Emerging Leaders: Resolving the Conflict between Generations Deborah Blanks Angela Strelka Dave Celata

Why should we care about intergenerational communication and conflict?

Generations in the Workplace Traditionalists ( ) Baby Boomers ( ) Generation Xers ( ) Millennials ( )

Traditionalist Generation Formative Events: Great Depression, New Deal, WWII Characteristics: Loyal, Trusting, Duty- Conscience Examples: Martin Luther King, Elvis Pressley, Gloria Steinem

Baby Boomer Generation Formative Events: Suburbanization, Cold War, Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam Characteristics: Competitive, Rebellious, “Movers and Shakers” Examples: Bill Gates, Hillary Clinton, Bono

Generation X Formative Events: Reaganomics, Crack Epidemic, The fall of the Berlin Wall, AIDS Characteristics: Skeptical, Independent Examples: Kurt Cobain, Tiger Woods, Biggie Smalls & Tupac Shakur

Millennial Generation Formative Events: Columbine, September 11 th, Hurricane Katrina Characteristics: Optimistic, Global, Team Orientated Examples: Prince William, Michael Phelps, Britney Spears

What prevents the four generations from communicating & working well together?

TABLE 1.1 TOP TEN VALUES, BY GENERATION SilentsEarly BoomersLate BoomersEarly XersLate Xers INTERGRITY 69%INTERGRITY 70%FAMILY 76%FAMILY 78% WISDOM 60%FAMILY 60%INTERGRITY 72%INTERGRITY 60%LOVE 73% SELF-RESPECT 59%WISDOM 57%ACHIEVEMENT 53%HAPPINESS 52%HAPPINESS 59% FAMILY 53%SELF-RESPECT 48%COMPETENCE 50%ACHIEVEMENT 50%SELF-RESPECT 58% COMPETENCE 47%COMPETENCE 48%LOVE 47%LOVE 49%FRIENDSHIP 53% RESPONSIBILITY 41%ACHIEVEMENT 45%WISDOM 45%COMPETENCE 46%HELP OTHERS 46% LOVE 40%LOVE 44%HAPPINESS 45%SELF-RESPECT 43%RESPONSIBILITY 41% JUSTICE 38%HAPPINESS 40%SELF-RESPECT 41%BALANCE 43%LOYALITY 41% ACHIEVEMENT 35%BALANCE 37%BALANCE 41%RESPONSIBILITY 37%INTERGRITY 39% CREATIVITY 34%RESPONSBILITY 36%RESPONSIBILITY 39%WISDOM 36%WISDOM 34% Deal, Jennifer J. Retiring the Generation Gap. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. San Francisco: 2007.

TABLE 4.1 TOP TEN LEADERSHIP ATTRIBUTES, BY GENERATION SilentsEarly BoomersLate BoomersEarly XersLate Xers CREDIBLE 65%CREDIBLE 74%CREDIBLE 75%CREDIBLE 71%LISTENS WELL 68% LISTENS WELL 59%TRUSTED 61%TRUSTED 60%TRUSTED 58%DEPENDABLE 66% TRUSTED 59%FARSIGHTED 57%FARSIGHTED 59%FARSIGHTED 54%DEDICATED 63% FARSIGHTED 53%LISTENS WELL 55%LISTENS WELL 53%LISTENS WELL 51%FOCUSED 59% DELEGATING 50%ENCOURAGING 50%ENCOURAGING 53%ENCOURAGING 46%TRUSTED 56% ENCOURAGING 44%FOCUSED 39%DEPENDABLE 49%DEPENDABLE 46%ENCOURAGING 54% DEPENDABLE 41%DEPENDABLE 38%A GOOD COACH 46%FOCUSED 43%CREDIBLE 48% DEDICATED 38%PERSUASIVE 34%FOCUSED 44%A GOOD COACH 40%OPTIMISTIC 45% EXPERIENCED 38%A GOOD COACH 33%EXPERIENCED 41%EXPERIENCED 36%EXPERIENCED 43% A GOOD COACH 38%CREATIVE 33%PERSUASIVE 37%PERCEPTIVE 35%TRUSTING 40% Deal, Jennifer J. Retiring the Generation Gap. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. San Francisco: 2007.

Key Lessons Employees from different generations have different characteristics, work styles, and personalities Despite the most obvious differences, there are some fundamental values that transcend the generations Consciously addressing generation gaps is necessary for organizational efficiency and long term sustainability