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COMMENTARY
The Promise of the Millennial Generation
By Russ Linden
Tom Brokaw coined
the term “the greatest
generation” to describe
those who grew up
during the Great
Depression and went
on to persevere
through WWII. It’s
just possible that
we’re about to witness
another great
generation.
M
illennials may be problematic, but consider their potential for radically improving
government.
With good reason, Tom Brokaw
coined the term “the greatest generation,” in his book of the same name, to
describe those who grew up during the
Great Depression and went on to persevere through WWII. I was raised by two
members of this remarkable group and
I’m continually astonished by both the
accomplishments of their generation
and their mental fortitude. These people faced one enormous challenge
after another, handled those challenges
beautifully and without complaint, and
did so with humility and a positive spirit.
It’s just possible that we’re about to
witness another great generation.
That’s my take after reading the
intriguing book Generations, by William
Strauss and Neil Howe. The authors
identify a pattern of four generations
that have repeated sequentially throughout American history since 1584 (the
only period in which a generation was
skipped was during the Civil War).
The four generational types they discovered are:
Adaptives: They tend to be risk
averse, like to conform to existing
This column originally appeared on Governing.com,
February 18, 2009. Copyright © 2009 The President
and Fellows of Harvard College.
norms, and try to live up to the high
standards of the powerful generation
that preceded them. The most recent
Adaptive cohort includes those born
from 1925-1946.
Idealists: They often inspire a “spiritual awakening.” Their strengths include
visionary leadership and their shortcomings can include a tendency
toward narcissism. The most recent
Idealistic cohort was the baby boom
generation, born 1946-1964.
Reactives: They tend to be alienated
and highly individualistic and are skeptical of existing institutions and of the
Idealists who preceded them.The most
recent Reactive cohort, commonly
referred to as Generation X, was born
between 1964 and 1980.
Civics: This group is called an “institution building” generation. Like the
Idealists, they tend to set the social
agenda for the country. They respect
authority,are comfortable working within the system, and set very high goals.
The most recent Civic cohort was born
between 1980 and 2000.
The Idealist and Civic cohorts are
change-oriented generations, the other
two reflect a more stable and conservative orientation.The 20-somethings now
entering the workplace are a Civic generation, often referred to as Millennials.
And, if you believe Strauss and Howe’s
premise, they offer enormous promise
for our organizations and our society.
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My wife and I have two adult
“Millennial” children. They and their
friends reflect most of the characteristics that Civics have historically demonstrated. Moreover, the research on
Millennials who are now in the workplace suggests that this group’s
strengths align beautifully with government’s most pressing needs. Consider
the following list of traits exhibited by
Millennials:
■
a great facility for technology
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an assumption that information
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a lack of patience with bureaucracy
■
a talent (and preference)
for collaboration
cash flow forecasting, internal control considerations,
■
a passion for service, and
the investment process, basic portfolio strategies,
■
a desire to make a (big) difference
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Yes, this group can be problematic.
Their impatience with bureaucracy can
get them in trouble, and their expectations for immediate change can leave
them easily disappointed. As a result of
their early life experiences (e.g., being
carted by parents from one structured
activity to another) many Millennials
need more adult attention and supervision than managers may choose to give.
But, consider this group’s potential for
radically improving government.
At a time when most government
agencies need to find new ways to
engage their citizen-customers as active
partners, Millennials are able and eager
to redefine citizen engagement by har-
nessing the power of Web 2.0. In a “discontinuous” age of incredible global
changes, Millennials aren’t unsettled by
the turbulence; on the contrary,they are
energized by it. In an era when we must
tear down organizational walls,collaborate, and share information, this generation has been doing exactly that since
they were given group projects in elementary school (and were graded for
how well they worked in a group).
These are all generalizations, of
course, and you’ll no doubt find many
exceptions. But my experience with a
number of Millennials tells me that this
generation does share the characteristics described in recent research.
Moreover, they reflect the fundamental
nature of Civic generations discovered
by Howe and Strauss.
The next time you’re truly despondent
about your own team, or division, or
agency, just reflect on this fact: Most
of America’s founding fathers were
members of a Civic generation (Jefferson,
Madison, Hamilton, Monroe, John
Marshall, John Jay, and many other
founders were born 1742-1766). The
Civics are,indeed,an institution-building
generation. The real challenge is ours:
Will we be farsighted and smart enough
to put today’s Civic cohort into appropriate positions of leadership so they
can build tomorrow’s government? ❙
RUSS LINDEN is a management educator
and author who specializes in organizational change methods in the public sector. He
is an adjunct faculty member at the Federal
Executive Institute, the University of Virginia,
and the University of Connecticut. His latest
book is Working Across Boundaries.