of their decisions. Build their skills and grow their critical thinking ability by pressing them to think through and evaluate the consequences and impact of their choices and solutions.
5. Embrace technology. Engage in it, learn it, and apply it. The millennials are tech-savvy. They use it, flaunt it, and believe those managing and leading them should be using and applying the tools they see as essential. Just think 80% of millennials sleep with their phones next to their beds!

I have been surprised on more than one occasion by how much millennials take in and apply. My youngest son is fiercely independent and tough minded. He tries to figure most everything on his own, and typifies the fact most millennials are taking in much more than you think.

Two things every young man needs to know to launch their career; how to iron a dress shirt, and how to tie a tie. Just before we left Andrew asked me to teach him how to iron a dress shirt and refresh his tie tying skills. Millennials are special. When you help them create an experience that can’t be “Googled,” it makes every mile driven in a U-Haul, in sweltering heat, worth it.

What do you get for helping with a move? Every generation seems to pay with the same currency, what is it?