1

22 2

From Gaga to SpringsteenManaging the Generation Gap at Work

Breakout Session 611

David Sotolongo

RTI International

July 20, 2010

4:00 – 5:15 pm

33

4

Let’s tune in to WIFM.

• What are the primary differences among the 3 generations in the work force?

• Who’s at fault, if anyone?• How can Boomers adapt?• Who is Lady GaGa anyway?

5

Let’s Meet our Generations…

• Baby Boomers: 1946 to 1964– 80 million (40% of workers)– Springsteen and Jaggar– Star Wars and Annie Hall– Woodstock and Disco?!

6

Let’s Meet our Generations…

• Generation X: 1965 to 1980– 40 million (36% of workers)– Nirvana, Pearl Jam– Say Anything, Wayne’s World– Google, YouTube, MySpace– Dot.com

7

Let’s Meet our Generations…

• Generation Y/ Millennials): 1981 to 2001– 72 million (16% of workers)– Black Eyed Peas, Lady GaGa– Forgetting Sarah Marshall,

Paranormal Activity– Facebook– Twitter

• Are Boomers ruining all of the social networks?

8

The myth of the “Gen Y/ Millennial Slackers”

“The companies that succeed over the next two decades will be the ones that can most inspire (Gen) Y. This is the most educated and technologically savvy generation ever.”

– Jobfox CEO, Rob McGovern

9

Which Generation Are You?

1. Boomer?

2. Gen X?

3. Gen Y/Millennial?

1 2 3

0% 0%0%

10

Those spoiled, bratty boomers

• Grew up in an era of unprecedented prosperity• Rebellious in youth, but traditional in the workforce• Spend less time with their kids• More “senior moments”; thus, KGB and ask.com

11

Test for the Boomers

• 404• 411• 9• 99• BRB• GANB• HBB• ILICISCOMK

• KPC• NIMJD• PAL• PICNIC• RMLB• RU/18• RU BRD?• WRUD? TAB?

12

Boomers Are Trying to Hold On to Old Management Methods

• Praise is earned, not guaranteed

• Work your way to the top

• Respect the chain of command

• Wait your turn

• Balance work and family life by keeping them separate – but still work too much!

• Clueless about the “service industry gap”

• Don’t understand that phone calls and emails are “so last century, dude …”

13

Gen Y/Millennials Come from a Very Different Background

• Feedback is expected … constantly• Often came from over-protective, helicopter

parents• More comfortable communicating via technology

than face to face (either at work or socially)• Work day is 24/7 – but so is their social life• Look at organizational structures as flat, not

hierarchical• Never knew a world that didn’t have remote

controls• IWIWIWI and IWIHIWI

14

Gen X’ers Are Caught In- Between

• Grew up in an era of feminism and working moms

• Suffered the post-Boomer recession, which led to more cynicism

• Comfortable communicating via technology or face to face

• Tend to have a more structured view of work/family

• Independent, resilient, and very creative• In the end, tend to be more like Millennials than

Boomers

15

Balancing Work and Home Lives

• Integrators (Gen X/Y)– Telecommute– Laptops, cell phones,

PDAs, TM, IM, Twitter– Can flex between work

and home easily– Facebook at work and at

home

• Separators (Boomers)– Keep work at work– Don’t tend to use

technology as much– Can’t alternate quickly

between the two spheres

16

BOOMERS: How do you connect with your friends?

1 2 3 4

0% 0%0%0%

1. Call them on the phone

2. Email them

3. Facebook updates

4. Text message/Tweet

17

GEN X/Y: How do you connect with your friends?

1 2 3 4

0% 0%0%0%

1. Call them on the phone

2. Email them

3. Facebook updates

4. Text message/Tweet

18

GEN X/Y: How do you connect with your friends?

25%

25%

25%

25%

25%

25%

25%

25%

Call them o...

Email them

Facebook up...

Text messag...

First Slide Second Slide

19

The Legacy of the American Boomers … Work, Work, Work!

• Americans did not use 438 million vacation days in 2007

• Companies who are in the European Union must offer workers at least 20 days off per year – sometimes more

• In Portugal, workers get 22 vacation days plus 13 holidays

20

BOOMERS: How Much Vacation Did You Take Last Year?

1. 4 or more weeks

2. 3 to 4 weeks

3. 1 to 2 weeks

4. Less than 1 week

1 2 3 4

0% 0%0%0%

21

GEN X/Y: How Much Vacation Did You Take Last Year?

1. 4 or more weeks

2. 3 to 4 weeks

3. 1 to 2 weeks

4. Less than 1 week

1 2 3 4

0% 0%0%0%

2222

GEN X/Y: How Much Vacation Did You Take Last Year?

25%

25%

25%

25%

25%

25%

25%

25%

4 or more w...

3 to 4 weeks

1 to 2 weeks

Less than 1...

Boomers Gen X/Y

23

How Much Do You Telecommute?

