Next Generation Next Destination

ENTITLED TO MOVE UP VS. THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVE YOURSELF WORTHY

Ilene Gordon was given the challenge at age 32 by a mentor to manage a group of people more than 20 years older. The challenge for this executive several years out of business school was to get the best out of them, to motivate and inspire them.

From this experience, she learned the philosophy of putting people in jobs where they had to stretch, jobs they were not ready for at the time, from this mentor who realized she was smart, analytical and focused and needed greater challenges. Now in her position as CEO of Ingredion, her employees love to hear that philosophy because they know they are going to get opportunities. A Boomer, she “gets it ” that what Gen Y/Millennials want is opportunity and challenge. Often impatient, many of them want that opportunity before, given their relatively short tenure at work, they would be judged to be ready.

This story was shared by Gordon in an interview with Adam Bryant in his Corner Office column in the New York Times (3/17/13). She urges young people to have tenacity rather than just leaving if things don’t happen for them quickly and to have backup plans because things don’t always work out. Young people have to learn to deal with adversity in life and work, and that’s where the backup plans come in. In promoting she looks for energy, drive and the ability to get things done through other people whether all on site or in virtual teams.

The lesson here for the young generations is that they are not entitled to rise quickly just because they think so or want to, but managers should give them opportunities to stretch and grow and prove themselves worthy of promotion and significant responsibility. It’s up to the individuals to figure out what to do, use their energy, and learn the interpersonal skills to lead a team to succeed. Their team members will make them look good if they provide the resources needed and make the team members look good.

What do you think of this philosophy?  Do you think many managers will take the risk and trust it will work out well? They also need a backup plan and create a culture where it is all right to fail.

Phyllis Weiss Haserot     www.pdcounsel.com  

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Generational Differences Globally

GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES GLOBALLY

I am often asked if the typical generational patterns and attributes we observe in the U.S. apply globally. In the past, the answer is mostly no, except for parts of Western Europe and Canada, and even there are differences and variations based on factors other than geography. In more recent years looking at the Gen Y/Millennial generation and those younger, there are many more similarities around the world since communication is instantaneous so we have access to the same news at about the same time and are influenced by the information on the Internet. But this converging applies mostly to the educated top of the social pyramid.

Here are some notable differences, with thanks to Andreas Fried from Universal Consensus.

• Boomers and the older half of Gen X in China had two very formidable influences: The great Chinese Famine in the early 1960s in which an estimated 36 million people died from starvation; and the Chinese Cultural Revolution from 1966-1976 in which China’s education system was brought to a virtual halt.

• The generations before the fall of communism in the former Soviet republics, including Russia had few similar influences to the Western nations. Now the young people are trying to catch up in several ways.

• The Gen Xers in Japan had quite a different experience from their American peers in the years they were entering the workplace. Japan in the late 1980s and early 1990s experienced a “Bubble Generation,” relatively untroubled and free spending.

• As for Gen Y/Millennials, Fried thinks the global convergence of that generation is occurring mostly at a “visible” level, such as with tech usage, popular culture and fashion more than with values and behavior, which I imagine probably are still greatly influenced by parental and religious attitudes and national or ethnic culture

. • Chinese Gen Ys are often referred to as “little emperors” born under the one-child policy of the ruling communist party. They may get a lot of attention, but they may have the huge burden of having to support two parents and four grandparents. Fried says Western Gen Yers are more worried about their own pensions or lack thereof than about their parents’ economic well-being or retirement.

Given world conflicts and the ever-speeding pace of change it will be interesting to see how much convergence or divergence of generations develops. More multi-national, multi-cultural and cross-generational conversation is a clear necessity.

Phyllis Weiss Haserot   www.pdcounsel.com

WISDOM REQUIRES LETTING GO

What do we lose by continually cramming more data into our brains? Most of us are doing that these days, and perhaps Gen Y/Millennials most of all since it is a hallmark of their education.

Let’s look at the contrarian view: How we gain by subtracting.

Matthew E. May, author of “The Law of Subtraction: 6 Simple Rules for Winning in the Age of Excess Everything,” quoted the teaching of 2,500 year old Chinese philosophy Lao Tsu. “To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, subtract things every day. Profit comes from what is there, usefulness from what is not there.”

In support Mays quoted management guru and author Jim Collins: “It is in the discipline to discard what does not fit – to cut out what might have already cost days or even years of effort – that distinguishes the truly exceptional artist and marks the ideal piece of work, be it a symphony, a novel, a painting, a company or, most important of all, a life.”

