To Peace, Goodwill, Understanding--and Teamwork--
Across the Generations

Because of the increasing pace of socioeconomic and technological change we now have (for the first time in world history!) four distinctly different generations that must learn not just to co-exist, but to work well together in teams if our organizations are to thrive.

The Advanced Management Institute (AMI) recently conducted a survey with 155 managers and staff of several professional services firms, and found 96% agreeing that inter-generational teamwork was very or extremely important to their firm's success. Yet 76% of respondents also said that generational differences have created significant challenges, such as poor communication, reduced quality and productivity, loss of teamwork, and lower morale.

In her book, Retiring the Generation Gap, Jennifer Deal argues that generation gaps are overrated and that the four generations have much more in common than they have differences. I generally agree on both points, and I support the author's attempt to counterbalance the generational stereotyping that many business books, articles, trainers, and consultants have aided and abetted for years. As a case in point, you may have seen the June 2007 issue of Fortune, whose cover story proclaimed, "You raised 'em...now you manage 'em." The most remarkable and widely-viewed recent example was 60-Minutes' segment "The Millennials Are Coming" (November 11, 2007) which described the upbringing of Americans born after 1980 as follows:

"They were raised by doting parents who told them they are special, played in little leagues with no winners or losers, or all winners. They are laden with trophies just for participating and they think your business-as-usual ethic is for the birds."

The segment provoked a torrent of e-mails filled with raw emotion on the network's website, such as:

"So who's to blame for the narcissistic praise hounds now taking over the office?"

"What a bunch of pampered do-nothings, those Millennials. I say fire all of them."

"I don't need sensitivity training to work with them...they just need to grow up."

"Companies should not have to bow to every whim their twenty-something employees have and strive to constantly entertain them."

"There are literally billions of people in India and China just waiting to eat our lunch. If this generation is out frontline, we better fill up on breakfast!

"Anybody else feel like reaching through the TV box and smacking these kids around?"

And then there were comments like these:

"I sure don't know whose children you are talking about...I have three teenagers who work very hard."

"I'm a 25-year-old with 50-year-old parents...and yes, I loathe the idea of an 8-to-5 job, as do the vast majority of my peers....We see our parents having the life sucked out of them, constantly taken for granted by whatever supervisor/boss/corporate figurehead they answer to, and we intend to figure out ways to avoid that...."

"I have recently been working with a Millennial-age engineer and have found to be...very bright, hardworking, and diligent-he has worked all day and late into the night..."

"The new generation has been taught to love themselves, believe in themselves, respect themselves, and not let others take advantage of them."

"Employers do not and should not have to pander to 'extended adolescence,' but should praise hard work, commitment, and dedication to a job. It is an employer's responsibility to promote those values."

The popular media not only feed off such emotion, and subtly shape perceptions about the generations, they also mirror what people believe. Stereotypes persist because large numbers of people perceive them as true.

For example, many would agree with the following stereotypes:

• That most Traditionalists (born 1945 and before), are duty-bound and hardworking, but may be inflexible and resistant to change;

• That most Boomers (born 1946-1964) are ambitious and participative, but may be overly-political and self-interested;

• That most Gen-Xers (born 1965-1980) are independent and resourceful, but may be cynical and disrespectful;

• That many Millennials (born since 1981), are self-confident and technically sophisticated, but may be dependent and naive.

It is a fact, for example, that some Boomer and Traditionalist managers share a deeply entrenched belief that Millennials need too much feedback, lack a solid work ethic, and "aren't willing to pay their dues." These managers have made their judgments and believe their view of the world is the right one. Meanwhile, many Millennials (and Gen-Xers), who have watched their parents lose their jobs after lifetimes of sacrificing for the good of the company, cannot grasp why they should be loyal to a heartless corporation. They seek a "new deal"--because they cannot realistically expect lifetime employment, they instead expect "lifetime employability," which to them means lots of learning and challenging assignments. And because of the impending talent shortage, talented younger workers know they have other employment options, and now insist on better management, including more frequent feedback, and more flexibility about where and when they work.

--Stef Witteveen, CEO, Randstad USA (Age 44)

How much easier it must have been to manage the relatively homogenous workforce of the 1950's! How do we even begin to accommodate such differences of needs and expectation? Do we make different sets of rules for each generation of workers? How can that be fair and equitable? How can we accommodate such differences when it feels more like surrender and compromising one's long-held values?

--Cam Marsten, Author of "Motivating the What's-In-It-For-Me? Workforce," quoted in Fast Company, June, 2007

I wonder about the six percent who advocate doing nothing at this time. Perhaps there are some companies where teamwork and communication between the generations is so smooth and clear that no more needs to be done. We do know that there are still some firms that have so few Millennials on staff that the full force of changing expectations has not yet struck home. I believe strongly that doing nothing is exactly the wrong way to go.

--Charles Darwin

P.S. We invite you to take the Inter-Generational Survey yourself by clicking here. Please enter the password: fourgens

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Copyright, Keeping the People, Inc. 2005. Keeping the People Report is written and edited by Leigh Branham.