How often have you heard, "The Millennial generation is lazy; They don't respect power structures or they need constant reinforcement" — in other words, that they are the generation that expects a trophy just for showing up?

That statement is not only wrong, but it also inhibits communication between generations. Think about it: if an elder (by that I mean a Baby Boomer or a Gen Xer) approaches the new 25-year-old employee with the notion the person is lazy and will balk at the corporate structure, what does that mean for future communication between these two individuals?

Inhibiting communication has serious implications in the workplace:

• The older employee becomes unwilling to learn anything new from the younger employee
• The younger employee can't develop respect for the older employee, which results in lost opportunities for the company
• Collaboration becomes more and more difficult
• Creativity dwindles

My advice to the Baby Boomers and the Gen Xers (by the way, I am on the cusp of these two generations) is to be open to the ideas and philosophies these amazing young people bring with them.

I recently attended a panel discussion with four incredible people, all of them accomplished Millennials, contributing to the greater good. Maya Enista Smith, executive director of Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation; Kristen Campbell, executive director of Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE); Kari Saratovsky, principal of the Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies and author of Cause of Change: The Why and How of Nonprofit Millennial Engagement; and Michael D. Smith, strategic advisor to The Obama Foundation. The panel was moderated by Alison T. Young, managing director of Leadership & Civic Engagement at Drexel’s LeBow College of Business.

玛雅·恩尼斯塔·史密斯（Maya Enista Smith）鼓励年龄从十几岁到六十多岁（也许更大）的观众“相信千禧一代的力量——他们的声音、他们的多样性和他们的愿望。”我认为她的观点充分说明了我的观点。对千禧一代所能提供的东西和他们所代表的东西持开放态度，因为这一代人肩负着使命。她补充说，千禧一代“……不会为了做好事而辞职；他们想把工作做好。”

千禧一代想要的比前几代人更多。他们不仅想为“善”而工作，还想为自己的孩子做“善”的榜样。他们想要打破限制性的界限，为做年长的同龄人可能从未想过的事情铺平道路。Kari Saratovsky补充道：“千禧一代让组织工作更加努力。”根据2015年《卫报》马修·詹金的一篇文章《千禧一代希望为恪守价值观和道德的员工工作》，“62%的千禧一代希望为一家能产生积极影响的公司工作……”

因此，与其批评这一代人，不如让我们赞美他们，赞美他们的远见卓见，赞美他们的理念：为善而工作不仅仅是一种回报和一种爱好，而是有可能、甚至有必要使之成为一个人生活的中心部分。如果我们拥抱这些有才华的梦想家，并从他们的书中学习，也许我们可以在这个过程中了解自己。

最好的，