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Title: Four Generations and What to Do About Them


1
Four Generations and What to Do About Them
  • Kelli D. Peck Parrott, Ph.D.
  • Director and Associate Clinical Professor,
    Student Affairs Administration in Higher
    Education
  • kpparrott_at_tamu.edu
  • Texas AM University

2
Theory to practice
  • What were the national events you remember as you
    were growing up?

3
Generations The History of Americas Future,
1584-2069 (Strauss Howe, 1991)
  • Generations
  • Length is approx. the phase of birth to
    adulthood, 22 years.
  • Boundaries are fixed by peer personality
  • Four primary types of generations Idealist,
    Reactive, Civic, and Adaptive

4
Two Important Social Moments
  • Secular Crisis
  • Focus on reordering the world of
    institutions and public behavior
  • Spiritual Awakening
  • Focus on changing the inner world of
    values and private behavior

5
Types of Generations
  • Idealist - increasingly indulged youths
    after a secular crisis
  • Reactive - grow up under-protected and
    criticized youths during a spiritual
    awakening
  • Civic - Increasingly protected as
    children after a spiritual awakening
  • Adaptive - Overprotected and suffocated
    youths during a secular crisis

6
Generations
Lost Generation 1883-1900 Reactive
GI Generation 1901-1924 Civic
Silent 1925-1942 Adaptive
Boom 1943-1960 Idealist
13th/ Gen X 1961-1981 Reactive
Millennial 1982-2003 Civic
Homeland 2004-2024? Adaptive
7
Our Upper Level Administrators Co-workers
Silents or Traditionalists (1925-1942)
  • Spent their youth in the great depression and
    WWII
  • The in-between generation
  • No US president (If Mr. McCain had won, he would
    have been the first)
  • Very protective parents, who were sacrificing for
    them

8
Our Upper Level Administrators Co-workers
Silents or Traditionalists (1925-1942)
  • After all their parents sacrificed and went
    through and having experienced the Depression,
    they still feel somewhat lucky to have jobs.
  • Have seen so much change so quickly in the
    workplace.

9
Our coworkers supervisorsBoomers (1943-1960)
  • Looking for spiritualism, flocked to drugs and
    religion most active era of church formation in
    the 20th century
  • Redefined Gender roles gender was their issue
  • A generation that when young trusted nobody over
    30 today trusts nobody under 30.
  • Issues remember when seen a great deal of
    change, especially in the workplace raised with
    the work ethic of parents who survived the
    depression and WWII.

10
Our coworkers supervisorsBoomers (1943-1960)
  • Work is a dominant force in their lives they
    often sacrifice far too much for the good of the
    employer.
  • One Benchmarks leadership study was full of
    largely Boomer execs lamenting over sacrificing
    time with family, spouses, and personal interests
    for the sake of work (Downing, 2006).

Downing, K. (July/August 2006). Next generation
What leaders need to know about Millennials.
Leadership in Action, 26, 3.
11
Our coworkers and mid-managersXers (1961-1981)
  • True children of the 1960s and 1970s
  • Awakening period to their parents for them was a
    nightmare of self-immersed parents,
    disintegrating homes, AIDS, and a Me economy
  • Find a world of more punishing consequences than
    anything the Silent or Boom generations ever knew
  • Knew that where the Boomer children had been
    worth the parental sacrifice of prolonging an
    unhappy marriage, they were not

12
Our coworkers and mid-managers Xers (1961-1981)
  • Not shielded, so adult life held no
    secretsbelieve they need to keep their eyes
    open, expect the worst and handle it on their own
  • Two-thirds have found they have to work harder
    than other generations to enjoy the same standard
    of living
  • Try to call as little attention to themselves as
    possible, really have not come together as a
    generation. You can find anything in this group.
  • FEAR
  • Race was their issue

13
Millennials The Next Great Generation (Howe
Strauss, 2000)
  • Young Americans born 1982 or after
  • Most numerous, affluent, and ethnically diverse
    generation in American history
  • Largely the children of Boomers, pre-teens are
    the children of Xers.

