Gen Y and the Growth Mindset

8 thoughts
last posted Feb. 9, 2013, 10:56 a.m.
0
get stream as: markdown or atom
0

I've certainly observed a characteristic said to describe a lot of Generation Y: entitlement. In particular, the feeling of entitlement to status without having the experience.

0

I was reminded of this recently when talking with an old Gen X friend who was talking about hiring Gen Y'ers who expected to go straight into management positions without having had any experience.

0

I started wondering if this is really a characteristic specific to Gen Y or if every generation has this issue with younger generations. I know when I was in my early twenties I felt very entitled to status.

0

The justification I'm sure I gave myself was one of wanting to be judged on merit not age. I hear the same thing from Gen Y.

It's easy to tell yourself this and dismiss the value of experience.

0

But then I started to wonder: is this related to Carol Dweck's distinction between a Fixed Mindset and a Growth Mindset?

In brief, people with a Fixed Mindset overemphasize the necessity of innate talent to success. People with a Growth Mindset (which Dweck encourages) emphasize the importance of dedication and hard work.

0

One of the "curses" of a Fixed Mindset is if at first you fail at something, you give up because you take it as a sign you're lacking the natural talent.

There's a lot more I could say about the Fixed vs Growth Mindset but I encourage you to go read up on Carol Dweck's research.

0

Coming back to the possible relationship to the entitlement of Gen Y (and maybe anyone when they're young)...

If you have too much of a Fixed Mindset, you probably undervalue experience. You likely think you have just as much ability to do a job as someone with far more hours notched up.

A Growth Mindset, on the other hand, celebrates building up experience over time. It encourages you that you don't need to be at the top-of-the-ladder from the get-go. There's nothing wrong with starting small and working your way up slowly.

0

I hope people can learn the value of a Growth Mindset at a younger age than I was when I first did.