1. All the time

2. Around half the time

3. 1 or 2 days a week

4. Never – I like the free coffee at work

1 2 3 4

0% 0%0%0%

24

Overachievement Has Seen Its Day Come and Go

• David McClelland discovered the three primary drivers for motivation:1. Achievement2. Affiliation3. Power (influence)

• All three are present in everyone• McClelland and others argued achievement

was the key to successful leadership• Created an interesting experiment to prove the

point• Jack Welsh personified this leadership style

(GE)

25

The End Justifies the Means

• The achievement drive soon became the overachievement drive

• Cutting corners, cheating, whatever it took• Nationally, it worked – stock market took off,

productivity soared, innovation rose• But the slow erosion of ethics took hold, and

soon we got…

26

Meet the Old Boss

27

Tell-tale Signs Your Boss Is an Overachiever

• Gives little positive feedback• Impatient with under-performers• Micromanages!• Sets the pace and expects everyone to

follow• Totally goal-driven; people are secondary to

the achievement of the goal

28

Personal Power vs. Socialized Power

Personalized Power• Controls• Manipulates and coerces• Looks out for their own

interests

Socialized Power• Persuades• Involves others; democratic• Focuses on the team

29

Does Your Boss Use Personalized or Social Power?

1 2 3

0% 0%0%

1. Personalized Power

2. Social Power

3. Sitting right next to me, so I am not answering

30

The Legacy of McClelland and Welsh

• The power of this leadership strategy created a “Survivor Tribunal” mentality:– Ranking your employees– Cutting the “weakest” from

the tribe– Grow or die– Immediate goals more

important than long-term ones

31

Old Rules vs. New Rules

• Be the big, bad, dog• Be #1 in your market• Shareholders are in

charge• Rank your staff, form

your “A Team”• Be charismatic• Admire our might

• Be agile and flexible• Find your niche (Good

to Great)• The customers are in

charge• Hire passionate people• Be courageous• Admire our soul

31

32

Old Boss vs. New Boss

• Pushes people• Dictates• Manages• Angry• Coercive• Cares about numbers

• Motivates people• Persuades• Leads• Passionate• Collaborative• Cares about people

33

Becoming the New Boss Won’t Be Easy

• Keep all leadership styles in your hip pocket, but know how to use them wisely

• Understand the differences in generation gaps

• Adapt to new technology and communication styles

• Let go of the old Boomer leadership principles and embrace new ones

34

Create a Great Place to Work

• Allow new ideas into your policies• Provide enough freedom for staff to make decisions• Set the bar reasonably high and hold people

accountable• Reward staff continuously for excellent performance• Be clear about expectations• Stress the success of the team• Be family friendly, all the time – to women and

men!• See www.greatplacetowork.com (US) and

www.greatplacetowork.co.uk (UK)

35

If you have a “boomer” boss who uses personalized power, try these out …• Find out where your boss shops and buy exactly the

same outfits. Always wear them one day after your boss does.

• Repeat every idea your boss expresses in a baby voice while moving your hand like a chattering mouth.

• Finish all your sentences with, “in accordance with prophecy.”

• Use a large hunting knife to point at your visual aids.

• In your next Progress Report, write:

My Secret Agenda1. Trample the weak2. Triumph alone3. Invade Iran

36

I Thought This Presentation Was …

1 2 3 4

0% 0%0%0%

1. OMG LOL, he’s my BFF

2. It was okay

3. Sorry – I was asleep – what was the question again?

4. Is it happy hour YET?

37

Bibliography and Sources of Inspiration• Workplace Wars (Ladies Home Journal, May 2009)• Leadership Run Amok: The Destructive Potential of Overachievers. Scott Spreier, Mary Fontaine, and Ruth Malloy (Harvard

Business Review, June 1, 2006)• What Leaders Really Do. John Kotter (Harvard Business Review, December 2001)• Tearing Up the Jack Welsh Playbook. Betsy Morris (Fortune, CNNMoney.com, July 11, 2006)• Great Xpectations of So-Called Slackers (Time.com, June 9, 1997)• Are Baby Boomers Killing Facebook and Twitter? (PC World, May 2009)• Gen Y in the Workforce (Harvard Business Review, February 2009)• Are You a Micromanager? (Federal Computer Week, October 20, 2008)• What Would Shakespeare Tweet? (USA Today, June 10, 2009)• Managing by Remote Control (Raleigh News and Observer, November 30, 2008)• Email Lives – But Do We Need It? (Federal Computer Week, July 13, 2009)• Are You a Micromanager? (Federal Computer Week, October 20, 2008)• 10 Trends – A Study of Senior Executives’ Views on the Future (Center for Creative Leadership, White Paper)• What Gen Y Really Wants (Time Magazine, July 5, 2005)• A Nation Transformed by Women (The Progress Report, October 19, 2009)• No Rest for the Worked – Americans Prefer to be on the Job Rather than Taking Vacations (Philadelphia Inquirer, February 17,

2008)• Service Gap Fuels Shopping Tensions (Philadelphia Inquirer, December 25, 2007)• A Bad Boss Can Hurt Your Heart, Study Says (Boston Globe, November 30, 2008• Facebook – What is it Good for? (Federal Computer Week, April 20, 2009)• Generation X: The Ignored Generation? (Time.com, April 16, 2008)

38

My Millennials …

39

Questions? Complaints?