Mays’ advice as given in the New York Times Preoccupations column (1/20/13) in a nutshell is to:

1. Create a prioritized list of your goals and your projects and tasks.
2. Create a “to do” list referring to the first list and eliminate the bottom 20% of the items entirely – he says forwever.
3. Ask all the stakeholders in your life that matter to you what they would like you to stop doing.

Mays says when you remove the right things in the right way “good things happen.”

To really simplify and achieve this you need the stakeholders’ perspective. It’s best not to rely only on your own assumptions. It’s hard for us to let go of ideas, “bright shiny objects” that distract us ,and no longer useful to us activities and involvements. I confess to being guilty of that hardship.

Does this approach feel like a relief or threat to you?  Please comment and also share your experiences with trying to subtract from your work and life.

Phyllis Weiss Haserot   www.pdcounsel.com

2013 - THE YEAR OF CROSS-GENERATIONAL CONVERSATION

I’m declaring it, and I mean to see it spread as plans for our “big idea” unfold.

Why do we urgently need cross-generational conversation now in the world at work, in these times?  7 reasons.

*  Knowledge transfer is vital. We have more information to capture than ever, so there is more at stake to lose.

*  Businesses need to avoid losing clients and customers of other generations and obtain new ones

*  We need to transform information to knowledge to wisdom. That requires sharing perspectives and mutual mentoring.

*  We are connected to each other facing common problems that we can only solve for the long-term through multigenerational collaboration.

*  Over-emphasis on electronic communication means we are losing the personal touch and the full communication of non-verbal cues.

*  Looming inter-generational wealth transfers are challenged by family member emotional blocks and lack of effective communication

*  Young people are hungry for it. They want to know what older people know. That’s the feedback I get as I talk with and mentor students and young workers in my work.

This year and going forward build awareness and re-think the importance of cross-generational conversation at work.

As Gandhi urged us: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Wishing you all a healthy, joyful, fulfilling and successful new year and fun celebrations!

To learn more and get started, contact me.

Phyllis Weiss Haserot   www.pdcounsel.com pwhaserot@pdcounsel.com

 

CAREER ENTREPRENEURSHIP

 How to make members of each generation see they are owners/masters of their career enterprise is a challenge in many organizations. It’s what I call “career entrepreneurship,” and the need for it won’t disappear with an economic upturn. I wrote about it (recently) from a Baby Boomer perspective for Next Avenue.

You need to start learning to ask yourself some foresighted questions such as:

• What trends are likely to affect my opportunities and roles?
• What will become obsolete and will require me to change?
• What do I need to learn and do to keep increasing my relevance?

Beverly Kaye wrote about that change in perspective and approach in her book “Help Them, Grow or Watch Them Go: Career Conversations Employees Want to Have” (BK Business, 2012). Individuals need to think about role shifts that require mind shifts, and employers need to support this more entrepreneurial thinking as positive for them as well. Some mind shifts include:

• The goal doesn’t have to be the top position. And if you’re at the top, there are future role shifts that can be satisfying and creative.
• There are alternate paths for different people at different times.
• You can choose riskier or safer moves and shift from one to the otherover a career span for what feels right at the time.

In any case, don’t put artificial limits on yourself.

Work has changed. Job discussions and requirements have changed, and training has not kept up. You may have to re-invent yourself – or not. But the concept of what I call career entrepreneurship, taking charge of your own career development, is a winning strategy for anyone determined to succeed.

Phyllis Weiss Haserot   www.pdcounsel.com

GENERATIONAL CONNECTION OBSESSION

Workplace Factoids from Human Resource Executive. According to surveys:

• 30% of people born after 1980 say they feel anxious if they can’t check Facebook every few minutes.
• 23%vof recent college grads wouldn’t take job if they weren’t allowed to make or receive personal phone calls.
• 46% of 18-24 year olds would rather have access to the Internet than access to their own car.
• The number of hours U.S. college students spending studying declined by 59% from 50 years ago. At the same time, the number of hours students spent working at a job increased by 44%.

INTERVIEW WITH PHYLLIS WEISS HASEROT on COACH WORLD TV

Enjoy and gain some insights on inter-generational challenges, including the need for knowledge transfer and leadership transfer between and across the generations.

Let me know what you think. I welcome comments, questions and all feedback.

