Gen-Y, Can You Lead?

Guest post by Timothy R. Clark, Ph.D.

If you were born between 1980 and 1995, you’re a member of generation Y. At 70 million strong, you’re part of the largest demographic cohort since the Baby Boomers. You are the incumbents to leadership in our society. You will take the helm and steer the ship. It’s already starting to happen: the oldest boomers are now boxing up their stuff and moving into their golden years. You, on the other hand, are settling in.

Most of you are migrating into lower and middle management positions. Some of you have moved quickly into senior management and now find yourselves in positions of significant responsibility. But this is only the beginning. During the next decade, we will hand you the keys to everything. You’ll be in charge. You’ll run the businesses, the governments, the schools, and the hospitals. You’ll disseminate the values and allocate the resources. As a baby boomer myself, I’ll be relying on your good judgment.

My question to you is: are you ready?

You grew up in a different world than I did. You’re quick and comfortable with technology. You understand change. You’re well-traveled, impatient, and prone to question authority. You tend to emphasize self-fulfillment, flexibility, and work-life balance. That capsule summary may or may not describe you personally, but it does point to some dominant characteristics of your generation. The problem is that these things don’t necessarily reveal your ability to lead. They are in fact poor predictors of performance.

So let me ask you some of the tough questions—some of the tough questions that I ask leaders around the world:   

• How self-aware are you? Can you give me the themes of what a 360 degree feedback report would look like for you? World-class leaders achieve such levels of self-awareness that they are rarely if ever surprised by feedback.
   
• Do you understand leverage in leadership? Are you willing to make your primary contribution through other people and not worry about who gets the credit?
   
• Can you toil in obscurity? Do you have the ability to work for long periods of time without recognition or reward?
   
• Are you comfortable with uncertainty? Can you motivate others when results are suspended?
   
• You say you’re not impressed by title, position, or authority. Are you preparing yourself to lead on the basis of your influence skills and the values you model?
   
• Why should anyone go at risk with you? Do you have the strength of character to set aside your personal interest, and even take a personal loss, if that’s what it takes to accomplish a worthy goal?
   
• Finally, rate your personal stamina and constancy of purpose. Do you have the capacity to delay gratification and follow a course of planned deprivation in order to accomplish something truly meaningful?

   

Now ask yourself, are you ready to lead?

   

Timothy R. Clark, Ph.D. is Chairman of TR Clark Associates, LLC, and the author of Epic Change: How to Lead Change in the Global Age (Wiley/Jossey-Bass 2007).

Comments

[Mother Earth]

great questions to ask my kids, and awesome parallel to a book my friend wrote called the ren gen, that basically defines the next rennaissance - www.rengen.com

I find as a parent myself completely intriqued by the topic, I certainly didn't have this inquiry going into my adulthood

Mother Earth aka Karen Hanrahan
www.bestwellnessconsultant.com

[Reg Adkins]

Phil,
I know this is off topic but, I was intriqued by the comment submitted by "Mother Earth." I followed the link back to that site (sounds a bit like stalking doesn't it) and found an absolutely brilliant site on wellness. Whether you are writing, you have a gifted guest or someone has simply left a comment I can ALWAYS count of your site for something that absolutely resonates with truth.
Reg

[Derrick Kwa]

Good questions. But one thing I want to point out. Most of the Gen-Y-ers would be still really young now - myself included (17 at the moment). And the thing is, a lot of these skills like self awareness, persistence, etc. gets trained and improved over time. I may be wrong, but I don't think that most of today's leaders had a clearly defined answer to all these questions when they were 18, for example. People acquire these skills through experience. Good questions to keep in mind, but I don't think there's a *need* to be able to answer them now.

[Debra Estep]

Hey Timothy,

Excellent questions to pose to GenY's and they could be guideposts for the younger Gen-Y's.

I'm going to direct a GenY niece of mine to this message and see if she will chime in.

Speaking of it being a different world...
My 11 year old, born in 1996, just asked me....
"Can you stop a sec and Google the spelling of Metallica?"
In my 11 year old day it would have been,
"Mom, how do you spell....."

[Phil Gerbyshak]

Karen - I hadn't thought of this until the last few years of my life either. Nice to have smart folks like Timothy share his brilliance with us.

