Generational Differences Lisa Bourget – Marathon Travel

Session Overview Action item: Let’s Talk Takeaways Understanding the Players on Your Team

(who are the generations) Let’s Talk Stereotypes Power of Change Closing Activity

Making it Personal Flip over action plan Write down name of someone challenging in

your life 20 years younger Write down name of someone challenging in

your life 20 years older

What’s Your IQ? GQ Self-Assessment

The Players… Traditionalists (born 1900-1945) Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) Generation X (born 1965-1980) Millennial Generation (born 1981-2000)

Does This Topic Matter?“It’s an Economic Downturn and everyone is so easy to deal with…”

“Generational personalities” are carried with us throughout our lives

When hard times hit…everyone wants to play nice in the sand, right??? We entrench ourselves deeply into attitudes and

behaviors that are ingrained in us!

What does the work force challenge mean to you: Must fight harder to recruit and retain the best

employees McKinsey and Company “war for talent” study

estimated over the next 30 years, demand for bright, talented 35 to 45 year olds will increase by 25%, supply predicted to decrease 15%

Prepare for mass exodus of know-how & experience and replacing it… With smaller pool of talent that comes from different

values and expectations Challenges from “the gap”

Workplace Stats

Generation Gaps Employees that don’t feel they “fit” will…

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ What’s at your water cooler?

Few decades ago, 3 or 4 generations gathered and listened to “The Shadow” on the radio

Traditionalist: “Nothing decent on TV since Murder She Wrote went off the air”

Boomer: “…demise of thirty something” X’er: “Melrose Place” Millennium: “…waxing lyrical over My So Called Life.”

Translation: Communicational challenges and breakdown of bonds that hold companies together

Define Stereotypes

What do you see…

Again…

Stereotypes – by the media and you The precocious Millennial kid Tattooed Generation X slacker Guilt-ridden, workaholic Boomer Lifeless retired Traditionalist leaning back on

the porch swing

Change – You Own It… There is only one way

Get to know who those generations really are Understand why they are that way Take this opportunity not to stereotype…but to

learn something you didn’t know before

Stereotypes – by resentment Xers resent Traditionalists (for being resistant to

change and unwilling to hand over reins) Boomers resent Xers for finding it so easy to change

jobs whenever they feel like it and demanding balance in their lives

Traditionalists resent Millennials for entitlement mentality when Traditionalists had to work for everything they’ve gotten

Millennials resent Boomers for leaving the planet a mess

What forms our cultural personality? Icons

Martin Luther King, Jr., Selma, Alabama, and image of empty bus (all icons of Selma bus boycott of 1965)

Assassination of Kennedy D-Day Challenger explosion Attack of September 11

Conditions Cold War Great Depression (changed forever by fear of not being able to put food on the table) Changes in divorce rate

Life stages…we have them in common (education, get a job, find a partner, have a family) – but different generations don’t approach them the same way

Traditionalists 1900-1945 Came of age before/during World War II Core needs are group membership &

responsibility Childhood of struggle Value: Stability, security, sense of

community, patriotism and God Trust hierarchy and authority

Traditionalists People – Joe DiMaggio; Dr. Spock; Alfred Hitchcock;

Franklin D. Roosevelt; John Wayne; Bob Hope; Betty Crocker

Places: Sarajevo; Pearl Harbor, Normandy, Hiroshima, Iwo Jima. Back home – bread lines, Victory gardens, church pew, kitchen table with family tuned in to “The Maxwell House Radio Hour”

Things: were scarce; with 2 wars and the Great Depression, this generation did without. Symbols carried great weight – swastikas to Sputnik, flappers to flattops, drove roadsters to drive-ins, stacked a few 45’s on the record player and did the twist

Tips for Traditionalists! Show respect for length of service and

experience Watch your language Take time when discussing technology Do your homework; prepare to be tested Respect attention to formality Don’t rush or pressure Serve and honor them

Baby Boomers 1946-1964 The first workaholics Paid dues under old hierarchical rules; now

redefining themselves in light of global initiatives and business restructuring

Gifted at political correctness Traditionally found their self worth in their

work ethic Now…desperate for healthy work/life balance

Baby Boomers People: Martin Luther King Jr.; Richard Nixon;

Beaver Cleaver; Rosa Parks; Osmond Family; John Belushi; Captain Kangaroo; Partridge Family and The Stones

Places: Watergate Hotel; Hanoi Hilton; Kent State; Laugh-in; Woodstock. Suburbs, bedroom, boardroom, delivery room, and eventually divorce courtroom.

