Three principles that define the Millennial Generation

The second post in a series about the millennial generation and generational issues. Read the first post for more background: The Millennial Generation: Not just young. We really are different.

So if the millennial generation is truly distinct, what are the values that define us and our view of the world? It’s my perception (after lots of reading and conversations with friends and colleagues) that three principles work in tandem to inform a millennial’s personal direction and his or her sense of achievement:

Passion
Energy, excitement and commitment related to an issue, organization, philosophy, principle, and/or pursuit. The drive and satisfaction that come with knowing not only do you care deeply and the work is rewarding, but you are providing unique value to your passion and enhancing it for others who also care about it.

I find that the passionate, visionary streak in the millennial generation really shines when we are collaborating with others or helping to connect people as a way of advancing an idea, a shared value, or a desired direction. This makes the millennial generation naturally inclusive, engaging many voices in many different ways to advance our passions. Because our intuition is so keen on authenticity, inclusion becomes a natural result of our desire to create alignment and shared learning around principles that matter to us.

Purpose
A reason for seeking the meaning and the rewards, coupled with an overwhelming sense that you really do have a purpose, perhaps one that feel a lot larger than yourself.

For millennials, work therefore becomes both a tool for defining purpose and an expression of living out that purpose. And this means success encompasses much more than the bottom line. The millennial generation recognizes various milestones as success, all of which in turn help us fulfill our sense of purpose. These successes range from the emotional and intangible to the practical and quantifiable. They can include how happy you feel at the end of the day, the number of countries you visit before you’re 30, the number of languages you learn, how engaged your blog audience is, how much money you’re able to donate each year, how much dedicated time you have in a week to share learning with colleagues, how many conferences you attend each year, etc.

Previous generations would likely view many of these as personal pursuits that fall outside the company domain. But because the millennial generation perceives the world as very flat and modular, we struggle to create the black-and-white “personal” and “professional” boxes. We tend to think such separation is artificial and often prevents our interests and success in one domain from enhancing the interests and success in the other domain. And if this goes on long enough, we might start to wonder if we’re really meeting our purpose, if our job satisfies our passions, etc.

Pace
A personal and professional rhythm that keeps it all in check and on track. The awareness that we are living longer and work needs to be sustained for the long haul. It’s about more than time management—this encompasses relationship management, passion and professional development, personal satisfaction, etc.

I envision the millennial generation replacing the concept of balance with the concept of pace. Balance comes from a linear world that says if life is out of alignment, you should just remove a few activities or add a few people at a certain step to shift capacity. Because millennials see the world as a non-stop, organic feast—with lots of moving parts that can be creatively connected—the effort needs to be more about finding the right pace to accommodate it all rather than striking a good balance in which everything has a place in line.

If you’re a millennial, what do the principles of Passion, Purpose and Pace mean to you? Do you find they actively inform how you view opportunities, relationships, mentoring, happiness, etc.?

And in a tangible way, what do these principles mean to organizations and colleagues from other generations? In my next post, I’ll share some of the tactical disconnects that may highlight how millennial principles of Passion-Purpose-Pace are changing relationships and ways of working. I’ll also include ideas on how to anticipate and address such disconnects.

If you have a blog that covers these kinds of topics, please share your thoughts and your site in the comments so we can start connecting pieces of the conversation.