Powerful results come from unlikely sources. How about looking at the potential and contributions of the youngest generation to enter the workforce, Gen Y, also known as the Millennials.

Gen Y is changing companies in very significant ways, proclaimed New York Times Columnist Lisa Belkin in keynote remarks to the Westchester County Women’s Bar Association last October. Her assertion came only 15 months after her celebrated story about the uncoventional traits of Gen Y…Whippersnappers, she called them, who want flexible work schedules, jobs that require creativity and make an impact on the world, and co-workers who make work fun!  In the same vein, author Ron Alsop reported in the Wall Street Journal that Gen Y has “highfalutin opinions of themselves”. Employers view them as the entitled generation.

My experience with Gen Y has been very different.  Leadership cuts across generations, and this youngest generation is a force to be reckoned with as employees, consumers, important creators and contributors.

For 2-1/2 years, I coached 15 honors students at a northeastern business school to develop their leadership. My plan was to help them create a business initiative that was innovative, important, and perhaps life-changing. After much deliberation, the team decided they wanted to raise the stature of their school by doing something that would build their own skills and create a continuing discussion that would change conventional views about leadership and careers. They aimed to be the first of their generation to interview recognized executives who have repeatedly built or reinvented businesses - and to define what makes these leaders different.

As ambitious as it was, the initiative was tremendously successful. The team experienced the realities of leading, saw accountability in action, and learned what it takes to gain access to the top floors of the Fortune 500.

These amazing millennials who are hardly clueless, see things that others don’t. Intuitively, they think and act like some of the best leaders in industry.

To quote members of the team directly:

“The experience proves that only by aiming high and stretching our abilities could we have the opportunity to see business and leadership through the eyes and experiences of the real experts – speaking with them in their environments, almost as peers, instead of having them speak to us. As we talked about transformations, turnarounds, and the new realities of leading and building great businesses, we ourselves were transformed – understanding at a much deeper level how to use the accountability we asked for, and learning what it would take to succeed in our efforts and careers.”

“Our biggest surprise is that we, who are Gen Y, have the same values and ambitions of the leaders we met. We realized through our discussions that we are the future of business, and we learned how we can best apply our strengths in a meaningful way.”

I found that the brutal critiques of Gen Y largely ignore their outstanding accomplishments. Perhaps it’s a juicier story to trash a generation than to identify what makes them valuable.

Gen Y can be as business-focused and purpose-driven as their seasoned elders. Lest we forget, many of this younger age group are creating companies that are changing the way we think, work, shop, get information, and communicate. Hardly clueless, many of the Millennials see things that others don’t. Challenge them, involve them, and reap the rewards.