Let’s Meet G.X.M!

G.X.M. has requested that their contributions remain anonymous. With respect to their request, I will use the following pronouns to describe the interviewee’s responses and experiences: their, they, them. G.X.M. currently works in administrative leadership at a moderately-sized organization of higher education and learning within the southern United States. Because G.X.M. has requested that their contributions remain anonymous, I will not provide additional information about their background.

The Interview

You know the drill. The interview consisted of three ‘stems’ to which each participant provided open-ended responses. As always, there were no right or wrong answers and participants were able to provide as much or as little information as desired. Here we go!

Talk to me about your journey to your current leadership position(s).

“When I started out, my intention was to go to law school…and that’s clearly not the path that I’ve taken."
“I made a couple attempts to get into law school, and I didn’t get in where I wanted to go. So I ultimately ended up going back to graduate school to get a Masters in Criminal Justice….the goal at that point…anywhere that I’ve been, the goal has been to excel where I’m at.”
“I used skills that I picked up along the way…and those [experiences] landed me with good report writing and analytical skills.”
“It’s been a very uncharted path. Just a path where, not necessarily whatever the next opportunity has been, but whatever my skillset has led me to that made sense. That’s been my career path….at least for now.”
“…I want to max out my skills for the best opportunity possible.”

When we talk about journey and path and what has led us to where we are, I think that it’s important to have examples of those who don’t always end up where they set out to be. How many of us thought we would do one thing but end up doing another? How many set out with a specific major, industry or occupation in mind, but life doesn’t lead us that way? Where you are now, doesn’t have to be where you will be in the future. We have the opportunity and the access to create futures for ourselves that not even WE thought could be possible. G.X.M. brought up something that I used to frequently discuss with my advisees and that was: the creation of parallel plans. A parallel plan in academic advising refers to alternative plans (i.e. plan B…or C) that occur in tandem with your overall goal. For example, let’s say you are interested in becoming a nurse. There are certain courses that you must take in order to meet the prerequisite requirements for your application to nursing school. Now, there are other majors that accept these same general education courses (i.e. biology, chemistry, psychology, college algebra, etc.) as prerequisites for their major requirements. A parallel academic plan for a pre-nursing student may be a major in psychology (or some other social science) or perhaps a major in the hard sciences (if they choose to go that route and enjoy the math and science courses). But what does that mean for someone who is not a student, is not in college and happens to be working towards something else in life? A parallel plan for someone looking to branch out into a new field while working in their current one may look like:

Seeking a mentor in the new field/arena via personal connections or LinkedIn
Volunteering at the place of industry or with professionals in that particular area, field or discipline
Job shadowing or attending a local meet up in your area for that profession/discipline (attend as a prospective colleague)
YouTube University! I am not playing, I’ve learned a whole lot about a whole lot on YouTube
Connecting with friends, organization members, etc. who are currently doing what you want to do, and seek their wisdom and advice for branching into that field or area

G.X.M. talked about their ability and drive to, ‘excel where I’m at’. Let’s sit with that for a moment. What does that mean/look like for you? I was once told by a mentor: “It doesn’t matter what you do at the company—you should have pride in your work and do it well. Even if you’re the dishwasher, you better be the best dishwasher in there.” Sounds like myself and G.X.M. have some pretty similar influences and values. They also talked about using the skills learned, honed and sharpened in one role or position, in a new way once they moved on to a different position or within a parallel path. Millennials get a bad wrap for being flighty, unfocused or otherwise disloyal in how we transition jobs and organizations. What some don’t understand about the millennial leader (and employee), is that we need to be fulfilled in our work and if we aren’t we will go looking for fulfillment elsewhere. Most of us create and maintain parallel plans in many areas of our lives (we produce podcasts, volunteer, write blogs, start our own businesses, etc.). They may not make sense to other people, but they make sense to us. Our movement is intentional, and we have the ability to leverage our diverse experiences for positions and roles in a number of industries: not just those beholden to our degree programs and advanced education.

I’ve had others question my professional moves and experiences. They have said things like: “That won’t possibly help you get to where you want to be” or “I just don’t understand how doing XYZ is gonna get you to ABC” and my all time favorite, “If I were you I wouldn’t do that”. What these people didn’t know, was that I was moving according to my parallel plan. My spreadsheet, documents, checklists, etc. were aligned with my movement— and within 6 months or less, I was where I wanted to be, or at the very least closer to it, doing what I set out to do. It doesn’t have to make sense to other people, so long as it is strategic, well-planned and well-executed. Take a minute to think about a possible parallel plan that you are on or would like to start. What are some things that you are doing to excel where you are? What opportunities for further leadership/professional development have you identified and/or pursued to aid you in your transition to leadership or something else? What does your 6-month, 1-year, 3-year and/or 5-year plan look like?

When you hear the term ‘millennial leadership’ or ‘millennial leader’, what do you think? DO you consider yourself a millennial leader?

“A lot of times when I hear about millennials being described, I’m hearing a lot of the interesting characteristics. Millennials are forward thinking, kind of move around a lot. Kind of move from one square space to the next. Moving to the next innovative opportunity.”
“I think when we talk about these generations, we forget the people who are on the cusp. The people who straddle both sides of those characteristics and there’s a good number of us.”
“I think sometimes in some respects, its hard for me to connect with some millennials. I think what drives people’s perspectives is the younger end of the spectrum, and because I’m on the older end of the spectrum I see things a little bit differently. And for me its challenging sometimes when I think about that leadership because I have that old school work ethic, but that new school ‘want to get it done yesterday’. There’s gotta be a better way that we can do this.”
“I think about strategic, I think about innovation and I think about agility a lot. They [millennials] process very quickly. I admire and I appreciate that. And I’m always thinking about ways to benefit from all of the generations presented.”

