A SELF ENTITLEMENT GENERATION, THERE IS A POSITIVE WAY TO DEAL WITH THIS ATTITUDE!

As I travel throughout the country speaking to various leaders and participating in several discussions with men and women from older generations, the most popular thing I hear about in reference to Generation Y, or what some define as Millenials is self entitlement. In essence, every individual that I meet who serves as a leader in some capacity of young men and women from this younger generation seems to complain about the self entitlement attitude of Generation Y. This attitude has been described by some as being a person that believes people owe them something or that they deserve certain things from others.

Like many other writers in America who have addressed this subject, I could easily talk about the negative stories revolved around this topic, I could talk about how we are supposedly overly spoiled because our parents have chosen to give us new cars at 16 years of age, or I could talk about the college graduate that believes they should have more power within a company than they actually have on their first day of work. If desired, I can also talk about ways that leaders, managers, or individuals that lead young men and women with this attitude can destroy this cancerous mindset within their organization, business, or enterprise by using certain methods or steps. Quite frankly, I agree with many of the people that I have interacted with about individuals of this younger generation having this attitude of self entitlement, but its not always a bad thing like people seem to portray because there can be some good with this attitude as well.

For instance, because of this attitude, young people are more ambitious, young people are more confident, young people have more belief in themselves, and more young people with this attitude would prefer excellence over mediocrity because excellence is an attitude that people adopt when they believe they deserve the best. Now, there are some negatives that can be attributed to this attitude as well, but if we focus on developing the positives as well as focusing on destroying the negatives of this self entitlement, I believe that we could experience more positive things with this attitude than negative. Although many experts and writers have talked about various ways to address this attitude, I want to talk about three positive ways that I believe leaders can use to address this attitude of self entitlement and benefit from it as well.

Lead By Example: Before any words are spoken, the first thing you want to do as a leader of young men and women that possess this self entitlement attitude is lead by example. The reason this principle is so important is because one of the greatest ways to reach individuals of this younger generation is by your lifestyle. Unlike generations of the past, words can be powerful, but it’s the actions that really hit home more than the words. So, if you’re going to eliminate the negative and enhance the positive of this attitude, your actions must be one of the key things that can be easily identified with young men and women from this younger generation.

Be A Mentor: As hard as it may be to deal with the negativity that can transpire with people who possess an attitude of self entitlement, becoming a mentor allows you build trust and develop a close relationship that allows you to put an end to the negativity of this attitude and build up the positive aspects of this attitude instead. Personally, I believe people fail to reach young people of this generation because they allow negative actions to cause them to become so resentful that the trust required to destroy the negativity that comes with an attitude of self entitlement is hard to attain. So, as leaders of young men and women who possess this attitude of self entitlement, become their mentor and slowly in love attack the negativity of this attitude and build up the positive.

Challenge Them: The final principle that I believe is key in dealing with this attitude of self entitlement is developing a challenge for the person. The reason I believe this is key is because it forces the young man or woman to work for what they believe they deserve and it really shows them or you whether or not they deserve the positions within a business, company, or enterprise. This challenge also keeps this person from becoming bored on the job, which does happen to several young men and women from this younger generation who are ambitious and have a strong desire to move up. If you can produce this challenge, you will either prove that they are ready for the promotion or not ready for the promotion. Both outcomes work well for the leader because you either have an advanced person working with you or you have someone that is extremely confident, but understands they still have some things to work on in order to get a promotion on the job.

A SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS GENERATION BRINGS HOPE FOR OUR FUTURE!

Over the past few years, America’s youth and young adults have been actively engaged in several social efforts across the world to make our world a better place for everyone. One of the most popular social efforts with this Generation has been the Green Campaign to Save Our Environment, which has been spearheaded by Former Vice President Al Gore and several other amazing leaders across the world. Although social efforts like this and many others such as the One Campaign, Moblizie.org, and Youth Venture that have actively engaged and inspired thousands of young people across the country may surprise some, it has not surprised me at all, and personally I expect to see more participation with various social issues from individuals of this generation in the future.

In recent studies over the past few years, civic participation has been up with this younger generation, 80% of people from Generation Y desire to make an impact in the world, and Deloitte's 2007 Volunteer IMPACT Survey found that four out of five respondents (80 percent) of this generation identified themselves as volunteers and 97 percent of respondents believed companies should offer their employees opportunities to volunteer their work-related skills or talents to non-profit organizations. What’s even more striking with these studies is that one consumer article showed that 91% of people from this younger generation said they would switch a brand if the other company supported the same common cause as them.

This revealing information about Millenials further confirms the business predictions identified in Megatrends 2010 where it talks about social change being an important part of the future businesses within our country and world. It also shows us that leaders who desire to be effective at leading young men or women of this younger generation must be socially aware of the current issues of our day and must make it a point to at least support some social cause in the world. And lastly, even though some studies have stated that are generation is all about fame and money, this social truth about Generation Y provides great expectation, promise, and hope about the future of our nation and world!