Article on Millenials by Tim Elmore

I received this article from Tim Elmore on what he has discovered about millenials and the subtle changes in attitude that are occuring. Very interesting!

"Off the Record: Confessions of Students Today" (What Millennial Generation Kids are Saying About Life & Belief) by Tim Elmore / www.GrowingLeaders.com

I just left the campus of Stanford University, after two days with some very intelligent students. Although I was there to do some leadership development, I got the chance to interact with a handful of them, as if they were a focus group. I expected some amazing responses to the questions I had. After all, each of them had a GPA somewhere between 3.85 and 4.0. All of them were on a scholarship. Surely, this group was the apex of students today. What struck me was how comparable their responses were to almost every other student I’ve met this year. There was a shocking similarity between the students I met at a junior college a month earlier and these brilliant student leaders who’ll likely lead large companies and or hold public office. For that matter, I was amazed at how closely this Stanford student group compared to the students I met in China and Singapore just four weeks earlier. Although our world is rapidly changing, there is an astounding sameness in the perspective, values and hopes of today’s students. I can’t explain it. Perhaps the media—television, the internet and the movies—have become the great equalizer. What ever the reason, these students are growing up together. It got me thinking. Do students have more in common with others from a different region of the world than they do with their earlier counterparts from the same demographic?
Confessions From a Changing Culture...

The first batch of Millennial Generation kids have now graduated from college. The final batch of them won’t finish until 2024. I began to wonder: are the earlier kids in this generation exactly like the ones today? Are there any differences between the students born in 1984 and the ones born, lets say, in 1994? To answer this question, we decided to not only ask focus groups of students ourselves, but listen to researchers like Judy Woodruff, a sociologist who recently created a program describing kids today, called, “Generation Next” aired on PBS. These discoveries were made in authentic conversations, where students got honest about themselves and the real world they live in. Of course, their responses were “off the record.” Here’s what we learned.

1. They are ambitious...even about money.
Earlier students from this generation said little about money. In fact, they were more drawn to give themselves to a cause they believed in, and let the money take care of itself. The students we meet today are saying money is very important and they want to be well-off as adults. It is one of their highest priorities. They’ve seen young people become celebrities overnight (i.e. American Idol) and like the idea of getting rich quickly, in their twenties. It’s not that they don’t care about changing the world—they just want to do it with a six digit salary. Of course... this is off the record.

2. They are progressive...and a bit more liberal than their elders.
Once again, early Millennial generation students told us they were more conservative than their parents, politically, spiritually and sometimes economically. Later reports show students are active in politics (a large percentage showed up to vote in the last two elections) and appear more liberal on issues like race, homosexuality and mixed marriages. Tolerance is huge. They are impatient when it comes to the red- tape of committees and political maneuvering. They want change now.

3. They are respectful...but dissatisfied with current leadership.
This new group of students demonstrated a dislike for, even a dissatisfaction with present leaders in government, corporations and even churches. They remain somewhat respectful (more-so than their Baby Boomer parents) but they want to see change. They hate status quo. Early Millennial generation students said they were willing to work within established institutions. If these institutions fail to listen to them or show no willingness to re-invent themselves or even improve themselves, these students may look more like Baby Boomers...and rebel.

4. They are preoccupied...especially with themselves.
This hasn’t changed much over the last twenty years. These students have been video-cammed since they were born. Adults clap for them at every turn, wanting them to have a healthy, positive self- esteem. They have a room full of trophies—even if they never came in “first” on a team, because parents and adults have given awards away to every child. (Sometimes, you’ll even find a “ninth place” ribbon on a bulletin board in a child’s room). In short, they are in love with themselves. Some would even call them narcissistic. On Mother’s Day, some young adults even gave themselves gifts, in honor of their mother. They said they knew how much “mom loves me” and that she would love it if they got themselves a haircut, or cleaned their room as a gift to mom.

5. They are generous...but know little about handling money.
This generation has proven to be an extremely generous population of students. However, they know very little about saving money, budgeting money or planning for the future, financially. They have always had more money when they needed it. Mom, dad or grandparents have always been ready to dish out more cash when the kids ran out. Sadly, they don’t know much about delayed gratification, persevering through setbacks or planning ahead. What students do know about money has been learned from mom and dad. Unfortunately, parents haven’t taught them much about anything but spending. I just hope they receive a big paycheck when they graduate college. Most are used to a pretty nice standard of living.

6. They are optimistic...but can become disillusioned quickly.
What hasn’t changed since the last half of the 1980s, is the fact that kids are optimistic about changing the world. They know it’s broken, but they plan to fix it. What has surfaced over the last six years is these same students can become disillusioned, even depressed, when facing opposition. As these young adults venture out to accomplish their goals, challenges they never experienced at home under their helicopter parents can shock them. More counseling offices are filled up on college campuses because of this than any other single reason: what’s wrong with me? This is harder than I thought it would be. There is even a term coined for this ambitious group who encounter problems and get disillusioned: Quarter-Life Crises. It hits in their mid-twenties and is the result of not reaching their goals as quickly as they expected. Of course...this is off the record.

7. They are, in a word...passionate.
Finally, we’ve observed the best word that describes this young generation is: passionate. It’s a word they use often, much more than Generation X, who came before them. They are determined to “find their passion” and devote their life to it. Or, should I say, part of their life. They reported that they may have more than one passion and may experience multiple careers in their adult life. It’s hard for them to narrow it down. If they possess five passions, they may pursue five careers. But, they always want to be about a “passion” (some passion) in the moment they are living right now. They don’t want to do anything halfway.

Want more information about this generation? Go to: www.GrowingLeaders.com
Dr. Tim Elmore