With respect to the participants of this blog, similar adjectives have been used to describe millennial leaders: strategic, innovation/innovative, agile, progressive and/or forward thinking. As I sit with those adjectives, I am more and more proud to call myself a millennial leader. It says a lot to be able to take with you the ways of old and move them forward at the same time. The sakofa-esk nature of the millennial leader provides us with the blueprinting for parallel plans, where we can both financially provide for ourselves and seek and achieve fulfillment in our everyday work. This type of parallel planning and execution is of necessity to the millennial leader. Old school and new school. Past, present and future. We are a generation of continuous improvement and progression—and our improvement and progression is unlike anything the world has ever seen.

G.X.M. made more than a few comments about being on the cusp of the millennial and Gen X spectrums. While acknowledging the old school ways of thinking and moving, they also mentioned the millennial desire to move quickly, work effectively and efficiently and still have time to evaluate outcomes and strategize—indicative of cusper characteristics—about making the process(es) better. In most industries, process, evaluation/assessment and continuous improvement are the rules of the game. This is a benefit made possible by the diversity of generations in the workplace. Experience and longevity are valuable assets; assessment, evaluation and innovation are of equal importance. Cuspers [and all millennials] use a variety of skills to make things happen in the workplace. Using technology to streamline processes, evaluate alternatives and improve goal achievement in industry is inevitable. Meeting the diverse needs of clients/customers through innovation and strategic initiatives is the standard in any industry.

What are some of the lessons you’ve learned that you’d like to share with other millennial leaders or aspiring millennial leaders?

“You have to network meaningfully.”
“Ask good [strategic] questions in your leadership journey. That’s what sets apart teammates from leaders. “Listen. Hear what everybody has to say. Sometimes I’ve found it more beneficial to not say anything for a while, but then speak up at the end. Sometimes I’m the smartest person in the room, and sometimes I don’t know jack—and people wouldn’t know the difference, because I listen and ask good questions.”
“Do the work. One thing millennials get knocked for is the spirit of laziness…always kind of feeling emotionally dragged and cumbersome by life and its just too much, and so on and so forth. And I don’t think its any different the generations before [us], I just think that we’ve been encouraged to express it more. But what I think it comes across as, is that we don’t show up and do the work. I don’t think anything is more critical in your leadership or in your journey to leadership, than showing up and doing the work. It shows your dependability, your commitment, your confidence. It shows your desire to want more and do more. So that means, when it’s good, when it’s bad, when you’re sick, when you’re healthy, when you’re happy, when you’re sad, you’re showing up and you’re doing the work. To me it speaks volumes about a work ethic and your ability to take on the next level. Because it doesn’t get easier as you go up. The air gets thinner….showing up and doing the work helps you build that grit.”

Meaningful networking, asking good questions, listening and doing the work, were the main suggestions given by G.X.M. as it related to developing one’s leadership acumen. I don’t think that these are suggestions that most millennial leaders have not heard before but I want to touch on doing the work. It is critical that we do the work in order to be afforded opportunities for leadership development and leadership positions. It is also important to vocalize your desire to develop your leadership abilities. Does this mean that you have to get to work early and stay late? Not necessarily. But it does mean that we have an obligation to advocate for ourselves and speak up as it relates to providing novel insights, meaningful contributions to meetings and/or tasks and moving strategically within our disciplines. Connecting with the right people across organizations and disciplines, demonstrating our work ethic and contributions that only we can provide and providing opportunities for others to work with us and witness our contributions, will serve us well as we [millennials] work our way up towards positions of leadership.

“Know and understand ‘the rules’. Despite access to information, people don’t read and don’t know the rules.”

G.X.M. brings up a final point about knowing and understanding the rules. They gave an example about a social media group where those who work in similar environments speak about injustices, unfair practices and general gripes and complaints about their work environment. Its important to make sure that you ‘read the rules’ of engagement and understand what the rules are so that you play the game better and more effectively for what you plan to do and be. Many of the social media groups and forums of which I am a part of, include people from around the nation. You never know who is watching or reading the forum posts, so its always a good idea to monitor and be strategic about the type of content that you provide on your social media profiles. A forum or message board with 2,000+ members is probably not the best space to release frustrations about a work meeting or less than desirable performance evaluation. Start a work journal that includes a parallel plan for either making the most out of the situation, or timing your exit to a more fulfilling work space and place. The rules can be written (HR, compliance, etc.) or unwritten, but we must all acknowledge their existence in order to be successful in the workplace. Does this mean that we cannot or do not have the ability to re-write [as it were] the rules as it relates to workplace politics and happenings, absolutely not. But it does mean that we have to be strategic in the workplace. G.X.M. wants the burgeoning millennial leader to be mindful of the consequences of their actions and to ensure that our leisure/private lives don’t negatively effect our professional opportunities. Show up and be you, unapologetically. At the same time [and I can’t stress this enough] PROTECT THE COINS! Freedom of speech doesn’t necessarily mean freedom of consequences. It would benefit you to make sure that your digital image is aligned with how you’d like to be perceived in social and professional settings.