Is It True What They Say About Millennials?

“They told us we were special and could have anything we want in life.”

Bosses the world over are struggling with their millennial employees — they say we confound leadership, are self-entitled, narcissistic, lazy and tough to manage — Rachel Hosie

Hosie was responding to a controversial interview with motivational speaker and author Simon Sinek, claiming this rhetoric is the result of failed parenting strategies for millennials.

Sinek spoke to The Independent about how their parenting skills, combined with social media, millennials’ working environments and their impatience, have created a generation plagued by low self-esteem, and what they can do about it. Sinek claims the parents of millennials are now aware of their well-intentioned strategies backfiring, as,

It was a time when greed was good, and parents raised their kids, encouraging them to be individual and put themselves first. Whilst really great in theory, parents were also pushing their kids to get the top grades, focus on rankings and make money, which left them conflicted.

Growing up in a social media age is much to blame for a constant need for praise and inability to deal with negative feedback. How many likes and followers you have is the new social currency, and all they care about is keeping up appearances online.

Medals for coming last

Sinek aims his remarks to the parents of millennials. He says they were telling their children they were special all the time and could have anything they want in life. This kind of reinforcement hasn’t helped millennials to build self-confidence, find job fulfillment, be happy, and develop loving relationships.

Sinek laughs about the practice of giving participation awards, and Hosie confirms this as,

If we were good at everything we would have no need for each other.

And

We got medals for coming in last and if we didn’t get into the best clubs, our parents complained. This meant entering the real world was a shock and our self-images were shattered — Rachel Hosie

Sinek believes for this generation, growing up in a social media age must share the blame for the constant need for praise and inability to deal with any feedback considered undesirable. He says the need to manage appearances online is also a negative attribute.

Sinek’s favorite example is a reference to,

… Father’s Day when millennials post pictures on Instagram of them as children with their dads, but their dads don’t even use the social network. Just call your dad! It’s the weirdest thing to me.

Saving time

I thought a writer, who is so keen about saving time by counting in increments of 10 seconds, would be interested in saving time for readers.

The practice of writing today is to cater to readers who want to skim read. Writers are encouraged to provide more white space, break up the text with headings and dot points, to give the reader a better, faster experience. The preference is for fewer blocks of text, especially for those readers on mobile devices.

Why are the people in this age group in such a rush? And at the same time unable to accept advice?

However, I admit the loyalty is admirable as they quickly came to another’s defence when there was a perceived injustice perpetrated against one of their peers. A recent experience for me has resulted in vitriolic feedback — unjustified feedback demonstrating rudeness and skim reading.

I wonder if any of these people know there’s a difference between critique and criticism. Writers today treat these two words as synonyms, but there is a difference. Some people may not be aware because the difference is subtle.

Let me explain. Criticism is the act of criticizing, usually unfavorably.

Critique is a noun meaning a careful judgment in which you give your opinion about the good and bad parts of something (such as a piece of writing or a work of art). It is not a criticism of the writer or artist.

Making an impact

What do millennials mean when saying they want to make an impact? It could be the impact they long for in the workplace, or in part, the desire for acknowledgment and recognition in all endeavors.

What concerns Sinek is this obsession with making an impact, as most millennials don’t know what they want.

I absolutely applaud millennials and everyone who wants to have an impact. My concern is that saying ‘we want to make an impact’ is so broad it’s not helpful. Millennials need to find out what kind of impact they want to have, then they’ll be able to find a workplace right for them — Simon Sinek

He promotes the importance of building self-confidence, finding job fulfillment, being happy, and developing loving relationships. This is what all of us believe in, and we’re aware of the length of time it can take to achieve it.

Sinek advises,

If you’re struggling with your self-confidence, find a friend who feels the same and come together to help build each other up.

And,

[T]he most important thing we can do to build our self-esteem, however, is to help each other, because too many companies aren’t helping us — Rachel Hosie

Sinek’s takeaway message, however, is about building healthy, strong relationships to ensure we’ll be happier, healthier, and more inspired.

We know as social beings, relationships are the core of joy, happiness, and success in life.

Our connection with each other is better than contempt or condemnation.

Sinek is an optimistic and successful man.

Whether or not you’re a millennial, this is good advice to guide anyone.