Leading millennials
Last night St Luke’s church hosted an evening with Phil Knox who works for evangelical alliance looking at reaching young adults presented a conversation thinking about how to lead millennials and the changing landscape that businesses, churches and other settings find themselves working with and supporting millennials (those born between 1982-2000). In the church Phil referred to this generation often being the ‘missing generation’ who have never been involved in church as a child. I went along because, as a millennial myself I find myself leading those of an older generation but will also soon be a millennials leading other millennials and those who are post millennial. The opening comment around millennials being those who often find job satisfaction hard and look for instant gratification is something that I can certainly relate to with those who I know. Those who never seem satisfied with the job they have and are constantly on the look out for something different or better.
We watched a car advert which made many statements looking at previous generations and how the millennial generation will do things differently. The repeating refrain being ‘because they...we...’ these statements helped frame the conversations that we had during the evening starting with the information revolution.
Because they did, we don’t.
This new information revolution (one of perhaps only 5 ever) that we considered was the digital revolution.
1) information vs wisdom.
We are surrounded with more information than ever before however we all need support and assistance discerning what information is relevant and helpful. This requires wisdom. The point that really resonated with me was that this overwhelming amount of into from can lead to reactive leadership or action rather than forward planning. This is something I have been frustrated by for a significant amount of time and something that I really want to address this year. By planning ahead I feel I could be so much more productive rather than led by thinking I need to do more and more as I see what other schools or leaders are doing...
2) relational changes
One short video clip made claim that more millennials trust amazon than their bank. What a world this is changing to be. We have the opportunity to connect and have so many more relationships than ever before however the quality of those relationships is perhaps decreasing. The number of meaningful and close relationships millennials report having is less now than 10 years ago- something I definitely found sad but not overly surprising.
3) attention
The increase in the internet (or a weapon of mass distraction!) and devices has led to a decrease in people’s ability to concentrate and be productive, perhaps a decrease in people’s IQ by 10%! The phrase that really stuck with me was continuous partial attention. We constantly are only paying partial attention to the world around us because of the social media options surrounding us. The attention span of a gold fish is 8 seconds, a human perhaps only 7 seconds now!
So how do we counter this? Perhaps by being intentional. To go out and ensure phones and computers are not being used during meetings and conversations. To take control of the use of technology so it does not control us. I think in education this is generally not too bad, during lessons teachers haven’t got phones out nor is email generally open. Lessons to be learnt for leaders perhaps too.
The princes trust conducted some research On young people’s views on if ‘life is really worth living’. The results were really shocking and sad, an increase in depresssion amongst the young and a real sense of young adults lacking purpose and meaning in life. I really hope education, and perhaps especially church schools can play a part in changing this narrative. I have no doubt a vast amount of it is as a result of the digital revolution as listed above.
Because they won’t ...we will
The change from conformation and a generation informed by the mass media has changed to a desire for collaboration. People working together and the rise in social media. Where as once meetings were top down and information presented in lectures now there is a the desire to have authentic relationships where those relationships allow for conversation and dialogue and participation being crucial.
The concept of reverse mentoring was suggested at this time with the understanding that those who know more/have been there longer/are more senior are assigned as the mentor but actually that both individuals can learn from each other. That the way millennials approach problems or challenges can be helpful for those who are perhaps a digital immigrant as a posed to a digital native. This has certainly been my experience that I go into leadership hoping to be able to be of use as well as to learn from others and have found this a very fulfilling experience.
I found the acronym for EPIC of being experiential, participatory, image rich and connected to ring very true when I think about how I enjoy interacting and engaging with others. As a leader I try and provide all these things within training that I lead (and within lessons I teach!) I wondered during the session how alien this felt to those perhaps of an older generation and if I needed to be more aware of this.
Authenticity was discussed at length with some interesting discussions around if it is more an aspiration to be authentic because of the clear way that the image people portray of themselves on social media not really seem to be consistent with this. But being trusted and seeing themselves as credible is really important to millennials. Allowing space for authentic relationships to be formed, for trust to allow control to be released, to act with humility and allow those younger to try out new ideas in a safe way. The impact on CPD seemed relevant to me at this time. Having been thinking recently about how the Apprisal process I currently have in place doesn’t really focus on how to develop teachers to be the best they can be and I really like the move away from data or results. It to upskilling and making use of research to develop new ways of working in the classroom.
