Amor is hosting a weekly discussion about intergenerational politics and relations – specifically regarding Millennials (Millennial (Gen Y) Generation – Birth years: 1981-2000). Check back with us every Tuesday for more.

I have heard some of the most profound and most erroneous ideas about leadership recently:

• Leaders are born not made.
• You earn leadership roles, so bide your time.
• We call them “elders” for a reason.

These may make for good axioms, but lousy models for developing leaders. Leaders are developed intentionally or unintentionally through how others lead.  So leaders aren’t born ready to lead; leadership skills don’t come magically over time, and age doesn’t mean wisdom, unfortunately – or I should be a lot wiser than I am.

Historically and Biblically, we know that Jesus was not an aged man when he stepped out to lead, and more importantly, neither were his followers. It wasn’t the elders, the established leaders or the rabbinic leaders who followed him. It was young men, who were obviously open to seeking something more who dropped their nets, left their jobs and defied their century’s “helicopter” parents to spend years learning from Jesus.

One of my favorite stories about Jesus as a leader is found in John 4 – the Samaritan woman at the well, and not for the reason most people think. I think it’s a great example of leadership in action.

First: Jesus sent the disciples into town to get food. This probably wasn’t the first time they needed food and money was tight, because they were a non-profit, so they had to ask for donations. We know that’s hard, especially the first time, but if the disciples went into town on their own they had learned what to do already. So we know that not only had Jesus taught them, but he empowered them to do the task without hovering in the background or coaching from the sidelines.

Second: When the disciples returned the story narrative says that the disciples didn’t even ask him why he was speaking with her or why she was speaking to him. They surely had some ideas, but they waited and watched to see what he was doing. They had asked a lot of questions before, but this time they observed.  They knew to pay attention because Jesus had showed them paying attention helps.

Third: When opportunity presented Jesus used it to give the disciples an “Ah-ha!” moment of application. They urged him to eat, and he turned that request into an object lesson that taught them not to waste any opportunity presented. He didn’t evaluate their efforts, pontificate on what he accomplished in their absence or tell them how they need to “watch and learn”. He saw the opportunity in context to the big picture so that they would apply it in the future.

Finally: Jesus had spoken the truth in love to the woman, who, in turn, returned to her village and urged people to come and hear this man who gives living water. Her passion, in spite of her position in the community, drew many in the village to hear Jesus and believe. Jesus didn’t say to them, “This woman is new to the faith; you cannot trust what she says. You must hear it from someone who is older, wiser and definitely more respectable.” He allowed her stretch her learning right away, even if she got it wrong.

There are reasons business, cult, and political leaders use Jesus as a model for leadership and it has nothing to do with faith. In three years, he started one of the most radical and controversial movements in history using 12 average young people and left it in their hands to continue. And continue it did for over 2,000 years.

Now it is in our hands. Are we prepared to hand over the keys to the kingdom to our young people with just three years of training? We better be! Millennials have the potential to be the generation that will really change the world – just like the disciples. However, we have to be willing to let them try, fail, and learn. Are you ready to lead like Jesus and turn your Millennials into leaders in just three years?

Hola

Baño

Cuantos años tienes?

I may have just reached (or passed) the extent of your Spanish language ability.  And because of that you may find an excuse to not interact with the family you’re building a house for…except to ask where the bathroom is!

I was recently in Phoenix with Amor Ministries co-founder Scott Congdon, VP of Global Expansion Steve Horrex, and Director of Operations Ryan Perkio.  We drove out there to meet with Arizona Reservation Ministries (ARM), see their work on the San Carlos Apache reservation, and see if we could partner with them to build houses on the reservation.

Click here to see Scott’s post about our future work with ARM.

One of the exciting facets of working on the reservation is that our groups will have a cross-cultural experience without having a language barrier.  As we were  reminded of during our tour of the Heard museum in Phoenix, we have different cultures and ways of seeing the world despite some shared history.

