Is talking about your youth bad for your development as a leader?
Akhila over at Justice for All recently wrote a compelling piece advising millennials to stop talking about how young we are and focus on developing our expertise:
By overemphasizing your youth & inexperience, you miss out on such learning experiences, as well as the opportunity to present yourself as a thought leader in your field. Don’t let your youth define you. There are too many 22 year-olds writing about their quarterlife crisis, and not enough showing they’ve got what it takes to become leaders.
This is a hard one for many of us to grapple with (including me). While we talk a great deal about our youth we rarely go into specific aspects of our work experience and knowledge make us valuable members of the social change community. As a result we sometimes don’t prioritize developing, refining, and promoting our craft.
At the same time, I do think there is a need to talk about our experiences as young people. There are aspects of our generation and our collective experiences that are important to share (and often signal large changes in culture, as is the case with other generations), in addition to the fact that social justice work should seek to include ALL voices, period.
Why we should talk about young people
The main reason why I do focus on young people is because we tend to assume that the lack of young voices is due to lack of valuable input from young people. I simply do not think that by virtue of being young that you have nothing to contribute. I believe that attitude does more harm than good.
Why? Because this attitude goes beyond “omg young people are so annoying/cool!” to allowing us to avoid important questions about young people. In particular: how are we ensuring that there are promising opportunities for leadership? what does it mean when we have a generation saddled with debt and lack of mobility? What does the growing trend towards entrepreneurship by young people mean for nonprofits? What do we even mean when we say millennials–are we ignoring differences along race and class? Even when young people have the credentials and experience to lead they are mocked because of their age begging the question–is expertise really all that matters? Are we defining leadership so narrowly that only a select few can lead? And finally, on a smaller scale, the reality is that if you are just starting your career, the issues you face will certainly be different than someone who has been working for years. What are those challenges and how can you overcome them?
I explore these questions and highlight the voices of other young people who do the same to demonstrate our interest and commitment to growing, sharing, learning, and leading. That we arent just receivers of bad news and pity nor do we hang around mom and dad waiting for money (I despise this image so much). We are active participants in shaping our future and the future of social justice. Apparently the idea of young people being social justice leaders is shocking to many people so thoughtful presentation is key.
Finding the right narrative
Therefore, I think the issue isn’t just that we talk about our youth but rather how we talk about it. We need to shift our narrative from solely discussing how young we are to what we each want to be known for and the impact we want to have.
So instead of focusing on what you lack or just the fact that you are young, ask yourself this: what do you want to be the “go-to” person for? What can you actively share that allows you to combine your passion and experience in a meaningful way? I think that by focusing on impact we are pushed to engage people more constructively and view our work more critically.
What do you think? Is the millennial conversation overrated? Does the conversation need to shift?
I understand what you are saying and I agree that in many cases, even having the skills and experience is not enough for young people to be accepted in their fields as leaders.
However I am no longer going to discuss my youth on my blog. Or at least, I’ll mention my youth as sparingly as possible.
This is because when writing about being a ‘Gen Y’ professional, I ended up talking mostly to other ‘Gen Yers.’ I feel like it becomes a sort of insular group. In many ways, it’s a lot of young people talking to one another and almost forming an “online clique.” In some ways, that is what websites like Brazen Careerist do.
However, the example I like is Tom at http://www.aviewfromthecave.com/. He writes a blog and tweets on international aid and development. He never talks about how young he is, although I recently learned he’s only 25. However, he writes about important issues in the field of aid and as a result, he is now interacting with GIANTS (I tell you, giants) in the field of international development like Professor Bill Easterly, etc. You may not be familiar with this field, so let me just tell you that the people he’s now in constant conversation with are top leaders in that field. They speak at top schools in front of hundreds of people, and their books are staple in any development class. But, he’s respected by them! Not because of talking about his youth but because he writes smartly about real important issues. So, this is just one example, but my point is that if I keep writing about Gen Y, I’m only going to be interacting with Gen Yers. Not the top folks in my field.
[Reply]
ajlovesya Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 1:52 pm
I think it really comes down to two things a. Your goal when blogging b. the angle you take when blogging about youth (which I address in the post).
For example my target audience is young people interested in nonprofit work but I also end up working with their employers and connecting with people and organizations who have invested in ensuring there is a pipeline of talent for years to come so that the sector remains vibrant and sustainable. There are folks who talk about young people as leaders and also talk to “giants” in the field, even becoming one themselves, so the two can certainly coexist.
Talking about Gen Y in terms of why they are awesome or awful is useless. Talking about critical issues that affect this group and as a result have long term consequences is important.
[Reply]
Akhila Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
True, maybe I am just generalizing from my experience then, as the field I am interested in is not in any way related to Gen Y issues. Therefore, I feel if I want to engage with leaders discussing issues related to our generation does not really provide much benefit.
However it is true that there are many leaders in other fields discussing youth leadership as well.
I agree with you, that simply talking about Gen Y as a group is not valuable. Talking about what young people can bring to the table, though, can be helpful.
It’s true, it completely depends on your goals for blogging or writing. Some people simply want to ‘discover’ themselves, while others want to build their career. Obviously, the former might be fine discussing their quarterlife crisis. The latter, may want to avoid doing so to some extent.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mickie Kennedy, Nonprofit Millennial. Nonprofit Millennial said: Is talking about your youth bad for your development as a leader? – by @ajlovesya #nmba http://bit.ly/f7xUzI [...]
I have actually learned a lot from you about the issues of being part of your generation, and I appreciate that, but I do also think that of far greater importance than your age is your competence, your thoughtfulness, the amazing insights you have regardless of your age. I personally was always annoyed to have been boxed into the “Baby Boomer” generation, about which there are many assumptions that never fit me, and which tended to be about as accurate in defining me as my astrological sign or the daily horoscope.
I encourage you to encourage other people your age, and to help enlighten people of other generations (like me!) as you’ve been doing. But don’t define yourself by your age or age group. It’s not what the rest of the world sees when they see you or read your work. And it’s creating one more category that stops people from seeing you as a whole person, with all your talents, and defines you in a box.
[Reply]
I think both you and Akhila make extremely valuable points. As you both discussed in the comments section, it really boils down to what your goals are when you set out to blog. I think the both of you have different goals, but being that you are Gen Y your audiences are sometimes on in the same.
Akhila’s post struck a chord with me because I had never thought about what my goal was in terms of how I want others to perceive me based on my writing. I realize that while I do want my fellow Gen Y-ers to relate to me through my journey, I really want to be recognized for my talents and skills first and foremost.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you said: “Therefore, I think the issue isn’t just that we talk about our youth but rather how we talk about it. We need to shift our narrative from solely discussing how young we are to what we each want to be known for and the impact we want to have.”
There’s definitely a place for both of your perspectives, especially when you consider how much value both of your blogs offer to people like me.
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I love the lively conversation! I also read and commented on Akhila’s post.
For me, my blogging focus is not just millennial issues, so I try to invest my time dealing with my top issues: fundraising, marketing, volunteers, etc.
I definitely see Allison’s point – one of her primary messages is about young people starting nonprofit careers. That’s an awesome and needed perspective!
I regularly read both Allison’s and Akhila’s blogs, and I will continue to because both provide such valuable content!
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