Earlier this week, the province of New Brunswick elected the youngest premier in Canadian history. At 32 years old, premier Brian Gallant falls into the Gen Y cohort.\u00a0 As with any generation, 3-4 years on either side of the age range represents \u201ccuspers\u201d who might be chronologically one generation but demonstrate characteristics of another.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know Mr. Gallant well enough to be able to gauge whether or not he possess Gen Y or Gen X values, expectations and behaviours, but regardless this is an important event for Gen Ys.\u00a0 For the first time, someone from their generation is a major political leader. A Gen Y will be making decisions that impact an entire province and may have implications across the country.<\/p>\n
It remains to be seen if this youngest premier will make decisions that resonate with Gen Y voters, but regardless, he will be able to tap in their motivations and expectations with more easely than his older counterparts. Many senior leaders we work with still believe they can discount Gen Ys\u2019 expectations and perspective, but what if we can\u2019t ignore Gen Ys anymore?<\/p>\n
Gen Ys aren\u2019t just the young graduates entering our workplaces.\u00a0 They are business savvy, experienced and influential employees, customers and citizens.\u00a0 As a generation, this cohort has a strong desire to make an impact wherever they work and live.\u00a0 They want to be engaged, involved and influence outcomes. This generation expects that employers and leaders will:<\/p>\n
Gen Ys don\u2019t view our businesses or the world through the same lens that other generations do.\u00a0 They see more possibilities.\u00a0 They believe technology can facilitate better and faster solutions.\u00a0 They are hyper collaborative and leverage experiences globally to solve current challenges.\u00a0 They \u2018think outside the box\u2019, often not even aware that there is a box that limits thoughts.<\/p>\n
Many organizations tout that they want greater innovation and creativity from their people and yet they balk when Gen Ys offer up unique and sometimes radically different solutions.<\/p>\n
We can no longer discount Gen Ys as young and inexperienced.\u00a0 They have a depth of knowledge and experiences that often far exceed what previous generations had at the same age.<\/p>\n
In general, Gen Ys have had exposure and access to experiences that far exceed what Gen Xers or Baby Boomers had.\u00a0 When I young and wanted to learn about dolphins, my mom took me to the library to take out a book and read about them.\u00a0 If I was lucky, I might be able to see some dolphins at an amusement park or maybe there was an exhibit at the Science Centre to learn more about their habits.<\/p>\n
Today, I speak with Gen Ys who instead of spending their summers reading about dolphins, spent their time at special camp in Hawaii where they swam with dolphins! They watched YouTube videos and interviewed top oceanographers to learn more about their favourite animal and were strongly encouraged by their families to full immerse themselves in their passion.\u00a0 This was not my reality, nor most Gen Xers.<\/p>\n
Baby Boomers express even more awe at the depth of experiences that Gen Ys have had exposure to early in their lives. We are all just a little bit jealous.\u00a0 So how does this impact the work world?\u00a0 Organizations, leaders and colleagues should:<\/p>\n
For all organizations there is a tipping point when younger employees \/ generations outweigh more experienced generations. For one of our clients, they have identified that this will happen in their organization by 2019. For your business it may be less than 5 years away.\u00a0 It is important to be prepared for this reality.<\/p>\n
Creating an environment that capitalizes on Gen Ys strengths and experiences will help\u00a0you be as high performing as possible.\u00a0 Assuming we can discount what Gen Ys want, think and expect is short sighted.\u00a0 Someday, perhaps not that far off, we will be working for them and they will be making the important business decisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Can We Still Discount Gen Ys? Earlier this week, the province of New Brunswick elected the youngest premier in Canadian history. At 32 years old, premier Brian Gallant falls into the Gen Y cohort.\u00a0 As with any generation, 3-4 years … Continue reading