Things: Television (4 million in 1952 to 50 million in 1960!); Bellbottoms, mood rings, Brooks Brothers suits and Rolex watches.

Tips for Boomers! Resist rushing and learn to value “people side” of

business Choose face-to-face conversation Ask for their advice (and take notes to show you are

listening) Offer your support and partner to get job done (don’t

wait to be asked) Put priority on a business atmosphere and

relationships formed there Honor their experiences

Gen Xers 1965-1980 Count on technological acuity and business savvy to

stay marketable Extremely resourceful and independent generation Get in…get the work done…move on to the next

thing Need freedom to act without hindrance Energies focused on skillful performance, variety

and stimulation in the workplace

Gen X’ers People: Bill Clinton; Monica Lewinsky; Ayatollah

Khomeni, Ted Bundy, Beavis and Butt-head, O.J. Simpson, Madonna

Places: Media expanded places – X’ers could travel more; Soviet Union, Somalia, Chernobyl, Scotland, international space station to internet

Things: Cable TV, satellite, VCRs, video games, fax machines, microwaves, pagers, cell phones, Palm Pilots…

Tips for Gen X’ers Stop micromanaging them Initiate work/life balance initiatives Teach new skills Mentor them and ask questions. Talk with, not at, them. When delegating, describe the outcomes (but leave the

processes to the Gen Xer) Provide immediate answers and feedback; they crave

stimulation Need help on something technical? Just ask!! Value their need to keep learning in order to be marketable.

Millennium 1981-2000 They are always on – come of age in an era of

instantaneous global communication, media saturation, and material excess.

Grew up in “decade of the child” Intellectual authority in homes and at work High-speed stimulus junkies (just enough skepticism – like the xers –

to keep them asking healthy questions)

Just enough political savvy (like the Boomers – to know who’s who)

Just enough respect for character development (like Traditionalists – to incorporate the virtue of individual responsibility in their jobs)

Millennium People: Prince William, Chelsea Clinton, Kurt Cobain,

Barney, Britney, Backstreet Boys, Serena Williams Places: Virtual and tangible – ranging from chat rooms to

Dawson’s Creek, from 90210 to Oklahoma City, from cyberspace to outer space

Things: Access to cell phones, pagers and computers since they were in

diapers Took PC’s for joyrides on information superhighway; through

internet they have visited every corner of the globe Choices – hang out at local mall or virtual mall!

Tips for the “Always On” Give them your web address; prepare for the

improvement plan Emphasize positives of doing right, rather than

negatives of doing wrong Be positive, simple, rational, factual, friendly Respond quickly and move fast with this “instant

gratification” generation Mentor them and be realistic Be prepared to offer VERY flexible scheduling

Meet Edna!

Your Action Plan Sharing Time – who had “ah ha’s??” What will you change the next time you:

Have a meeting Need to ask a question Need to change their direction

View of WorkBoomer Gen X Gen Y

Work hard and get ahead

Work as hard as you have to and get a life

Work, but make a

difference

Work RelationshipsBoomer Gen X Gen Y

Individual – do your own

work, but play by the

rules

‘Intrepreneur’

- do what needs to be done in

the fastest way

Team player -

where everyone

counts

RewardsBoomer Gen X Gen Y

I want status or

recognition

I want options

I want meaning and significance

Ta Da!

FeedbackBoomer Gen X Gen Y

Give it to me by the rules

Just say it, now.

It should always be on

the screen

TrainingBoomer Gen X Gen Y

As a reward Prepare me to leave and I’ll

stay

Duh?!

CareerBoomer Gen X Gen Y

Enjoyment Portability Integration

Grow…With Generational “Smarts” Communicate “Smart” Sell “Smart” Market your business “Smart” Build Relationships...“Smart”

Sources “When Generations Collide” – Lynne C. Lancaster and

David Stillman

Robert Lord, Training and Organizational Development Manager, Travel Guard

“Talking About Our Generations” – A Personal Guide to Mastering Generational Diversity in the Workplace; Express Personnel Services