14
Millennialsour colleagues???
  • Conventional turning back toward
    traditionalism, but with a modern twist very
    rules oriented and highly moral
  • Confident very optimistic about people and
    themselves
  • Special have been perceived as special since
    birth

15
Millennialsour colleagues???
  • Sheltered sheltered and protected in ways that
    prior generations have not
  • Pressured feel more stress than any other
    generation has
  • Achieving group is perceived as achieving so
    individuals feel pressure to keep up
  • Team Oriented oriented toward teams rather than
    individuals

16
Millennialsour colleagues?
  • Very close to their parents. You are not just
    getting an employee, but parents too.
  • Helicopter parents
  • Family oriented 71.3 considered raising a
    family to be an essential or very important
    objective
  • These parents provide a great deal of support,
    but also intrusion and annoyance as well.

ACE UCLA Higher Education Research Institute,
The American freshman National norms for Fall
1999.
17
Millennials
  • Candidates are stalling on job offers to consult
    with their parents. Parents are calling hiring
    managers to protest pay packages and trying to
    renegotiate.
  • Numbers of companies are involving parents in the
    recruiting process with welcome packets and
    including them on informational sessions, but not
    beyond.

Downing, K. (July/August 2006). Next generation
What leaders need to know about Millennials.
Leadership in Action, 26, 3.
18
Millennialsour colleagues?
  • Very technologically savvy, though there are
    socio-economic differences.
  • Often form initial opinions of organizations
    based on their websites.

Downing, K. (July/August 2006). Next generation
What leaders need to know about Millennials.
Leadership in Action, 26, 3.
19
Our work and workplaces
  • By 2010 will see an exodus of Boomers 2 leaving
    for every one new hire (Gerdes, 2006)
  • 85 million Baby Boomers, 51 million Xers, 75
    million Millennials

Theilfoldt, D. Schief, D. (August 2004).
Generation X and the Millennials What you need
to know about mentoring the new generations. Law
Practice Today.
20
Issues and areas of conflict
  • Issue Silents and Boomers have sacrificed all
    for the company/organization, Millennials appear
    to have no loyalty to the organization.
  • Common Ground This is not new. Xers were not
    loyal either. Millennials and Xers seem to form
    more loyalty to the project, their co-workers,
    and perhaps the values of the company. Are
    looking for companies that value social
    responsibility, diversity, and the environment.

Gerdes, L. (September, 2006). The best places to
launch a career. Business Week, 4001.
21
Issues and Areas of Conflict
  • Issue The generations share a similar language
    with totally different meanings. Ex. Broken
    record technique, OMG, BFF
  • Common ground Find means for keeping up,
    Facebook, MySpace, blogs

22
Issues and areas of conflict
  • Issue Silents and Boomers feel devalued, as if
    their experience and contributions are no longer
    important. Millennials are not willing to pay
    their dues.
  • Common Ground Millennials are impatient to make
    an impact, but they are eager for feedback.
    While they want to be respected, they are also
    looking for leadership. Several orgs are giving
    new employees senior level mentors.

Gerdes, L. (September, 2006). The best places to
launch a career. Business Week, 4001.
23
Issues and areas of conflict
  • Issue Silents, Boomers, and especially Xers are
    highly independent. The Millennials involvement
    of parents and need to work on teams is seen as
    childish. They just need to grow up!
  • Common Ground The biggest complaint about Xers
    was their inability to work with others.
    Millennials do this well and can teach us all.
    The truth is teams do accomplish more than
    individuals.

24
Issues and Areas of Conflict
  • Issue Authority Silents respect it, Boomers
    have a love-hate relationship with it, but now
    are the authority. Xers are unimpressed with it
    and Millennials do not see the need for it.
  • Common Ground They are used to instant answers
    and the internet, the great equalizer. They will
    seek out the most knowledgeable and influential
    person regardless of rank. Training and
    information are key.

