In Pursuit of Authenticity

I continue to think about why the Gen-Y are perceived as challenging.


Maybe it's because they don't take anything for granted and continually test the boundaries.


What if those same qualities were harnessed to establish strong foundations for the future? If only we would engage with their questions, maybe we would begin to see intractable problems in a new light.


Now is the time: in an era of cutbacks, it is precisely the moment to embrace new ideas rather than dismissing them as having been tried. The world has changed and much is up for reinvention.


Gen-Y have a hunger to learn, to puzzle out and to use all their skills. They will not settle for being under utilized in the name of loyalty. After all, they were raised to expect respect and for their loyalty to be earned. 


If we continue to judge their baseline expectations as fickle, they in turn will judge us as unaccountable power and will go in search of authenticity.


So what does authenticity mean? In my experience, it is a genuine connection between core values, behavior and culture. In other words, say what you mean, mean what you say and do as you say.