Can you imagine the CEO of a Fortune 500 company having a tattoo on their forearm?I know I can’t. One question that we are all aware of, but nobody is asking; as the millennial generation climbs the ranks in companies, changes the face of entrepreneurship, and molds the clay of social norms, what will be our lasting impact on the way business is conducted?

I have a tattoo. I want another tattoo. The one I have picked out would look absolutely great on my forearm. I am also in the leadership development program at my company, and one of my aspirations is to someday be at or above the Director level. When showing my tattoo choice around to close friends and fellow achievers, the first thing that almost everyone said: “don’t put that on your forearm, it will negatively affect your career.” What?!

That question had me asking myself, is it the culture of leadership in a large company to disallow employees to show their youth? If so, will that change as millennials enter these leadership roles or will we blindly adhere to conservative traditions/old norms?

Fact: Millennials are the largest generation that has ever existed. That’s right, even larger than the baby boomers (over 19 percent larger!). It goes without saying that we have also grown up with rapid social and technological change that make our priorities as a generation much different than any before us.

So what does that mean?

I believe that means that our generation does not yet understand what our impact will be. For example, I work in manufacturing. The manufacturing world is not an easy one to call home. The face-paced and high-stress environment takes a person with tough skin. When trying to make positive change, the most common battle change agents face is the response, “but we’ve always done it this way.” As a millennial, my approach to problem-solving does not like that response. I am not satisfied with, “the way things have always been” and see value in getting diverse groups of people together to solve problems. Manufacturing is just an example, this mindset is everywhere and millennials all over the world are slowly changing, “we’ve always done it this way”, into, “let’s try it this way, instead.”

In a world where Baby Boomers and Generation X’s are retiring or beginning to think about retirement, ours is the generation that is responsible for picking up where they left off and meshing old business with new priorities to create a world that is more accepting and more diverse.

How can we do that?

In my opinion, there are a few things that we can do in order to make our impact felt as we become the generation responsible for the small steps and giant leaps of mankind:

• Know who you are voting for and why.
• Invest in your education and create value for society.
• Learn how to disagree without severing ties.
• Develop soft skills, but have the ability for difficult conversations.
• Hold yourself and others accountable to a higher standard – “It is what we allow it to be”
• Embrace all of the things that make you different.