Why trophies don’t matter to millennials April 22, 2009
Posted by Blake Sunshine in Uncategorized.Tags: millennial trophy kids, millennials, millennials at work, trophy kids
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It is interesting to me that people often refer to millennials as “trophy kids.” I get where the name comes from, and I’m sure it has to do with the fact that millennials have been given trophies all of their lives for EVERYTHING. In fact I still have numerous trophies sitting in my childhood room, and the only one I actually received for winning something was from when my 5-year-old tee ball team won the NYO Atlanta tournament (I was the only girl on the team, so I’m not sure I actually contributed to our victory, but that’s another story).
But besides that trophy, I have swimming trophies all over my room. I never won a swimming competition (or even a race), yet I have trophies to show for my efforts. And for some reason members of Gen-X think that me being awarded these trophies somehow correlates to a feeling of entitlement and a need for praise even if I didn’t excel at something.
Well everyone, I am here to say that you have taken this whole trophy thing WAY too far. Where is the research that correlates being given trophies as a child to a feeling for entitlement?
I think that trophies matter much more to the people analyzing and managing millennials than they ever meant to us. We never felt special or praised just because we got a trophy. We felt special because we won the race or because we got an A. It never had anything to do with the trophy!
Trophies have never mattered to millennials.
I don’t think I’ve ever looked at it as a sense of entitlement. Maybe my thoughts on it are more a symantics view, or looking at the same thing but calling it differently. I definitely see Millenials as Trophy Kids. I think though that I’ve always thought that the over abundance of trophies and awards breed a false understanding of the way the real world works, that performance matters. Especially in a capitalistic society such as the United States, if you can’t cut it, get off the bus. I like your last statement that trophies have never mattered to millenials. I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but it also doesn’t address whether their is a misperception of reality for millenialists because of the faults of Gen X in trying to coddle you guys with awards and trophies. I myself am a Gen Y-er, so what do I know?
In my experience in the real world, most managers have *no clue* how to manage millennials, mostly due to the way the media has misrepresented us as “trophy kids” who constantly need praise in order to keep going.
If I get coddled by my boss, day after day, I’m walking after 2 weeks.
Managers also have that “sense of entitlement” junk firmly lodged into their brains… what that allows them to do is write off any comment or good idea you might have as trying to rock the boat and buck for CEO. Anyone who believes that is an idiot.
We were raised in a time where communication and idea sharing, networking, friend-making, are nearly instantaneous – but JUST as meaningful as they were before the technology existed. That means, we are much quicker to share our ideas, even if it isn’t “our place” to share them.
Why is it such a horrible thing that we expect our ideas, if they’re worthy, to go from our mouths to the CEO’s ears? Doesn’t that say something about our commitment to performing? Doesn’t that say something about our drive?
I won exactly -one- trophy for participation before I decided I never wanted to do that again.
In everything I do, I either win big or I go out in a blaze of glory onto the next big thing.
Its time managers woke up to the fact that we’re not the average employee – and stop looking to gurus or specialists or consultants… unless they’re Gen-Y, they don’t know bunk (with very few exceptions).
Great article, please do keep writing them.
-Nick Armstrong
PsychoticResumes.com
Completely agree. So let’s say we have tons of ribbons for participation. What does this mean? It means we understand that we participated in a bunch of stuff, but didn’t win. My generation is not stupid; we understand the difference between blue and burgundy. If anything, this has shown me that getting something tangible or a pat on the back is not the goal, that my achievements mean more in the way of concrete results. Ribbons are a dime a dozen, and I don’t need someone’s empty feedback to feel good about my victories.
I do think this reflects more on the needs of the Baby Boomers who were handing out the ribbons, or the embittered Gen-Xers who loathe us for our ribbons. Why should a ribbon or trophy mean so much to them?
Great post Blake! You know, I made a video about this exact topic several months ago. WAY before we knew each other. Check it out:
[...] I have really just gotten the joy of knowing her over the past three months. Blake is fantastic. Witty, smart and adept in all things melinnial, she will surely be missed this summer as she heads back [...]
[...] I have really just gotten the joy of knowing her over the past three months. Blake is fantastic. Witty, smart and adept in all things melinnial, she will surely be missed this summer as she heads back [...]
[...] egos and some are shy as can be. So even though I try to blog about how to manage a Millennial, why we really aren’t trophy kids and that we can be bad interns, the truth is there is no RIGHT way to be (or market to) a [...]
[...] members of other generations to understand Millennials and trying to prove that we are not just trophy kids. And then, my friend Morgan sends me this [...]
What awesome content about millennial. This is absolutely correct. My generation cares much less about trophies(big offices with windows, high salaries, and big titles) and much more about real, meaningful work in a flexible team environment. That is where it’s at for my and my generation.
Noah,
Thanks for your comment. Let me know if there are any other Millennial topics you wish I would write about!
Do you know of any academic work on millennials that’s been done?
I really think there’s a market out there for people who can communicate a non-hyped message about who millennials are and what they want to corporate America.
I forgot to mention when I try to surf you site I occasionally get an “Error: Value is Undefined.”
[...] failed. This blog has existed for over two years! And while I wrote about managing Millennials and being a trophy kid, I never actually defined the word [...]
[...] at work, millennial, millennials, millennials at work trackback Millennials don’t care about trophies, but that doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate [...]
[...] 1. Why Trophies Don’t Matter To Millennials [...]