For most of the coaches with whom I serve, for
most of the chaplains with whom I associate, for most of the parents and
employers I know, the Millennial generation is an enigma. They are not sure
just how to lead them, just what they value, and otherwise just don’t get what
they’re doing. At sixty years of age, an acknowledged and unrepentant Baby
Boomer, I have experienced my struggles in communicating and in developing
leadership among this unique group of people.
While researching the characteristics of
millennials, I came across this article by a millennial and liked its approach.
I have excerpted portions of the article from LinkedIn by Lydia Abbott and have
inserted some thoughts re: serving millennial sportspeople. I hope these
thoughts are of value to you as you serve them.
My contributions will be bold italics.
8 Millennials' Traits
You Should Know About Before You Hire Them
Lydia Abbot
December
4, 2013
·
1,615
“Millennials,” “Generation Y,” “Generation WE,” “The Boomerang Generation,”
“The Peter Pan Generation,” – we go by many names and were born roughly between
1980 and 2000. Born in 1990, I fall right smack in the middle of this
generation and there is no denying that we are the subject of a heated debate:
are we a blessing or a curse?
A lot of people seem to think that we are,
well, a pain. The week I graduated from college, Time Magazine released an
article titled “Millennials: the Me Me Me
Generation,” which called us lazy, entitled, self-obsessed
narcissists. Ouch! On the other hand, we’ve been called open-minded, liberal,
self-expressive, upbeat, and overtly passionate about equality. Naturally, I’d
prefer to believe this description over the former (how Millennial of me). But,
the truth is both arguments hold some grounds for belief. The reality must fall
somewhere in between.
The interest in and the controversy
surrounding my generation resulted in a packed audience and lengthy Q&A at
LinkedIn Talent Connect’s session: “Millennials:
How to Attract, Hire, & Retain Today’s Workforce.” Lead by Sondra Dryer of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Barry Sylvia of TripAdvisor, and Melissa Hooven of Cornerstone OnDemand, the talk
covered the do’s and don’ts of working with Millennials as well as our overall
characteristics and desires.
I walked away from the session with a clear
understanding of how recruiting Millennials is different and the key points
every recruiter should emphasize when talking to this new generation. To help
out those of you that weren’t there, I put together the following list of key
takeaways from the session with a view of my own observations thrown in.
Millennials are…
Multitaskers
·
Millennials
are multitasking pros and can juggle many responsibilities at once. This also
means that we are easily distracted and find social media and texting hard to
resist.
·
This means that coaches, chaplains, and anyone who
hopes to connect with them has to deal with their distractedness. We either
have to take away the distractions, as some coaches have, or find ways to
engage them deeply enough to push through the distractions. You can either be
annoyed with their distraction or develop a way to deal with it. It will be
there.
Connected
·
Millennials know everything there is
to know about social media because we are living it. We are constantly perusing
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. - it’s how we share and get
information.
·
This means
that we can either join them in their connectedness or become quickly
irrelevant. This group connects immediately with people from all across the
planet. That is both good and bad. The issue is with whom they connect. If we
will provide good content, even godly content, through various social media
platforms, we stand to be the ones shaping their thoughts and values. Don’t
fear or war against their connectedness, find a way to transform it via
Biblical truth.
Tech-Savvy
·
There’s no doubt that the majority
of Millennials are more tech-savvy than other generations, although Generation
Z may soon surpass us (yikes!).
·
This surely
means that we must become tech-savvy as well. At least have tech-savvy people
on your team who can put your content and wisdom into the stream of information
in which the millennials daily swim. This is an ever-changing landscape. Don’t
let it pass you by.
Millennials want…
Instant Gratification &
Recognition
·
Millennials need to feel like what
they are doing is important and that they are on the right track. Yes, it
sounds a little needy…and it is. But, many Millennials grew up with constant
praise from their Baby Boomer parents. It’s what they know.
·
This is
likely the greatest source of frustration and annoyance for the Baby Boomers
and even Gen Xers. Sadly, it’s our fault. We were the ones who invented
participation trophies and sheltered our kids from any possible pain or injury.
We decided everyone should be winners, no one should be a loser, and we are
reaping the whirlwind in this generation of needy and over-sensitive people. We
can either be constantly offended or find ways to deal with their desire to be
recognized and have immediate feedback. My suggestion is to give instant
feedback, especially praise, in public, face to face, in text messages, via tweets,
and to regularly praise the matters you value with their teammates present.
Praise what you want and you’ll get more. Ignore or discourage what you don’t
want, and you’ll get less of it.
Work-Life Balance & Flexibility
·
Millennials aren’t as willing as
former generations to sacrifice their personal life in order to advance their
careers. They like to “work hard – play hard” and want to be at a company that
appreciates this desire for balance. They also expect a more flexible work
environment than previous generations and want to work for a company that
supports various causes.
·
We should
expect this group to have a strong sense of how many hours they invest in
training, practice, film study, team meetings and such vs. how much time they
have for social activities, academic work, etc… They will be quick to complain
if they think this is out of balance. Don’t just call them soft or chide them
about commitment, discuss the balance with them and help them understand your
values, the necessity of diligence, and arrive at a wise and appropriate
balance. When you do, you’ll have their full commitment.
Collaboration
·
Millennials are extremely
team-oriented and enjoy collaborating and building friendships with colleagues.
·
This is a
quality that should work in our favor. Encourage and reward their teamwork.
Enable them to build friendships among their teammates with social events, fun
team activities, meals together, etc… This group will love it.
Transparency
·
Millennials want to feel like they
have an open and honest relationship with their manager and co-workers and that
there won’t be any nasty surprises when they join a company. Once they’ve
signed on, they want assurance that their opinion is valued and both give and
receive a good deal of feedback.
·
I watched
this in action this August during our college football team’s pre-season. We
had each senior player share a few minutes about his experience at the
university and with this team. They were remarkably vulnerable and shared their
hearts with their teammates. Further, we had our coaching staff each share the
life stories and situations that made them into the men they are today. Wow,
when they bared their souls to their players, the bonding was deep and
permanent. The transparency shown by these players and coaches, resulted in a remarkable
sense of team unity.
Career Advancement
·
Millennials want to know that they
will have the opportunity to advance and develop their careers within the
company they choose to join.
·
This is
another point of contention for most older coaches who deal with millennial
competitors, especially as the competition gets stronger and the starting
positions become fewer. “I feel like I should be the starting quarterback.” “I
work harder than anyone.” “I think I should start. I was the best player on my
5-A high school and AAU teams.” “When is it my turn to be the #1?” “Why can’t I
have the jersey number I prefer?” Most of these kids grew up with their
preference, with a strong sense of entitlement, with mom or dad carrying their
hundreds of dollars of gear to the ballpark. Most of their families have
engineered ways for their kids to be the first, the best, the #1 player, from
infancy. When they arrive at a level where everyone has also been there, it’s a
stark reality. We have to lead them to value “we” over “me” and to understand
that sport is a meritocracy where the one who bests serves the team’s best
interests will play more than the one who has the best gear, the best post-game
snacks, or the wealthiest parents.
