The following are some observations sent to me after last weeks Managing the Generation Gap presentation. The individual who sent the email is a Millenial. Here were his thoughts:

Hi Greg, I just finished the webinar with you at 6 and you mentioned emailing you about whether or not the gen x-ers and baby boomers got it right about us…the gen y’s. I haven’t read a whole lot of books about it but I do enjoy research and have come across a bit of information from the previous generations and things they observe about us and from what I have heard I think the majority of it is accurate. You have probably read more on this topic than I have but I can tell you how I view my generation and you can decide for yourself if this is what they are saying. The below is how I honestly view my generation, me included, as well as taking into consideration the fact that all 7 of us here at work are gen-y guys with the exception of one 40 year old we hired last week.

 There are a number of concerns I have for my generation which have been created not entirely to the fault of our own but simply the society we were and are being raised in which has contributed to some of our challenges. Below is a list of some of the challenges I see mixed with problems and positive things about us along with things that motivate us;

 Not as dependable, responsible and independent as the generations before us. We need our hands held and be walked through things, step by step and therefore we like structure, process and organization which is easy to follow.

 We have a harder time figuring things out on our own and therefore like team work and group effort which is why we ask a lot of questions, we are trying to figure it out. Along with the team work, it may be that we are just very relational people.

 Not as hard working as the previous generations but still want plenty of recognition and credit for the things we do, probably because we think more highly of ourselves than previous generations and more than we actually are (I have seen research on this one proving that previous generations had more to brag about themselves than they actually did, the opposite is to say about us).

 Society has played huge into the fact that we are a bunch of 30 year old adolescent people who are A.D.D., haven’t grown up and still don’t know what we want to be when we do grow up. Seen this too much in college myself and as a youth leader. However we absolutely can multi task like no one else before us, probably because it’s in our genetics being that we are A.D.D, lol. A huge problem I seen in myself and that runs rampant is that we really don’t know what our interests are and what we want to do. This contributes to the job hoping and lack of loyalty. We have a hard time with dedication and commitment but partially because we just can’t figure out ourselves what we want until we try too much.

 Leaving it on a more positive note, I do think for the most part, we desire good education and training, to be taught to be good leaders, we want to achieve and be challenged, we aren’t scared of change and we are very adaptable.

 Just thought you might enjoy my two cents,

As I said during the presentation, I believe it is very important to understand those who we work and live with. What motivates them, what their thoughts are, and why they react the way they do. Getting to know each other will create a stronger work environment with much higher levels of customer satisfaction.