Reg - NOTHING is off topic friend. Glad you continue to find value here at Make It Great! We're one big happy family of sharing, smiling folks. I love it here!

Derrick - You make a great point. I hope you keep these questions close when you're ready to use them.

Wow Deb - that's a powerful statement! Thanks for sharing (and hope your niece stops by to say hey too!)

[Tim Clark]

Let me add a couple of thoughts based on reader comments:

First, we need to acknowledge Derrick Kwa's point. Leadership capacity is developed over time and through experience. But there is a conditional "if." The "if" is whether you see, learn, and incorporate the lessons embedded in the experiences you have. It is always an option to experience and yet not learn. Many people do. What continues to bother me are those who peddle notions of leadership as being mainly about appearance,the charismatic arts, and personal advancement. Fundamentally, the most outstanding leaders that I have worked with, as a matter of stewardship, subordinate their personal interests for a greater good. They aspire to influence people in the cause of something worthy.

You may be young, but make no mistake; you are apprenticing now. Gen Y will fill the leadership posts that will become vacant. Now is the time to begin your preparation, to examine deeply your motives, to make the most of defining experiences today.

Leadership is primary a capacity that is built gradually. Just because you may step into a formal leadership role someday (or perhaps you already have) does not annoint you to be a leader. Organizations confer position, title, and authority. Those things are useful, but they are only equipment. The leader must still appear. Now is the time to prepare to assume to mantle.

[Angelos]

Hey Phil -

Here is a quick story: A young man was lambasted by his parents for ignorance and idealism after dropping out of engineering school. "You are leaving a life of security and prosperity like we never had," impressed the mother in her broken English. Always challenging authority, the man forged his own path and became a business owner at age 25. He now owns a conservative business - an accounting firm.

50 years prior, a women begged her son not to leave his family in Greece. "Stay and run the farm. The family needs your help to be prosperous," the mother begged. However, the young man followed his immediate sentiment and left for opportunity in the United States. Jobs as a mechanic, short order cook, salesman, and father followed - providing a more fulfilling life than his progenitors could have imagined possible.

Can you guess the connection? Do the scenarios sound similar to your diatribe? These men are my father and grandfather respectively. Expect another installment from yours truly in the near future.

You are completely correct in your assessment of the different values possessed by Gen Y - adaptable, technologically adept, sophomoric, etc. You have adequately typecast every generation since the scientific revolution in the 17th century. Youth will always question the social constructs, tools, and lifestyle of their parents. This is the primary vehicle for change.

Everything evolves, including the characteristics of a leader. We will be ready.

Andy Angelos

[Phil Gerbyshak]

Andy - Great points, and great story. Thanks for sharing!

I'd ask you this question to think on, for I don't know the answer: If the characteristics of a leader evolve, and yet the stories are the same, is it really evolution, or merely adaption to surroundings?

Yes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Fortunately (or unfortunately), we are facing a possible leadership epidemic for corporate America. The numbers are absolutely staggering. Is Gen Y ready for this challenge? Heck, is Gen X, or any Generation ready for it? CAN a generation prepare for it, or is it merely inevitable?

Thankfully, I can't see into the future, so I'll keep readying myself for whatever happens, and be ready to lead. Sounds like you're going to do the same, and I'm glad to hear that.

See you in the future friend! It's going to be a GREAT journey!

[Angelos]

Phil -

Responding to your comments:

I believe evolution and idealism are constants in society, but the different tools of production we are provided alter the scenario for different generations. So yes, things are "staying the same" on a ideological level but my father, grandfather and myself all used a different pool of resources to guide our decisions.

Concerning the looming leadership crisis, I notice an abundance of youthful leaders in the emerging technology landscape. My core professional network is littered with young leaders of tech startups hoping to build lasting and lucrative enterprises in sectors as diverse as RFID detection to intuitive user interfaces.

A prime example of youthful leadership pools - this weekend I am meeting with 70 young professionals with the goal of launching a company from conception to functional product in only 54 hours. Leaders are already emerging in the group's NING network for pre-event brainstorming.

I would like to hear Tim's insight on my comments as well.

P.S. Not sure if TypePad has this function, but on WordPress you can have commentators pinged when the discussion is updated. Makes following the discussion easier.