Having dinner with Steve’s sister and her family (who graciously hosted us) we talked about our various travels in Spain and Latin America and discovered we had all had similar experiences in speaking the Spanish language to native speakers: Because we tried to speak the language, no matter how poorly we did it, our hosts graciously accepted our ignorance of language and culture.

Thinking ahead to how we structure the cultural interactions our trips to the San Carlos Apache reservation reminds me to remind you to interact in Mexico, despite your Spanish limitations.  What great respect you can show by learning a few phrases and using a lot of hand gestures!

Amor is hosting a weekly discussion about intergenerational politics and relations – specifically regarding Millennials (Millennial (Gen Y) Generation – Birth years: 1981-2000). Check back with us every Tuesday for more.

Much has been written about the role of the helicopter parent over protecting and removing barriers to success for their child’s experience in organized sports, education and free time. Other pejorative names such as “Black Hawk” or “Stealth” have been applied to parents who work behind the scene to ensure their child’s success by writing college admission essays, provide wake-up calls each morning for their college student, or contacting professors about grades their student received. We are only just beginning to see the effect this has had on the Millennial entering the work force. Human Resource executives tell horror stories about employee’s parents calling about jobs, salary negotiations, benefits, and performance reviews with increasing frequency.

It would be easy to blame the Millennial, but this is all they know – their parent has been doing this their entire life. Your job as the employer is to help them understand that you are not in a position to communicate with their parent nor will you become another parent to them. There is a great article on this at JobPostings.ca – that will help you and them with transitions.

In the mean time, don’t fall into the trap of thinking like a parent when dealing with your young team member. They deserve the development and trust you would build with any new employee.

1. Clearly communicate expectations and outcomes when assigning work.
2. Provide accurate and ongoing feedback on performance.
3. Never assume; always ask.
4. Listen for understanding.

Remember that for some, this is the first time they will be held fully accountable for their own choices and decisions. Take these words of a young woman talking about compassion and missions (emphasis mine):

Books, blogs, and podcasts are great, but they are often not enough to stir us into action. We need the opportunity to grow, and that means exposing ourselves to the situations that our mothers taught us to avoid.

We start by intentionally exposing ourselves to the needs of the world. This is how compassion grows. Maybe do so overseas or just down the street. Either way, it probably won’t be very comfortable.

“It probably won’t be very comfortable” applies to you as the leader, as well. Can you step out of the mode you are accustomed to operating in to achieve a new style of leadership for the Milliennials?

Amor is hosting a weekly discussion about intergenerational politics and relations – specifically regarding Millennials (Millennial (Gen Y) Generation – Birth years: 1981-2000). Check back with us every Tuesday for more.

Millennials were born into an age of unprecedented growth and change marked by rapid technological advancement and access. They combine multitasking with learning in school and the workplace. Information comes to them at a high rate of speed either through television or the net. A majority of them keep a blog (web diary), MySpace, and/or Facebook as a way of communicating with friends and really don’t care if strangers read it.  It is not uncommon in our office to see two screens with multiple windows at each desk. People are managing their work, social media and contact with friends, family and coworkers all at the same time. Texting or sending email during a meeting isn’t rude – it’s how they have learned to communicate.

Communication is more immediate and fluid. It can also be flawed and painful. Communication etiquette is changing. Take this lesson I recently learned during a conversation with a Millennial friend who called me:

“Hey, what’s up?!” (Admit it; caller ID has changed how we answer our phones!)

“Hey, I called you an hour ago.”

“Yeah, I saw that.”

“You didn’t call me back.”

“Nope, you didn’t leave a message.”

“But you saw I called; you should have called back.”

“How would I have known that? Leave me a message.”

