The Gen Y Princess

I'm a starfish, she boasts. (She might be right).

"A Gen-Y leader’s efforts to maintain influence will be harder.... [because] As a generation, we’re remarkably good at calling bull. We have no qualms about holding our leaders up to the light to check for transparency.

"For the Gen-Y leader, it isn’t about ego, but about sharing ownership and building a community of ideas.

"Our generation won’t put up with selfish thoughts, unethical behavior, or tired ideas.

"We are a starfish generation. Go ahead and try to chop one of us down, and we’ll grow a whole sprawling forest in that person’s place. We’re that strong. We’re that motivated. We don’t respond lightly to pressure or corruption.

Rebecca.

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Comments

[Colin Kingsbury]

I know I'm getting older because a few years ago, I would have read that and said, "yeah, man, me too!" Now I just chuckle and think about Mark Twain's quote about how much wiser his parents got as he aged from 18 to 21. Every so often I read some of the stuff I wrote 10+ years ago. Sometimes I think "wow, I've really lost my edge since then" (since I was writing almost constantly and without any restraint), but quite often I cringe at how arrogant and emotionally overwrought it was.

[Recruiting Animal]

Collie, my bet is that Rebecca never becomes self aware enough to cringe. And the funny thing is I'm completely onside with the idea that Gen Y is going to carry forward the thrust of modern civiliation.

As more people receive higher education the leaders' clients are going to be more their equals and less inclined to hold them in ingorant awe. That's great.

But these guys are so boastful and naive that it grates against anyone who doesn't have a reason to promote their illusions.

It can't help but echo the 1960s when young people were inclined to boast about their generation in terms of having no leaders, social responsibility, do your own thing, anti-Protestant work ethic, etc. Now Gen Y is condemning these people for being medieval. How do you like that?

[Chris Taylor]

The fun thing is that she says Gen Y is focused on building leaders, leaders everywhere and then insists "it's not about ego" but rather entrepreneurship. Be an entrepreneur or die. Competitors are partners, work is play, cats and dogs living together, etc.

I think this logic works pretty well at a micro level. If you are a micro-fish swimming in a private-firm micro-pond, then yes you want to grow people who become the leaders of tomorrow—you are going to need them right quick as your company expands.

But the reality is that not everyone is innate leadership material. Some people don't want the responsibility, and others simply have the wrong aptitude or attitude.

On a macro level, if you are a much bigger fish in a global pond, you are not looking at every employee to become the next CEO or VP of a division. You want every employee to develop new skills, but let's face it—the higher you go, the less slots there to fill. Not everyone CAN be a leader right at the exact moment in time when they want to be one.

The other place where all of this breaks down is the public sector. If you work in the wet side of city works/waste management, work is clearly not going to be play. I'm sure the compensation is stellar and it's an absolutely essential service, but all the same nobody ever grows up wanting to work in the poo plant. And you have zero competitors because it's a public monopoly enforced by collective bargaining agreements.

I don't see the Gen Y attitude making huge inroads into the public sector. Small firms, yes, and big firms that have structured themselves to operate as smaller firms, yes. But something like a bank, no way. They take themselves way too seriously, and the large customers they deal with don't want a "work is play" attitude, they want a "be serious with my money" attitude.