Maverick or are they Unique?

The other day I was talking to a 25 something at my workplace about coming to office on time. The smiling answer I got was ‘ there is no problem in coming on time but it’s fun to figure out how not to do it and get the extra 10 minutes’. It struck me then; the keywords are ‘fun’ and ‘not do to something to gain something else’. And that’s the millennial for you. Fun loving, living in the present, entrepreneurial, wanting challenges, questioning status quo, the list goes on. We have studied dissected and researched millennial to the extent that the word has the feel of an alien invasion on earth. But working with them every day in an industry which is full of youth and vibrancy, I have realized that at the heart of it, they are just a bunch of individuals who think uniquely (not always differently or disruptively) from the previous generation. And what makes them unique from baby boomers and what we call as generation X (although there are overlaps here) are a couple of things.

Empowerment is a right

Being empowered is considered a right by the millennials. They have grown up in an environment which has given them the freedom to question decisions, debate beliefs and form their own opinion. They chaff when they are reigned in without being given the opportunity to debate or discuss. You would find many millennials in workplace saying ‘’my ideas are not implemented, so now I don’t care. I will stay till the money is good or I am not totally bored’’. A research survey by Deloitte finds that ‘only 28 percent of millennials believe their organizations are making full use of their skills. And 42 percent of respondents say they will not be able to learn the skills and gain the experience they need to achieve their career ambitions in their current organizations’

Life is today

‘Tomorrow’ is a relatively alien concept and so is ‘yesterday’. Today is the new truth. Baby boomers would be thinking of past experiences shaping present and hoarding for future contingencies. Millennials would want to experience ‘today’- party today (why wait for the weekend), earn today (why wait to complete studies), travel today (why wait for annual holiday), challenges to be tackled today (why wait for a plan to come in tomorrow). They don’t live for the future, they live for the present. What we give them today becomes the deciding factor. An increment in 12 months is usually a deal breaker without presenting an alternative for today.

Focus, Focus and Focus

These unique personalities are extremely focused. They might not always know what their calling is but they do know what they don’t want. They don’t want a mundane life, they don’t want to stagnate, they don’t want to follow a profession which is not fun and doesn’t make them happy, they don’t want to stay in one place and with one set of people, they don’t want to be told what to do without logic and rationale. The list goes on. They are extremely focused on not doing what they don’t want to do.

Entrepreneurs

Millennials have grown up in an environment which is more aware socially, politically and economically, with opportunities in diverse form available to them. They are entrepreneurial in spirit. They are risk takers, they want to be their own bosses, do what they are passionate about. Something that takes care of their finances and also helps them achieve their ‘wish list’ early in life.

In a survey released by Bentley University, ‘13% of survey respondents said their career goal involves climbing the corporate ladder to become a CEO or president. By contrast, almost two-thirds (67%) of them said their goal involves starting their own business.’

In conclusion, it’s time we realize that millennials are not mavericks who are here to make organizations do cartwheels -- trying to figure out what would make them more productive, engaged and retain them. Millennials are unique identities who are showing us how to live in the VUCA world, inculcate a culture of innovation and be adaptive to changing world scenarios.