The Millennial Generation is a new term in most people’s vocabulary. William Strauss & Neil Howe define the Millennial Generation as any persons born between the years 1982 and 2000. Thus anyone between the ages of 8 and 26. This generation has also been titled Generation Y, The Boomlet Generation, and the Net Generation. However, studies have shown that Millennials prefer to be called Millennials. I’ve always been amazed at the ignorance of some people in the media who classify the older part of this generation into Generation X and imposing the “slacker mentality” to us. The Millennials are basically a 90 turn from Generation X, and a 180 from the Baby Boomer Generation. Millennials are team oriented, over scheduled, and over protected. They are also very good communicators utilizing technology to its fullest and they are great at multitasking. What I believe to be the most important is they are community oriented. If this sounds like a perfect match to the Scouting program, then you’re right.
I suggest to anyone dealing with this generation (which is everyone) to read the book “Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation” by Howe and Strauss (ISBN 978-0375707193). This book is a very deep insight into the characteristics of the Millennial generation. Howe and Strauss also compare and contrast between this generation and generations past. It is a very informative and quick read. It is great not only for Scouters, but also for business people.
Most of the Scouting program is now made up of Millennials. This is the main driving force of this website. All Venturers are Millennials. All Boy Scouts are Millennials. And most Cub Scouts are Millennials. We are just now seeing the “Homeland Generation (2000-?)” enter the lower ranks of Cub Scouting. The Millennials are also working their way into the adult volunteer position. This creates some conflicts between the younger adult leaders and the older adult leaders. The Millennials are eager to complete tasks, enjoy team approaches, and are concerned with both fun and safety. More importantly they like things to be well planned. The Millennial generation is quickly bored with poorly planned events. The older adults on the other hand use a more “I’ll do it my way” approach to completing tasks. This often ends up with one person in charge of all the duties who inevitably gets burned out. The events are not as well planned as they could be, and safety is usually compromised. I’m not saying that Millennials succeed at all times, and that others always fail. I’m just saying that the status quo could be improved by adding a decent mixture of younger adult leaders into the planning process.
So how then should Scouting receive these new adult leaders? During a scout’s time in the program we have said “this is only the beginning.” We then give them no tasks as adult leaders and they soon loose interest with the boredom. Instead we need to give them tasks. Just simple things like setting up and event’s schedule, printing flyers, or reserving a campsite. The older generation of leaders has many many years of experience and knowledge. This is a perfect time for the older leaders to mentor Millennials and help them be great like we’ve told them they can be.
Life Course Associates The website for Howe and Strauss’ Consulting business.