Young Leaders for Social Enterprise

The American workforce is at a cross roads right now and experiencing a real shift in power. The fact is, as baby boomers begin to realize their retirement dreams and cash in those 401(k) accounts, a huge gap is being created. At one end of the spectrum there are the seasoned professionals who have paid their dues and are now looking forward to reaping the rewards of their hard working years. On the other end there is a fresh new breed of working professionals chomping at the bit to make their mark on the world.

This new crop of professionals is rather different than their baby-boomer parents. Many young people saw the personal pitfalls of working 80 hour weeks and strive for a greater emphasis on quality of life. They have watched their parents go through two and three marriages to advance their careers (careers they may not even have liked that much) and have opted to sacrifice material trappings for a more meaningful lifestyle. The "Millennial" generation is less interested in making as much money as possible and more interested in working for organizations that are more mission focused and provide a decent work- life balance. This altruistic zeal ever present amongst the generation Y crowd is a gold mine for the social enterprise field and is just what is needed to build this movement and carry it through the next decade.

Those young leaders, who have a penchant for change, have more options than their predecessors when it comes to "how" to execute that change. Nonprofit Organizations (NPOs) and Nonprofit Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are not the only medium available for carrying out a community based mission. There is now the third sector of social enterprise. This field emerged out of a demand for both nonprofit values and for-profit strategic impact, and tries to draw the best from both fields. This combination has created a viable alternative to some professionals who are somewhat put off by working for the government or a nonprofit organization.

Millennials may not place as much emphasis on material objects as mentioned before, but they still want to make a decent living and be able to support themselves and their families. And let's face it, you do not work for a nonprofit or local government and expect to get rich. This is especially true now that the economy has been experiencing a downturn and a financial recovery is still to be determined. Many local governments are finding themselves in hiring freezes and nonprofit organizations are having trouble finding the funds to keep a full and well-paid staff. This leaves the door wide open to draft a large amount of talented, idealistic young people and retain them as their families and needs grow.

Now, I am not bashing nonprofit organizations and the good they can and will continue to do. I am just highlighting some of the benefits of opting to start or work for a social enterprise. Greg Dees is a professor at Duke University who teaches Social Entrepreneurship. He details the field in a way that I feel is worth repeating:

"My own feeling is that "social entrepreneur" conveys the idea of somebody who is highly energized and determined to achieve impact; who perceives opportunities; who pursues them in an innovative and resourceful way; who is not bound or stuck by sector boundaries but willing to use whatever tools are likely to get the job done, including business tools. My feeling is that entrepreneurship lies in behavior: how innovative and resourceful people are, their willingness to do what it takes to have the impact, and their determination to make it happen. This kind of behavior can happen in many venues and on many levels, on a small or large scale and we should embrace and encourage social entrepreneurship of different forms, degrees and levels."

This typifies the kind of passion and commitment that can be seen amongst new young leaders and should be the characteristics cultivated to enrich new talent within the field. It will be these kinds of minds that will make the terms "social enterprise" and "social entrepreneurship" known household wide. It will also be these new leaders who will open the doors for funding to flow more appropriately to social entrepreneurs and enable greater financial support for endeavors of this kind.

More and more young people want to be entrepreneurial and creative and have the potential to make a comfortable living while at the same time lead a life of meaning and purpose. Drafting a strong and resourceful workforce can usher in more results and less rhetoric around issues that require change. Social enterprises can be an effective way to engage the youth population in solving social problems. With the right troops in place there could be a fundamental change in how community products or services are issued. More emphasis can be placed on the overall impact on the community versus how much money has been donated. Social enterprises can allow for people to stop stressing about how to meet the needs of the organization and start focusing on the needs of the community they are trying to help. Highlighting these attributes will inevitably generate more interest in an already growing sector of the workforce.

What do you think?

Photo Courtesy: Curtin