In my research for my upcoming book, Millennial Leadership, I dove into mountains of information about the Millennial generation and the benefits and drawbacks they bring to the table. I grew to appreciate them a great deal and even get excited about what they have to offer us as a global village. I have had the privilege of working with Millennials since the first wave of them were in high school, and I have enjoyed it a great deal. I have known some amazing Millennials and have many as close friends and partners in ministry.
Unfortunately, being in an academic environment for the last few years and neck deep in research, articles, books, and data, I have come to refer to Millennials as a collective group. Which is fitting in an academic setting, or even when you are writing a book about Millennials and the impact they are going to have on our world. But, I have also had many conversations with Boomers and Xers about Millennials, and I have noticed we have fallen into this trap of only referring to them as a collective group. Our frustrations and irritations with Millennials, unfortunately, get placed on the nearest Millennial to us, and I fear we are losing our ability to see the Millennials right in front of us for the individuals they are.
As a member of the Xer generation, one of the things that identified us was our disdain to not be seen as individuals. We were defined by our desire to define ourselves and not have labels placed on us, including as a member of Generation X. We wanted people to get to know us as the individuals we were, to build their opinions of us because of their interactions and relationships with us. We didn’t want to be stereotyped, categorized, and known only by the characteristics of the generation we belonged to.
Though Millennials do not have the same identity issues as my fellow Gen Xers, I do believe they deserve the opportunity to be individuals and live beyond their generational category. As Boomers and Xers, if we take the initiative to get to know the Millennials in our lives, seek to understand them, and respect them enough to appreciate their uniqueness, we may find our frustrations and our irritations dissipating. As fellow members of this global village, it would be in our best interest to take the time to appreciate what genuine value each person offers.
