Countering the Myth of the Millennial

This morning's New York Times had an article encouraging companies to incorporate the "millennial's mind-set" into their culture.  It's often touted that if companies will just give their new, young team members the freedom to fail and the resources they need, they will change the world.  There's a lot of excitement over my generation.  Now, the thought-leaders who are encouraging managers to give people the freedom to fail are certainly correct, and there's nothing wrong with their logic.  It's also true that there are very few leaders out there actually following this guidance, despite what the experts say.  The problem is, would it work?

I'm speaking up, as a member of the millennial generation, to say that I'm not so sure my generation should be trusted so much.  This NY Times article touches on the issue of what makes millennials excited and motivates them to work.  It talks about transparency, and authenticity, and so forth, but what if it's actually deeper than that?  What if my generation has taken to heart all the encouragement that we heard growing up, and we've gotten our heads a bit too big?  I believe that, indeed, companies and the world ought to give millennials more credit, give us more opportunities, and listen to us more.  I also believe, however, that we millennials have got to shrink our egos, take a long view on our lives, and build our foundation.

My fear for my generation is not that we won't change the world.  It's that we will try to do it too early, and one of two things will happen.  Either we will change it in a way that we regret later, or we will make great icons and celebrities out of ourselves without the character to sustain it.  I've written about this before.  The challenge with companies recruiting millennials is not that we want more freedom, it's that we have this idea that by the age of 30 we should be respected leaders well on our way to changing the world.  It's time for us to embrace the challenge of playing the opening moves of the chess match.  What we do now will set the foundation for the rest of the game....and yes, there is a rest of the game.  We don't win by the time we're 30, we win when we are at the end of our lives - with a long string of small victories, the wisdom that comes from a life well-lived, and the enduring legacy of a lifelong leader.