[September 29, 2018] A lot has been written (and will be written) about America’s youngest adult generation. Subjects on Millennials are far racing but something is going unnoticed. What we are beginning to notice is that they are rejecting mentorship from leaders.1
Mentorship is, of course, the most effective and efficient way to improve upon leadership skills and thus the intrinsic value of mentors is huge. Leaders today will often say that the reason they were so successful is someone took an interest in them and showed them paths to doing well in life. There is no substitute for mentorship to help any of us but its value to young adults is immeasurable.2
For myself, I would not have achieved the rank of General in the U.S. Army if it weren’t for great mentors who provided guidance for me at the right time. I was given opportunities that never would have been made for me otherwise. They provided me with crucial information and chances to do well because I was a hard worker and someone they could trust; not because I was a so-called privileged white guy, as some would argue.
There are several lessons I learned about mentorship along my military career path and they apply to everyone:
- Mentorship is a two-way highway: the mentee must provide value to the mentor as well. That means worker harder, longer, and stronger than those around you. Your successes and failures reflect upon the mentor, so your performance matters.
- Seek out mentorship: yes, a young person must be on the lookout for those who can help. Whether formally or not, the potential mentee must go out of their way to show commitment, initiative, and a good attitude. But one must seek out the mentor and not expect them to come to you.
- Look for opportunities: mentors are often attracted to those who are willing to go out of their way to do more than the 8-to-5 job. To catch the attention of someone who might be your mentor requires putting in a greater effort than others. This is called “standing out in the crowd” and it makes a difference.
Millennials are not seeing this for what it is. I’m no psychologist but there is some literature that suggests that Millennials behave differently because they are more self-centered than other generations. I’m not so sure this is true. Our lesson is that
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- I have also discovered that, surprisingly, Millennials are quick to reject advice on how to improve their lives. These are clearly two related issues but I focus only on leader mentorship for today’s article.
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrismyers/2016/02/21/mentorship-is-key-to-career-success-for-young-professionals/#7c1e731921b8
Whining or complaining about millennials doesn’t solve anything. Young folks always gravitate toward the easy solution. Only after life experiences have taught them that certain things don’t work well, only then will they change their minds. Okay, everyone. Let’s get a grip.
I agree with you Bryan. I think that of the lessons learned that the most important is for anyone to seek out a mentor. All they can say is ‘no.’ Simply move on to someone else who you think can help you in the long run.
Looking for opportunities is another good one. I think it encompasses just about everything. Any more lessons learned about mentorship will be a big plus. Cheers!
Thanks Gen. Satterfield for a really good list of lessons learned from mentoring all these years.
It is always a pleasure to open my iPad in the morning and with a cup of coffee in hand to read the latest development in leadership. We should all remember that this is the generation that grew up with a trophy for every event and “helicopter” parents. Now look how they turned out.
Yeah! Me too. Always enjoy the weekend article especially because I can take my time reading through what I missed earlier in the week.
Great article and surprising to me that anyone would reject a mentor or anyone’s help.
I like this particular article from the American Experiment. It tells about the gross ignorance of history by Millennials and that may explain their willingness to embrace socialism. Interesting. Also explains why they reject mentorship because they don’t know its value; no one explained it to them in school.
https://www.americanexperiment.org/2018/04/millennials-ignorant-history-also-like-socialism-coincidence/
Quotable quote from the article:
“Millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996 according to the Pew Research Center, are the future. Yet, on the whole, their knowledge of the past seems somewhat threadbare. This is despite it being a ‘fact’, according to the Huffington Post, ‘that they are the most educated generation in U.S. history’.”
… and they will tell you they are smart also. Don’t forget they believe they are smarter than you are and have higher moral values. My wife gets a chuckle out of those dunderheads everytime our daughter comes over with her husband and we get to talk about the “important things in life.”
Good article.
Millennials are also more likely to accept socialism; despite not knowing much about it. They don’t know its terrible history (hundreds of millions killed) or how it destroys the person.
Millennials are also rejecting religion, capitalism (even if they don’t know what it is), and patriotism. Here’s an article about them rejecting religion but embracing Christmas.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article191364279.html
Strange that I never thought of this before but your comments may explain why they also don’t spend much time at work either. Their families are much more important to them, I believe, than older generations or perhaps since they have dual income families that they are more willing to sacrifice the job. Regardless, great observation.
I think you’re onto something here Dale, with your comment. They reject many things that we accept as a given; like going to church and worshipping or the value of hard work.
I know from my perspective, being an older member of this generation, that YES they are rejecting mentorship and they are doing it to their peril.
Hmmmm. Glad you could confirm you are seeing it too. Sad that we would find it in the military.
Good observation and confirmation. Thank you Army Captain.