Because they judge... we embrace
The change from the focus on the individual to community has many impacts on leadership. Thinking about how we respond to challenge particularly as often when challenged I am definitely guilty of feeling judged and not always responding in the best possible way. There is a desire to work in community where connections are made. Where we define ourselves by our role alongside and our connections to others. The concept of success and failure is important alongside this. We often grow up thinking these are the only two options. If we are not successful straight away we see it as failure. The need to learn from situations and the release from judgement in these situations are important. Allowing millennials and those around us to be the best we can be buys a lot of loyalty.
When people of different generations are working together particularly As leaders of millennials there is a need to be patient. To form relationships in different ways, to have compassion. The values that leader have are vital in this society and to this generation (myself included). To live out those values and to be known for them is so important. Again being part of a church school has ,ade me really think about this. I love that I work in a school where we talk about values so much. Where we are constantly looking for ways to demonstrate, to reward and to share ways to live out the values that are most important to us as a school community. I know that no matter where I go from here as a leader I will bring this to any future school. To be known for my values and to expect others to do the same.
We spoke about how many people can you effectively manage well? Jesus maximum was 12- and he was God! The suggestion was perhaps only 3 or 4 and that any more than that needs to look for more layers in the leadership structure in order to provide real support where we can come alongside and learn from in the reverse mentor like way previously discussed,
Because they own...we share
Previously the focus was about the role of those in leadership to know the solutions and the change is to now not needing to own that knowledge but to allow it to be accessible for those working under them. The role of sharing stories was discussed at length. Sharing a part of myself as a leader alongside an authentic desire to get to know those working alongside. To know what is going on in their life in order to best support them. To thank people. To be with them. Even Instagram and Facebook now have the facility to share stories as they see the way technology is changing. Less about a static moment in time in pictures and text but in sharing their thoughts and feelings around that moment.
When telling a story those who listen go through the same emotions as the person who is sharing. By sharing stories we can raise morale hugely. This made me ponder how I can use this t raise morale both of staff but also of pupils in difficult situations. For example putting the time in to research where past pupils have gone on to as so often the seeds primary teachers see are never known about the potential they have in the future.
We watched a car advert which made many statements looking at previous generations and how the millennial generation will do things differently. The repeating refrain being ‘because they...we...’ these statements helped frame the conversations that we had during the evening starting with the information revolution.
Because they did, we don’t.
This new information revolution (one of perhaps only 5 ever) that we considered was the digital revolution.
1) information vs wisdom.
We are surrounded with more information than ever before however we all need support and assistance discerning what information is relevant and helpful. This requires wisdom. The point that really resonated with me was that this overwhelming amount of into from can lead to reactive leadership or action rather than forward planning. This is something I have been frustrated by for a significant amount of time and something that I really want to address this year. By planning ahead I feel I could be so much more productive rather than led by thinking I need to do more and more as I see what other schools or leaders are doing...
2) relational changes
One short video clip made claim that more millennials trust amazon than their bank. What a world this is changing to be. We have the opportunity to connect and have so many more relationships than ever before however the quality of those relationships is perhaps decreasing. The number of meaningful and close relationships millennials report having is less now than 10 years ago- something I definitely found sad but not overly surprising.
3) attention
The increase in the internet (or a weapon of mass distraction!) and devices has led to a decrease in people’s ability to concentrate and be productive, perhaps a decrease in people’s IQ by 10%! The phrase that really stuck with me was continuous partial attention. We constantly are only paying partial attention to the world around us because of the social media options surrounding us. The attention span of a gold fish is 8 seconds, a human perhaps only 7 seconds now!
So how do we counter this? Perhaps by being intentional. To go out and ensure phones and computers are not being used during meetings and conversations. To take control of the use of technology so it does not control us. I think in education this is generally not too bad, during lessons teachers haven’t got phones out nor is email generally open. Lessons to be learnt for leaders perhaps too.