Phyllis Weiss Haserot    www.pdcounsel.com 

 

 

 

Coach World TV with Terry Yoffe, Featuring Phyllis Weiss Haserot ... Coach World TV with Terry Yoffe (Phyllis Weiss Haserot - 09/10/12) www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfwYtuF10Zg

 

THE BUSINESS CASE: #GENERATIONAL DIVERSITY No.1

True diversity includes diversity of thought, style background and experience. We cannot have that in today world without age or generational diversity. Most organizations, media and forums only focus on dealing with gender, race/ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation differences, yet true diversity is much more, and generational worldviews influence many of the more traditional aspects of diversity.

Professor Martin Davidson of the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and the school’s Diversity Director said in a talk to Darden alumni that he thinks generational diversity is the aspect of diversity that needs the most focus because of the critical need for knowledge transfer. I would add to the business case that: many institutions fear age discrimination lawsuits; and they need to enhance their ability to attract, retain, communicate with and work with clients and customers of different generations. Let’s be clear – generational diversity and inter-generational relations are a serious and critical business issue and shape our work and personal lives.

 

THEY SAY IT’S ALL IN OUR HEADS: Transitioning Life Stages

For those who think Gen Y/Millennials lack a sense of responsibility, there is validation; for the Gen Yers themselves, there’s an excuse. It’s their brains!

I am fascinated by the brain research on health and human development as well as behavioral economics – all related to what influences us to do what we do. In previous writings, I have mentioned the relatively recently labeled new stage of life, emerging adulthood or enduring adolescence, usually defined as age 18-29 (or even to 34). Brain research now tells us there is scientific evidence that explains some if the hesitation/reluctance to commit and mobility of Gen Yers.

Jeffrey J. Arnett, a professor at Clark University which recently concluded a nationwide poll of over 1,000 young adults, was quoted in the Wall Street Journal (8/21/12): “It should be reassuring for parents to know that it’s very typical in the 20s not to know what you’re going to do.”  The brain is still unfinished in early adulthood. The upside of that is it allows us to adapt to changing environments and learning things like new languages that are more difficult later on. So today’s Gen Yers benefit from things that are cognitively stimulating. This explanation offers both good and bad news to employers.

Dr. Arnett advises parents “It pays to relax and not panic because your 21-year-old, or even your 26-year –old doesn’t know what he or she is going to do. Almost nobody still has that problem at 40 or 50. We all figure it out eventually.”

Do we figure it all out by our 40s and 50s? Is the midlife crisis a myth, not to mention career transitions? A lot of Boomers are determined to keep growing and re-inventing. In this fast changing world, we all need to keep “figuring it out.” And employers and the workplace must be open to change.

 Phyllis Weiss Haserot    www.pdcounsrl.com

THE BABY BOOM GENERATION LEGACY

Bill Keller, now an OpEd columnist for The New York Times, started with his column on the entitlement behavior of Boomers what led to a dialogue of letters over a few weeks span between Keller, Leonard Steinhorn, author of the book “The Greater Generation: In Defense of the Baby Boom Legacy,” and then a slew of letters from readers at the invitation of the Times Opinion section editor.

My letter was not among the handful chosen for publication, and I am sharing it here. I chose not to strongly defend or criticize the Boomer generation but rather to make the point that the generations need dialogue to understand and appreciate each other better rather than whine and point fingers.

Most of Professor Steinhorn’s letter rings true to me. However I disagree about which generation gets tarred with the “entitled” label, which I think should be barred from our vocabulary in this context. In recent years, the GenY/Millennials have been frequently accused of a strong sense of entitlement. When the Gen Xers entered the workforce, they also were labeled with an entitled attitude. Then they became hard workers, like the Boomers did, and foist the entitled epithet on the Gen Ys. And as noted in both Bill Keller’s article and Steinhorn’s letter, the Boomers get it too.  It becomes meaningless, and the stereotypers should be more specific in their criticisms.

The younger generations don’t have the perspective to appreciate the positive changes the Boomers accomplished (laid out in Steinhorn’s letter) and what our society and business world was like before. We have to teach that better so they understand and are aware of what they could stand to lose.

 We need cross-generational conversation in the spirit I have been facilitating through social media (e.g., the Cross-Generational Conversation group on Linkedin) and in-person forums. The talk is notable for its civility and mutual learning and appreciation across the generations. We have more important things to do in our lives and the world than fueling phony wars among the generations.

Phyllis Weiss Haserot

New York, NY   August 15, 2012

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