Talent: Does Generational Difference Really Matter?

Humans are fascinating creatures.

We call for unity, oneness, and world peace.

But what we really love is the "discovery" of perceived gaps in our expressed ideal. That allows us to highlight what's wrong and then, our differences, followed by a pronouncement that if "you" would just understand "me" or "them," we wouldn't have the huge problem that we now have.

This is what "reality" TV is all about.

As a public service before getting to the unifying heart of today's tome, please repeat the following out loud in order to cleanse your soul and start the week off in a more sanctified state:

"I don't really care all that much that you understand me. I just want to get what I want, when I want it, the way that I want it."

Doesn't that feel better? Confession is good for the soul.

And evidence is good for the mind.

A number of firms specialize in educating corporations about the uniqueness of the four generations now in the workplace. This is intellectually interesting and especially helpful to managers who may not be tuned in to some of the nuances of interpersonal life.

There are some obvious differences across age groups. The question is:

Do they make a difference?

Generations Not At War

Dr. Jennifer Deal at the Center for Creative Leadership surveyed 3,400 workers, looking for their interests, wishes, and values. Respondents skewed a bit more heavily toward the Boomer/Gen X era, with fewer participants from the Traditional/Silent generation of pre-1945 and the later Gen X period.

Here is a list of Dr. Deal's 10 Suggestions for Working Across Generations that I think will be helpful to managers and entrepreneurs everywhere.You can get her book with its related research here.

From CCL's Newsletter:

"You can work with — or manage — people from all generations effectively without selling your soul on eBay or pulling your hair out on a daily basis," says CCL's Jennifer Deal. Look past the stereotypes and learn these ten truths about generational conflicts at work, gleaned from a seven-year CCL study.

1. All generations have similar values. Many people talk about enormous differences in values between older and younger people as if these differences were an established fact. The most striking result from CCL's research is how similar the generations are in their values priorities. Family is the value chosen most frequently by people of all generations. Other values named to the top ten by all generations included integrity, achievement, love, competence, happiness, self respect, wisdom, balance and responsibility. So why do people at work think the values of different generations are so different? Because even though the values are the same, the behaviors that go along with those values may be very different.

2. Everyone wants respect. We often hear that younger people are disrespectful of older employees and people in authority. We also hear complaints that older people show no respect for younger talent and ideas. The reality is that everyone wants respect - they just don't define it the same way. Older people primarily talked about respect in terms of "give my opinions the weight I believe they deserve" and "do what I tell you to do." Younger respondents characterized respect more as "listen to me" and "pay attention to what I have to say."

3. Trust matters. The different generations have similar levels of trust in their organization and in upper management - they don't trust them much. People of all generations and at all levels trust the people they work with directly (bosses, peers and direct reports) more than they trust their organizations. And people trust their organization more than they trust upper management.

4. People want leaders who are credible and trustworthy. What do different generations expect from their leaders? It turns out that age does not appear to matter much. People of all generations want their leaders to be credible, to be trusted, to listen well, to be farsighted and to be encouraging.

5. Organizational politics is a problem — no matter how old or young you are. Everyone who isn't winning at the political game dislikes it. People from all generations are concerned about the effects of organizational politics on their careers, on being recognized for the work they are doing and for getting access to the resources they need to do their job. Even if they don't like it, employees know that political skills are a critical component in being able to move up and be effective at higher levels of management.

6. No one really likes change. The stereotype is that older people dislike anything about their workplace being changed and that younger people love change. These assumptions are not true. In general, people from all generations are uncomfortable with change. Only 12 people in the study said they actually liked change! Resistance to change has nothing to do with age; it is all about how much one has to gain or lose with the change.

7. Loyalty depends on the context, not on the generation. It's often said that young people are no longer loyal to their organizations in the way that young people were in the past. Our research shows that younger generations are not more likely to job-hop than older generations were at the same age. In addition, people of all generations don't necessarily think that being loyal in the old sense is good for their careers. The perception that older people are more loyal is, in fact, associated with context, not age. For example, people who are closer to retirement are more likely to want to stay with the same organization for the rest of their working life, and people higher in an organization work more hours than do people lower in the organization.

8. It's as easy to retain a young person as it is to retain an older one — if you do the right things. Just about everyone feels overworked and underpaid. People of all generations have the same ideas about what their organization can do to retain them. They want:

   • Opportunities to advance within their organization.
   • Learning and development.
   • Respect and recognition.
   • Better quality of life.
   • Better compensation.