The princes trust conducted some research On young people’s views on if ‘life is really worth living’. The results were really shocking and sad, an increase in depresssion amongst the young and a real sense of young adults lacking purpose and meaning in life. I really hope education, and perhaps especially church schools can play a part in changing this narrative. I have no doubt a vast amount of it is as a result of the digital revolution as listed above.
Because they won’t ...we will
The change from conformation and a generation informed by the mass media has changed to a desire for collaboration. People working together and the rise in social media. Where as once meetings were top down and information presented in lectures now there is a the desire to have authentic relationships where those relationships allow for conversation and dialogue and participation being crucial.
The concept of reverse mentoring was suggested at this time with the understanding that those who know more/have been there longer/are more senior are assigned as the mentor but actually that both individuals can learn from each other. That the way millennials approach problems or challenges can be helpful for those who are perhaps a digital immigrant as a posed to a digital native. This has certainly been my experience that I go into leadership hoping to be able to be of use as well as to learn from others and have found this a very fulfilling experience.
I found the acronym for EPIC of being experiential, participatory, image rich and connected to ring very true when I think about how I enjoy interacting and engaging with others. As a leader I try and provide all these things within training that I lead (and within lessons I teach!) I wondered during the session how alien this felt to those perhaps of an older generation and if I needed to be more aware of this.
Authenticity was discussed at length with some interesting discussions around if it is more an aspiration to be authentic because of the clear way that the image people portray of themselves on social media not really seem to be consistent with this. But being trusted and seeing themselves as credible is really important to millennials. Allowing space for authentic relationships to be formed, for trust to allow control to be released, to act with humility and allow those younger to try out new ideas in a safe way. The impact on CPD seemed relevant to me at this time. Having been thinking recently about how the Apprisal process I currently have in place doesn’t really focus on how to develop teachers to be the best they can be and I really like the move away from data or results. It to upskilling and making use of research to develop new ways of working in the classroom.
Because they judge... we embrace
The change from the focus on the individual to community has many impacts on leadership. Thinking about how we respond to challenge particularly as often when challenged I am definitely guilty of feeling judged and not always responding in the best possible way. There is a desire to work in community where connections are made. Where we define ourselves by our role alongside and our connections to others. The concept of success and failure is important alongside this. We often grow up thinking these are the only two options. If we are not successful straight away we see it as failure. The need to learn from situations and the release from judgement in these situations are important. Allowing millennials and those around us to be the best we can be buys a lot of loyalty.
When people of different generations are working together particularly As leaders of millennials there is a need to be patient. To form relationships in different ways, to have compassion. The values that leader have are vital in this society and to this generation (myself included). To live out those values and to be known for them is so important. Again being part of a church school has ,ade me really think about this. I love that I work in a school where we talk about values so much. Where we are constantly looking for ways to demonstrate, to reward and to share ways to live out the values that are most important to us as a school community. I know that no matter where I go from here as a leader I will bring this to any future school. To be known for my values and to expect others to do the same.
We spoke about how many people can you effectively manage well? Jesus maximum was 12- and he was God! The suggestion was perhaps only 3 or 4 and that any more than that needs to look for more layers in the leadership structure in order to provide real support where we can come alongside and learn from in the reverse mentor like way previously discussed,
Because they own...we share
Previously the focus was about the role of those in leadership to know the solutions and the change is to now not needing to own that knowledge but to allow it to be accessible for those working under them. The role of sharing stories was discussed at length. Sharing a part of myself as a leader alongside an authentic desire to get to know those working alongside. To know what is going on in their life in order to best support them. To thank people. To be with them. Even Instagram and Facebook now have the facility to share stories as they see the way technology is changing. Less about a static moment in time in pictures and text but in sharing their thoughts and feelings around that moment.
When telling a story those who listen go through the same emotions as the person who is sharing. By sharing stories we can raise morale hugely. This made me ponder how I can use this t raise morale both of staff but also of pupils in difficult situations. For example putting the time in to research where past pupils have gone on to as so often the seeds primary teachers see are never known about the potential they have in the future.
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