“Seriously? I leave a message so you can call your voice mail; punch a password just to hear me say, “Call me”? Hang up, look up my number and then call me, when you can just hit send when you see the caller ID? Why waste time for both of us. “

As weird as that sounds, it really made sense to me. Guess who started calling Millennials back from their caller ID? That’s right! I learn quickly to adapt. That won’t stop me from leaving voice mails for my older sister, my boss or to avoid talking to someone (which is the real purpose of voice mail anyway), but when I get a call back that starts with, “Hey I saw you called.” I know that from now I don’t need to leave them message in the future.

What are the Millennials in your church or workplace trying to teach you about communication? What are they doing in their world to keep in touch that you could participate in? What about technology and communication is annoying you to the point where it is stopping you from reaching this generation?

At my last Mexico Ministry Planning Board meeting for Baja, I mentioned to our Amor pastors that there were a few homes left unfinished from spring. I told the pastors that we needed to do something quick as I was concerned the materials would go bad. Quickly the pastors organized two teams and set dates when they could help with construction. I promised them that I would bring them lunch. They were excited about that!

On Saturday I called Pastor Jose Luis to let him know that I was on my way to bring them  lunch. He excitedly told me there were twenty men working on the first family’s house.  I was so thrilled to hear that.  They were different ages (some teenagers, one gentleman was 86 years young), different skill levels, but all were working hard for a common cause. I could here their laughter from far away. The joy of their coming together was amazing!

Pastor Juan Briceño was guarding the vehicles up on the hill and even he had an opportunity to talk with a man in the community who was known for causing trouble. He shared with him that he too had done things in his life that he wasn’t too proud of, but that he found the answer in God. The man listened intently and Pastor Juan told him that he would pray for him and offered him some food.

I am truly blessed to know these Godly men! I look forward to bringing the next team of pastors their lunch next week!

Make sure to check out all the pictures on Amor’s Flickr account.

Lydia Lozano is the Mexico Ministry Coordinator for Amor Ministries. She works directly with the 26 Mexico Planning Board members (local pastors from different denominations) in 5 Mexican cities. Lydia helps coordinate Project Hope and community outreaches. She has been serving with Amor for 7 years and loves her job!

The single biggest complaint we hear about the Millennials (Generation Y – born 1981-2000) is their sense of entitlement. A “sense of entitlement” is a pejorative term that implies that you are owed something by society and/or the world.  The irony isn’t lost on me that those complaining are the same people responsible for raising the Millennials.

Encouraged by interaction with adults from an early age, Millennials were told early and often that their contribution was valuable. Parents and educators placed high demands on them to succeed in academics, athletics, social interaction, world citizenship and acceptance by society. They are motivated by issues of accomplishment, equality, access, and justice in flat world easily accessed through technology – virtually or actually.

Those early influences shaped Millennials entering the workplace who assertively seek more feedback, responsibility, opportunity, and involvement than previous generations. They are the first generation shaping work to fit their lives rather than adapt their lives to the workplace. Much like the Greatest Generation (who gave birth to the Baby Boomers: 1946-1957), the Millennials are going to change the world.

Entitlement? Not hardly. It’s more like responsibility. Millennials are frustrated by the world they have inherited from us. If you listen, you will hear them articulate frustration over the condition of the world: corporate integrity, environmental stewardship, justice and human rights.  They are ready to do something about it. The Millennials are equipped and empowered, and the only thing standing in their way is us. Someone smarter than me put it this way, “The Millennials aren’t living in our world; we are living in theirs!”

Leading Millennials is more about you than just on-boarding them to your way of thinking. Whoa! I know! Big change of paradigm. Huge! Maybe the sense of entitlement comes from current leaders thinking they are owed followers? What do you think? Are your frustrations with the Millennials coming from your desire for them to fit into your world?

Amor is hosting a weekly discussion about intergenerational politics and relations – specifically regarding Millennials (Millennial (Gen Y) Generation – Birth years: 1981-2000). Check back with us every Tuesday for more.

