Lexington, KY -
"I don't get it. I hire these fresh-out-of-college accounting grads, and they don't want to work. They just want to spout off all their big ideas for changing the company. Why can't they just put their head down and get to work?"
"Well Fred, don't you remember when you were just out of school, full of vim and vigor, ready to change your first company?"
"Listen, Sally, I may have had all of those ideas, but I got the job done. These kids today want to take time off for this cause and that, for their important party time ..."
"Wait just a minute, Fred. I seem to recall you once talking about going to Woodstock, and protesting the draft, the Vietnam War, and that nuclear power plant they were building. What about those?"
"Well, that was different."
Does this conversation sound familiar? When evaluating the differences we observe in behavior between generations, we must keep in mind that they can be attributed to four important factors, true generational differences, maturity levels, career levels, life stages and family stages.
Common elements
Generational research has shown more similarities between generations than differences. Analyses have shown commonality across generations in some crucial aspects, ethics are always important, most values are the same, and all want three things: respect, to be able to trust the organization, and to learn and develop.
A 2004 generational survey of human resources professionals found that most organizations experienced different generations working together effectively. Furthermore, they found the advantages of a multi-generation workforce outweighed the disadvantages.
True generational differences
Gen Y, also called the Millennials, our youngest generation in the current workforce, is generally more technology savvy, frequently using tools such as text messaging (SMS), Facebook and Twitter. While these tools are useful for social exchanges, they have a tendency to reduce the ability to concentrate on a task for a length of time.
A related outcome is the inability to communicate clearly and eloquently. The younger generation has reduced communication to sound bites using a sometimes cryptic shorthand, such as "c u l8r." The difficulty arises when these individuals are asked to write an invitation, a proposal or a report, or to chronicle a set of events.
Research surveys have shown that Gen Y has continued the shift toward an improved balance between work and family or leisure life that was begun by Gen X. Couple the Gen Y comfort with technology and this desire for a better work/life balance, and you get a strong desire to work remotely.
Maturity/career levels
For you Baby Boomers reading this, do you remember the 1960s? Long hair, hippies, free love, burnt bras, drugs, an unfettered freedom of expression? Our parents thought we were going to pot (literally). Were we mature? No, of course not. So why would we expect today's youth to be any different?
We talk about the younger generation's inability to exercise good judgment. Remember that good judgment is learned by making mistakes.
In general, we become more knowledgeable in our jobs and move to positions of greater responsibility in our organization or ones we move to. This increase in responsibility tends to bring with it increased commitment to the organization and perhaps increased conscientiousness.
Data that includes the number of hours worked per week in an organization shows a clear pattern of more hours worked at higher levels in the organization, but a much smaller effect due to age. The obvious conclusion is that as today's younger generation moves up the corporate ladder, they too may begin to work more hours, reducing their work/life balance.
Life and family stages
Reflect for a moment on how you felt when you graduated from college: full of ideas, wanting to make your mark on the world. Your job was your playground. You wanted your ideas heard by the upper management in your organization.
Today's younger generation is no different. Their behavior is consistent with this stage of their life.
Leading
So how do we lead these diverse groups? Most importantly, communicate. All of us, no matter what our background is, want the same thing. We may have somewhat different values and certainly have different experiences, but if we can sit down and communicate what we desire and how we can help others, we can all enlist our creative energy to work together and thrive.
Research has shown that generational conflicts are most often over power or control - whose ideas get heard and implemented, who gets to make the decisions, and so on. Create an environment for all parties to safely reveal their background and express their viewpoint. Pair individuals from different generations to encourage a dialogue and deeper understanding.
Provide assignments where younger folks must exercise their judgment. Talk about opportunities for all employees within the company.
Provide training opportunities for everyone. In order to reduce out-of-pocket expense, utilize internal personnel to teach courses or pair skilled individuals with those needing help.
Honor and respect the desire for a reasonable work/life balance. Be as creative as you can with your approaches.
So when you begin to think of Millennials versus Gen Xers versus Baby Boomers, or "generational differences," reflect on how the given behaviors might be defined more by each of the five factors I outlined in the beginning, and see if that doesn't make it easier to lead.
Joel DiGirolamo heads the firm Turbocharged Leadership (www.turbochargedleadership.com). You can contact him at joel@jdigirolamo.com.