Robinette, K. (July 24, 2009). Millennials in the
workplace challenge managers. Daily Journal of
Commerce.
25
Tips for working with Millennials
  1. State desired outcomes clearly and specifically,
    then get out of the way. Allow freedom to do it
    how, where, and when they prefer if possible, but
    with clear quality/volume expectations and
    timelines. Time is a 24/7 resource. Tell them
    when its due, not when to do it.
  2. Put it in writing they are rules oriented.

Heathfield, S. (n.d.). Managing the Millennials
11 tips for managing the Millennials. Retrieved
November 1, 2009. http//humanresources.about
.com/od/managementtips/a/millenials.htm Shepard,
S. (2004). Managing the Millennials. Retrieved
April 28, 2008. www.shepardcomm.com/managin
g-millennials-wp.pdf
26
Tips for working with Millennials
  1. Have the work be meaningful help them see
    meaning and impact KEY
  2. Provide continuous feedback, but be as positive
    as possible Oreo or sandwich method
  3. Experiential learning is preferred use different
    learning techniques, multimedia, activities, etc.

Phillips, C. (February, 2008). Get the best out
of Millennials by tweaking habits.
Advertising Age, 79, 6.
27
Tips for working with Millennials
  • Be prepared to train them about EVERYTHING
    assume nothing about behavioral norms
  • Cross-train keeps them engaged, challenged, and
    helps them to form attachments to the work and
    colleagues (train them to get a job somewhere
    else)
  • Provide work-life balance important to them and
    all of us.

Heathfield, S. (n.d.). Managing the Millennials
11 tips for managing the Millennials. Retrieved
November 1, 2009. http//humanresources.abou
t.com/od/managementtips/a/millenials.htm
28
Tips for working with Millennials
  • Provide leadership and guidance they want to
    look up at you, be connected, and learn mentor
    and coach.
  • Play to their strengths, let their creativity,
    technological skills, and brainpower loose and
    they will do amazing things.
  • Remember we were all young toothey are in the
    process of becoming.

29
The Most Important Tip for working with
Millennials
  • People are like onions, they have lots of layers.
    Generation is only one layer and this information
    may or may not apply. There is criticism of these
    generational images.
  • Treat everyone as the INDIVIDUAL they are.

30
Generational Views
  • Children nowadays are tyrants, they contradict
    their parents, chatter before company, gobble
    their food, and tyrannize their teachers.
  • attributed to Socrates

31
Questions? Comments?
  • Thank you!

32
References
  • ACE UCLA Higher Education Research Institute,
    The American freshman National norms for Fall
    1999.
  • Downing, K. (July/August 2006). Next generation
    What leaders need to know about Millennials.
    Leadership in Action, 26, 3.
  • Gerdes, L. (September, 2006). The best places to
    launch a career. Business Week, 4001.
  • Hallon, J. (March, 2008). Millennials at the
    gate. Workforce Management, 87, 4.
  • Heathfield, S. (n.d.). Managing the Millennials
    11 tips for managing the Millennials. Retrieved
    November 1, 2009. http//humanresources.about.com/
    od/managementtips/a/millenials.htm
  • Howe, N. Strauss, W. (2000). Millennials
    rising The next great generation. New York
    Vintage Books.
  • Phillips, C. (February, 2008). Get the best out
    of Millennials by tweaking habits. Advertising
    Age, 79, 6.
  • Robinette, K. (July 24, 2009). Millennials in the
    workplace challenge managers. Daily Journal of
    Commerce.
  • Shepard, S. (2004). Managing the Millennials.
    Retrieved April 28, 2008. www.shepardcomm.com/mana
    ging-millennials-wp.pdf
  • Strauss, W., Howe, N. (1991). Generations The
    history of Americas future, 1584-2069. New York
    Morrow.
  • Theilfoldt, D. Schief, D. (August 2004).
    Generation X and the Millennials What you need
    to know about mentoring the new generations. Law
    Practice Today.
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