We have more generations alive at one time than any other point in history.  It’s a crossroads that has never been encountered before thanks to better health, better working conditions and better living conditions in the first world.  The seven generations are:

• Silent Generation – Birth years: 1901-1924 (Hero/Civic Generation)
• Greatest Generation – Birth years: 1925-1941 (Artist/Adaptive Generation)
• Baby Boomers – Birth years: 1942-1957 (Prophet/Idealist Generation)
• Generation Jones – Birth years: 1958-1963 (Prophet/Idealist Generation) A subset of the Baby Boomers
• Generation X – Birth years: 1964-1980 (Nomad/Reactive Generation)
• Millennial (Gen Y) Generation – Birth years: 1981-2000 (Hero/Civic Generation)
• New Silent Generation – Birth years: 2001-Present (Artist/Adaptive)

You may be curious why we refer to the generation born 1981-2000 as Millennials rather than Generation Y. This is the term by which the majority of this generation identifies with. They graduated from high school or were born around the millennial and identify closely with what that means. Also, the term Gen Y was often associated with “Gen Why?” which referenced their tendency to question “why”.  This was perceived as questioning authority rather than what it was: an attempt to gather information.

In their book, “Generations:  The History of America’s Future, 1584 to 2069” authors William Strauss and Neil Howe looked at the cyclical nature of generations. They identified four archetypes of generations: Prophet/Idealist, Nomad/Reactive, Hero/Civic, and Artist/Adaptive which repeat throughout the history of America.

Without going into an explanation that you can better get from reading the Strauss and Howe book (and I recommend it highly), it’s enough to recognize that we have seven generations active in our world today with at least two generations sharing similar views on the world and their role in it. As you can see, the Millennial generation is the first generation to repeat the type: Hero/Civic followed by the yet to be named new silent generation who will follow the Artist/Adaptive type. Get ready for change and just a little bit of values conflict.

Now that the first four generations listed are either in retirement or entering retirement in the near future, we will be filling the gaps with those from Gen X and the Millennials. With that in mind, we will be discussing understanding and developing the Millennials for leadership in future posts and the years to come.

Right now we have some interesting times to consider. The generational mix presents both a unique opportunity and a challenge – how do we create leaders when leaders are still leading? Have you intentionally tried to have every generation represented in your leadership structure? Do you see how the generations can collide over values?

“Spiritual Crack” is a term I’ve used to describe my mission trips with Amor Ministries.  Growing up in Colorado and going with my youth group to Amor’s Chihuahua location to build a house was the highlight of my year – I had to get my fix.

A lot of us who went on the Amor trips every year became the “Timothy’s” of our church – we went on to full-time ministry.  Even those who didn’t end up in full-time ministry incorporate their experience of encountering Christ through the poor in their professional lives.

Yet as impactful as the Amor mission trip was on me and my peers, I refer to it as an Accidental Transformation.  If you have been on an Amor trip, you know the transformational possibilities.  We were transformed through that week every year, but no one was guiding and forming that transformation for us.

Our mission experience, maybe like yours, only lasted for a week every year.  We met once before the trip to sign forms and plan out who was bringing what tools.  Then a few of us might share with the church what we did on the Sunday we returned.  That was it until the next year.

Does this describe your mission trip experience?  Are you counting on just the few days spent in the mission field to provide the transformation you want for your group?

Kara Powell and Brad Griffin with The Fuller Youth Institute have co-authored a book, Deep Justice Journeys, to help you have purposeful transformation in your group.  They provide a framework for preparing your group spiritually and culturally for their mission experience and, most importantly, debriefing the experience as it happens and after you return home.

While the Amor trip is an incredible catalyst for transformation, it is just that – a catalyst.  It requires you to invest in learning from and applying the lessons from the experience back home.

Deep Justice Journeys gives you 50 experiential activities from which to choose to engage your group.  We encourage you to make the most out of mission trip by committing to purposeful transformation.  This book will give you the tools to do it.