Understanding the Millennial Generation Lloyd Chip Taylor Professor

Understanding the Millennial Generation Lloyd “Chip” Taylor Professor, Department of Psychology The Citadel

What are Millennials • Start points and end points for most generations hard to define • General consensus around Baby Boomers due to the end of WWII • Millennials are generally defined as individuals born between 1981 and 2004 • Strengths of Millennials • Discussion of Stereotypes and Generalizations

The World Millennials Grew Up In • New York Times describes them as a story of lost innocence • 1 st generation where technology had significant influence • Grew up in the peace of the 1990 s • Faced with Sept. 11 • 2 economic crashes • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=M 4 Ij. TUx. ZO RE

Expectations of Millennials • Have we lied to millennials? • Instant gratification and praise for almost anything • Concept of criticism or being disciplined lost • Real aversion to criticism • Everyone gets a trophy so nobody is special • That is how we should be treated by EVERYONE

Concept of Delayed Gratification Necessary struggle Where does real learning occur? How do millennials learn? How is our educational and work force system set up regarding delayed gratification? • What happens when millennials enter an educational system and work force? • •

“It will all work out” • Mentality that “it will all work out” • How parents and the education system has reinforced this concept • Helicopter Parents – Protect the Peace • Resource allocation

Concept of Cognitive Flexibility Cognitive flexibility is the human ability to adapt the cognitive processing strategies to face new and unexpected conditions in the environment (Cañas, Quesada, Antolí and Fajardo, 2003).

Millennials and Authority • Parental Authority - Cheerleaders • Respect for teachers - Evaluations • Respect for coaches - Playing time • Difficulty with the concept of accountability

Millennials see the “System” as outdated • Millennials see traditional approaches as outdated • Consider that traditional approaches are based in delayed gratification, top down leadership, expectations • Typically single task oriented – focused on accomplishing one thing • When systems and generations don’t mesh medications and interventions arise

The Citadel and our Competitive Advantage Develop leaders Teach respect Code of Ethics Work and 24 hour schedule Delayed Gratification Taught and Practiced Consequences for Actions Uniformity and Consistency – even The Ring is consistent and generational • An understanding of the importance of legacy – the ultimate expression of delayed gratification • •

Developing Millennials While Not Undermining our Competitive Advantage • The system at The Citadel is successful • We are able to produce graduates that assimilate into the world and work force successfully • Yet we are faced with increasing challenges as the traditional approach is challenged by millennials and their parents • How do we face the challenges of developing millennials and not jeopardizing our competitive advantage in the market place?

Shaping the Behavior of Millennials • Discipline versus punishment • Understanding what millennials want versus what they need • Capitalizing on the concept of relationships • Stages of Change and millennials • What motivates millennials to change? • How to sustain change in millennials? • How do we traditionally shape behavior at The Citadel?

Practical Thoughts for Discussion • What happens when millennials graduate? • What happens when millennials enter the work force? • What happens when millennials are faced with political choices? • What happens when millennials are faced with challenges? • What happens when millennials are confronted with criticism and authority? • What happens when millennials do not receive immediate praise? • What happens when millennials enter our military? • How do our systems and our approaches perpetuate the difficulties?