9. Everyone wants to learn — more than just about anything else. Learning and development were among the issues brought up the most frequently by people of all generations. Everyone wants to learn — people of all generations want to make sure they have the training necessary to do their current job well. They are also interested in what they need to be learning to get to the next level in their organization. Five developmental areas have made it onto every generation's list: leadership, skills training in their field of expertise, problem solving and decision making, team building and communication skills.

10. Almost everyone wants a coach. We've heard that younger people are constantly asking for feedback and can't get enough of it. We've also heard that older people don't want any feedback at all. According to our research, everyone wants to know how he or she is doing and wants to learn how to do better. Feedback can come in many forms, and people of all generations would love to receive it from a coach.

Note: You are right...there are a few distinctions among generations that were discovered as well and that can make a difference. I hope you'll join me tomorrow for a look at those.

Comments

[Wally Bock]

The question of change seems to have been with us as long as there have been humans, but I don't think resistance to change is primarily an age issue. It's more a control issue. People find change exciting if they have a say in what's happening. People find change uncomfortable if it's done to them.

[peter vajda]

Thanks for this Steve. In my experience, when one's underlying operating and relationship behavior mantra is (consciously or subconsciously), "Why can't you be more like me and if you'r not you're either "bad" and/or "wrong." well, conflict ensues in some way, shape or form.

Today's hot conflict issue in the workplace is "generations." So, books, papers, "technologies" and templates to deal with the "generational issue" abound. Useful....but the conflict goes much deeper than age...it's about "know thyself" and really, really consciously understand why "thy self tends to refuse to be open, or see and hear with a beginner's mind, or refuses to take in others' perspectives, etc." largely out of fear. Explore the fear, going through it, not around it, and often the "generational thing" begins to dissipate. Tap dance around the fear, the elephant in the room, and it's another book, technology, treatise...as you say, an intellectual approach,to a deeper more profound and eventually insightful socio-emotional psychological issue.

[Jo]

Have a listen to Clay Shirky on "I am looking for my mouse". Links on my blog.

[Steve Roesler]

Will have a go at it, Jo.

[Steve Roesler]

Wally,

For sure; that's a conversation we've had on both of our sites in the past.

"Not comfortable with change" seems to be one of the stereotypical 'conventional wisdom' attributes that every generation applies to previous ones.

[Steve Roesler]

Hello, Peter,

When you offered up "see and hear with a beginner's mind, or (refuses to )take in others' perspectives, etc.", it struck me that this is what such issues are always about. So we:

a. Hold on to ignorance as a defense against what we fear (intentional ignorance: some defense, eh?)

b. Intellectualize to the point of establishing differences that will appear to create an unresolvable gap

c. Do the necessary work.

As they say, "The choice is yours."

[peter vajda]

Hi, Steve,

You say in your comment: "When you offered up "see and hear with a beginner's mind, or (refuses to )take in others' perspectives, etc.", it struck me that this is what such issues are always about. So we: a. Hold on to ignorance as a defense against what we fear (intentional ignorance: some defense, eh?)

Yes, and I would also refer to is as "learned ignorance." We create so many of our stories about life in childhood and bring them to adulthood...stories that sabotage us while keeping us feeling "safe"...that they are really blind spots for many. Learned ignorance (and helplessness).

Having been "indoctrinated" by so many beliefs, assumptions, preconceptions, and values that we have taken on as "ours", (as many have never taken the time to ask themselves, "Whose values are my values, anyhow?"), it's very hard to let go...so we (struggle to) make our stories work for us never having really explord their truth, or explore whether our stories really, really serve us.

Many live their lives wrapped in the mantra, "I'd rather be right than happy." So, they get caught in stories, here, about generations. Ys are...Boomers are... (or aren't).

"When all you have is a story about (fill in the blank re: a generation), then you live life looking for ways to make your story true."

If you believe all Xers are (fill in the blank), then even though you come across many Xers who are not (blank), you'll ignore those, deny those, withdraw from those...and continually look for the one Xer that supports your story....so you can be "right" and continue to feel emotionally and psychologically safe and thus hold on to your story which you have learned to do, and will continue to do until you take the time to consciously explore your story. Our stories in some way provide us with our identity. If I change or edit my story, who will I be? Scary.

Most never choose to explore their stories, their blind spots, their values....and as you say, life is choices. We live or die (often a very slow death...like the frog in very slow boiling water) by our choices. Live and learn, or live and die (inside), I suppose.

[Steve Roesler]

Peter,

This dynamic has always fascinated me while conducting certain workshops.

Often, when we are looking at data that can be used to help one grow personally, participants want to look at the data of others to explain why "they" should change (in order to conform to how "I" see things).

It's not easy being green. . .