I discovered in my one-on-one with my boss on Monday, that I am the quintessential example of a "Gen Yer".  I was startled, not realizing there was a term for my generation.  Further, I didn't realize, if there was a generation that I was a part of, that there would be certain ideas that are already set.  (I think part of this comes from this nieve, weird idea that I'm in this weird, ambiguous void between Gen X and the Millenium generation.  Come to find out, there's a name for that void: Generation Y.

Evidently my boss recently attended a leadership summit where they talked about "us".  The discussion focused on how do you get a generation that has been bread on multi-tasking and has enjoyed unparalleled opportunities to travel and experience a wide breadth of things to focus in work.  The idea was that Gen Y, specifically me, is all over the board.  We're the generation that's okay with talking on the phone, loading the dish washer, downloading a song from iTunes, and changing the current song on our iPod all at the same time.  It's the generation that struggled to figure out what they wanted to study in college because there were so many things they enjoyed doing or wanted to experience.  The question these leaders posed to one another was: How do you work with Gen Yers and how do you get them to take this seeming "all over the placeness" and focus it ?  My boss used the illustration of a satellite dish that takes all these waves it receives and reflects them to a single, focused point. 

While listening to him, it completely made sense and I nodded my head in agreement.  Yes, that's me I love lots of different things.  Focusing on one thing is difficult, so the satellite dish could be a helpful mental image this next year for me to work on focusing.  However, the more I think about it, the more questions come to mind:

1.  If my generation and I have grown up multi-tasking and pursing opportunities that interest us, why would we want to change this when they get into the working world? 

2.  Why conform a new generation, bred in a new world and culture, into an old model of singular focused work?

3.  If this generation is good at multi-tasking and pursuing things that they are interested in, why not develop and hone those skills so they can do the multiple tasks well?  It seems that if you take someone used to doing many things and try to focus them in on one thing, it's not long before they'll be bored with what they're doing.

4.  If, indeed, this generation has the ability to do a variety of different tasks, sometimes simultaneously, is there not a great potential there to accomplish things in an organization never before possible because there wasn't a "position" for it?

5.  If a work environment can be created that provided this variety of opportunities and the furthering of the individuals development in these and new areas, doesn't it seem like, since this is the way they have been raised, that their job satisfaction and enjoyment of their work would increase?

I'm curious, if you've read this at all, what do you think?  Sure, there are times when all of us need to focus on the task at hand, but do the entirety of our jobs need to be focused?  Are you okay with this?  Or do you prefer variety in the tasks you're given? Do you prefer a job that allows you to touch on a variety of the things you enjoy, or a job that simply focuses on one thing you enjoy?  In that case, are we okay with spending 40+ hrs a week - 160+ hours a month - focused on just one aspect of the things we enjoy or are able to do?

The more I've thought about it, the less okay I am with being "focused" like a satellite dish.  The more I think about it, the more I want the opportunity to use the breadth of experiences I've had: web development, cinematography, international travel/experience, discipling and developing others, etc.  Looking back on this year, this "all over the placeness" has allowed me to:

*develop an all new, paperless, computer-based scheduling system for visits
*deal with more campus visitors then ever before
*provide a better, more reliable visit experience for families with fewer overall mistakes throughout the year
*the smoothest run Scholarship Day ever (which also happened to be the largest day due to the recruiter's work)
*the most diverse Visit Intern team in personality, interest, and social groups in a long time (if not ever)
*update/develop new webpages for both undergraduate and graduate admissions
*implement a "tracking" system for visit requests and student information
*a budget that accomplished more with less money (while I'll be over this year, I'm hoping to be $5,000-$10,000 less over budget than last year)
*fostered and developed a better give-and-take relationship with Division heads and faculty then ever before
*invested in important relationship/networking opportunities with the Honor's Program, Leadership Scholars Program, Communications department, English department, and Pre-Med programs that continued to foster and further develop previous relationships
*established and developed the most effect Ambassador recruitment and communication method to date (a program that still needs some major development work)
*decreased overall man hours invested by student interns by increasing cross-team communication for cooperative working
*and others...

You see, this Generation Y has an incredible opportunity to accomplish things, a breadth of things, like never before.  We're more likely to have a wider grasp of different aspects involved because we're interested and exposed to a greater spectrum of experiences and knowledge.  I find the above is true for my friends and colleagues my age - they have incredible potential to accomplish amazing things. 

So, I feel like the question becomes not "How do we focus Gen Y?", but rather "How do we develop Gen Y's abilities and generational tendencies to do even greater things than previously possible?"

What do you think?  Agree?  Disagree?  See similar or different struggles in your own life? 

QUOTES:
"You don't have to be their buddy; in fact, don't be. They want you to be a boss, a leader, and most importantly, a mentor. But they'll only give you their all if they know that you truly care about them, and are committed to their personal and professional development. So "whys up" and go all in." - Eric Chester, "Getting to Know Gen Why", Business Week Online, Feb. 29, 2008

"Organizations that fail to adapt will find it difficult to recruit and retain critical young talent. If we can better connect our workforce by building a sense of community and drawing out insights, we increase our organizations' ability to compete in a faster and increasingly competitive global economy. Are we up to the challenge? If so, we believe it is time for communication leaders to change their tactics and serve as a strategic force in the talent war, not just as messengers." - Leah Reynolds, et. al., "The Gen Y Imperative," Communication World, Mar/Apr 2008

"'We are willing and not afraid to challenge the status quo," she says. "An environment where creativity and independent thinking are looked upon as a positive is appealing to people my age. We're very independent and tech savvy.'" - Katie Patterson, quoted in "Generation Y: They've Arrived at Work with a New Attitude," USA Today, 11/8/2005

"They don't like to stay too long on any one assignment. This is a generation of multitaskers, and they can juggle e-mail on their BlackBerrys while talking on cellphones while trolling online.And they believe in their own self worth and value enough that they're not shy about trying to change the companies they work for." - Eileen Blass, same USA Today article as above