Picture this scenario: the leader of your long-established team has retired, and his replacement is a young manager straight out of business school.
She's anxious to get going in the organization, and you hope that she'll bring some new life and energy into the company.
However, as the weeks go by, you begin to see growing discomfort and conflict between the older staff and this new team member. Your more senior colleagues think "the new kid" is overconfident, pushy, and too anxious to leave precisely 5:00 p.m. The newcomer finds it hard to get support from her older colleagues. She's concerned that they can't (or won't) multitask, are less confident with technology, and are unwilling to share their hard-earned knowledge. As a result, cooperation is suffering.
How can you bridge this generation gap? And why is this important?
There's little doubt that the U.S. workforce is at a unique point in history (other countries face similar situations). As "Baby Boomers" – people born between 1946 and 1964 – begin to retire, a new generation is stepping into their shoes.
Generation X, or Gen X (born between 1965 and 1976), and Generation Y, or Gen Y (also called "Millennials," born between 1977 and 1998), have values and work styles that are entirely different from the baby boomers. Finding ways to bridge the gaps within this new multigenerational workforce takes excellent skill – and it all starts with understanding how new generation leaders think and what's important to them.
In the U.S., the drop in birth rate in the post-baby boom years means that, by 2010, the number of people in the 35-44 middle management age group had dropped by nearly 20 percent. Many other significant economies worldwide are facing similar demographic changes. One practical consequence of these statistics is that organizations must work harder to attract and retain good people.
New generation leaders are a scarce commodity and should be nurtured as such.
Generations X and Y: What They Care About
The new leaders often have a completely different way of working from their older counterparts. (Keep in mind that not everyone in these generations fits the characteristics we'll talk about: we will make some huge generalizations here, however, hopefully, these generalizations will be helpful too!)
For example, while boomers usually view long hours as evidence of loyalty and hard work, Gen X and Y tend to try to have more work/life balance. They've seen their parents' lack of quality of life and the lack of loyalty companies showed to these hard-working parents in the 1990s, and they're not impressed.
They want flexible hours, more vacation time, continuous training, and telecommuting options. They expect to leverage technology to work efficiently instead of staying late in the office to get everything done.
Boomers have traditionally felt that you have to "pay your dues" to your company – and if you hate your job, that's just part of life. Generations X and Y typically don't accept this; they want rewarding, intellectually stimulating work – and they don't want someone watching them too closely to check on their progress. These new groups are independent, creative, and forward-thinking. They celebrate cultural diversity, technology, and feedback, and they prefer more of a "lattice" or individualized approach to management (as opposed to the traditional "corporate ladder").
The new generations also tend to like teamwork. Studies have shown that colleague relationships rank very high on Gen X and Y's list of priorities. Things like salary and prestige can often rank lower than boomers might expect or want for themselves.
Note: Some people argue that differences between generations aren't as significant as are suggested here and that people's life stage is often more significant (see our article on the Life/Career Rainbow for more on this.) Our opinion is that people are complex and are affected by a range of different factors and that life stage is, of course, critical in the way that people think and behave. However, we also believe that there are differences in attitude between generations, which can lead to sometimes-profound misunderstandings.
Attracting and Retaining the New Generations
Many have talked about how Gen X and Y always seem ready to leave one company and move on to something better as soon as there's an opportunity. While it's true that they usually won't stay with a job if they're unhappy – as boomers often did – this doesn't mean they aren't severe or loyal.
If you want to keep the best and brightest leaders in your organization, you need to offer them an environment geared to their values.
Quite a few Fortune 500 companies have changed the way they work to meet the wants and values of these new generations. Here are some examples:
A major U.S. chemical company has eliminated its "corporate ladder" approach to management. There are no bosses, and there's no top and bottom in the chain of command. Instead, authority is passed around through team leaders, so everyone in the company has a sense of equality and involvement.
A large U.S. accounting firm gives four weeks of vacation to every new hire (most U.S. companies offer only two weeks). This firm also provides new parents classes on how to reduce their working hours to spend more time with their families.
A software company in Silicon Valley has no set office hours. Staff come in and work when they choose. Everyone gets paid time off every month to do volunteer work, and they get a six-week sabbatical every four years.
If you think these dramatic policies would never work and would be too costly, then remember – these are all profitable, highly productive companies with low staff turnover. They've made new rules, and they're successful.
Leadership Styles
So, what does all this say about the new generation's leadership styles? Well, it's easy to see that Gen X and Y are unlikely to lead in the same way the boomers did.
The new leaders value teamwork and open communication. They'll encourage collaboration, and they won't give direction and expect to be followed just because they're in charge. They want to understand their peers and other people's perspectives.
They'll spend more time building relationships with their teams than their predecessors did. Because they value their family time, they'll also give their staff enough time for personal lives. As a result, corporate culture might become less rigid than now, bringing more flexibility and a sense of fun.
As a result, if you're a member of a team whose leadership is being passed from an older generation leading to a new generation leader, you'll probably need to adjust to having more autonomy delegated to you, and you may find that the boss is not around as much to check on things.
This new generation values action, so they'll work more efficiently and productively to earn time off. They'll expect their team to work hard too, but they'll also know when to leave the office and play. One of how they gain this efficiency is by using technology. Although they will usually get to grips with this quickly, you may need to remind new generation leaders that other team members need more training and support than they do themselves if they get up to the same speed with new applications.
But they'll also follow a leader who has a heart. So if you have new generation managers in your team, you'll probably have to prove your worth before they'll fully support you. But once you show them that worth, they'll follow you.
CDPS's Tips:
Here are some things you can do in your company to ensure that your new generation of leaders wants to stay.
Offer ongoing training, especially in skills like organization, time management, leadership, and communication. People in Gen X and Y usually love to learn new things, so growth opportunities are high on their list of priorities.
Increase non-monetary benefits. Gen X and Y tend to value time as much as, if not more than, money. They have lives outside of work, and spending time with family and having fun is very important to them. Increase your vacation benefits and offer flexible working hours. These people are often busy parents who appreciate it when a company understands that the traditional 9-to-5 day isn't always practical.
Give them freedom. Gen X and Y are often self-reliant and don't always look to a leader for direction. Their goal is to complete tasks in the most efficient way possible while still doing them well. So please don't force them to work under a management style that boomers often preferred, with the boss giving orders. Please provide them with the freedom to make their own decisions.
Earn their loyalty and respect. Gen X and Y may not automatically be loyal to leaders just because those leaders are in charge. Younger staff want open communication and supportive leaders worthy of being followed.
Treat women and men as equals. Gen X and Y grew up with mothers who were often focused on their careers and their families. They're used to viewing women and men equally, so be sure you compensate both genders equally. If women feel they're the target of discrimination, you'll quickly lose them.
Be "green." The new generations have grown up with Earth Day and the threat of global warming. They want to make less of an impact on the environment. Studies have shown that people who work for companies with green initiatives have higher job satisfaction, and turnover is usually much lower.
CDPS's Key Points There's no doubt that the new generation of leaders has priorities that are often quite different from those of previous leaders. So if you want to hire and keep the best and brightest people who will lead your company into the future, you must create a work environment that's tailored to their values and priorities.