GENERATIONS
“Speaking their Language”
Presentation By:
Gonzalo Huerta
Dean of Instruction for Applied Sciences
Imperial Valley College
March 6, 2009
Mexican
Baby Boomer
Biker
Dean
How is a Generation Defined?
• Each cohort has its own “Generational Personality”
– Shared life experiences of formative years
– Similar attitudes, values, and life approaches
• Similar learning and work styles shaped by
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Headlines of the times
Politics
Economics
People
Places
Conditions
Events
US Generations
(Debates on dates and titles)
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GI Generation………...……..
Greatest Generation….........
Jazz Age……………….........
Silent Generation……….......
Matures (Traditionalists).......
Baby Boomers…….………...
Generation X………………...
Generation Y………………..
Millennials…...………….......
Net Generation……………...
1900-1924
1911-1924
1918-1929
1925-1945
1909-1945
1945-1964
1965-1980
1970-1990
1980-2000
1994-2001
Training Styles
(What they like)
• Baby Boomers
– Variety of formats
– Team building
– Seminars and workshops
• Generation X
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To learn by doing
Opportunity to practice skills
Computer-based learning
Immediate feedback
• Millennials
– Learning anytime and anywhere
– Clear orientation
– Cross-training
Classroom and Workplace
Expectations
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Baby Boomers
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Generation X
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Process-oriented
Personable
Like agreement and harmony
Avoid conflicts
Frank and honest
Evaluate ideas on merit, not on years of experience
Welcome change as opportunity
Like freedom to do it their way
Admire competence, but don’t work well under micromanagers
Prefer to set up their own schedules and work terms
Millennials
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Can be positive and engaging
Technology is a way of life
Embrace new technological ideas and implement them easily
Expect to learn and work in an environment that is fair and where diversity is the norm
Classroom and Work
Environment
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Baby Boomers
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Generation X
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Equal rights, humane, and democratic
Personal growth
Team oriented
Rewards that include money, titles, and recognition
Fast paced environment
Functional with loose boundaries around leadership
Balanced personal-work perspective
Flexible and informal
Millennials
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Collaborative, creative, and positive learning and work culture
Comfortable in a place with more supervision and structure
Like to be rewarded for their achievements
Technology savvy
Prefer frequent feedback
Work Ethics
• Baby Boomers
– “No one wants to pay their dues anymore.”
• Generation X
– “It is just a job.”
• Millennials
– “Let’s get it done here and now.”
Communication
Behaviors and Tips
• Matures (Traditionalists)
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Do not expect them to share their thoughts immediately
Focus on words rather than body language and inferences
Face-to-face or written communication is preferred
Do not waste their time or make them think it is being wasted
• Baby Boomers
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“Show me” generation, so show them
Body language is important when communicating
Answer questions thoroughly and expect to be pressed for details
Present options, and answer why,
Demonstrate flexibility in your thinking
Communication
Behaviors and Tips (continued)
• Generation X
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“Prove it to me” generation, so prove it to them
Use e-mail as the primary communication tool, informal communication style
Talk in short sound bites to keep their attention and answer why
Ask them for their feedback and provide them with regular feedback
Share information with them and keep them in the loop
• Millennials
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Provide positive reinforcement
Use action words and challenge them at every opportunity
They will resent if you talk down to them
Prefer e-mail communication
Provide them with regular feedback
Rule # 6: Do not take yourself too seriously
“Build a Legacy”
Matures’ (Traditionalists’) Career Goals
• Expect to build lifetime career with one employer or in a
single field
• That loyalty and desire to
leave a legacy has guided
career steps for them
• Organizations make mistake when fail to recognize their
personal responsibility toward workplace
“Build a Stellar Career”
Baby Boomers’ Career Goals
• Always want to excel in their careers
and to earn at peak capacity
• Less likely to job-hop, but employers can no longer
assume they’ll wait forever for top positions
• Developing challenging career paths may be best
solution. (Does not mean more work. Think opportunity
or visibility.)
“Build a Portable Career”
Generation X Career Goals
• Feel that their careers need to keep
moving forward or they die
• Have switched from job security to career security
• Want to keep building a repertoire of skills and
experiences that are portable
• Greatest fear is that they might become stagnant
“Build Parallel Careers”
Millennials’ Career Goals
• Being coached by their parents to build extensive
portfolios for college admission
• Understand importance of balancing
hobbies, sports, volunteer activities, and work
• Multi-taskers looking for parallel careers
– Why decide whether to be a waitress, a hostess, or a cashier
when you can be all three?
• Cross-training is a great retention strategy which
reduces expense of turnover
Who Has Better Values?
• No one has better values!
• They only have different values!
Bridging the Gap
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Know who you are talking to
Learn to accept and appreciate another’s perspective
Discuss expectations right away
Inquire about immediate tasks (How does going to A get you to B?)
Look at ways to cut bureaucracy and red tape
Don’t be put off by overt ambition
Keep up with technology
As a Manager…
• Focus on goals
– Because of value-driven differences, workers can easily lose sight of objectives
– Distinguish between lively debate and stalemate
– Help resolve problems without dampening enthusiasm or disparaging opinions
• Make everyone feel included
– Keep an open mind
– Encourage each generation to mentor the other
• Break the bonds of tradition
– Expect resistance when changing the status quo
– Older employees may want to proceed with caution
– Younger ones will want to move ahead without worrying about the risks
As a Manager...
(continued)
• Invest in talent
– Help employees develop skills to succeed within the company and in their careers
– Work toward giving everyone an equal footing
– Subsidize further education that is not job related
• Show employees the future
– Tell them where the organization is going, how they fit in, and how to prepare
– This can help them thru “dark times” or temptations for competitors
• Little changes make a big difference
– Employees of all ages place a high value of balancing their work and personal lives
– Build it and they will come and stay
Nearly all generation-gap experts
agree that dating yourself
in a speaking situation
can be disastrous.
Major Events & Pop Culture
Matures (Traditionalists)
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Born:
Population:
1922 – 1945
44.2 million
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Events:
Pearl Harbor Bombing
WWII
Great Depression
The New Deal
Korean War
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Icons:
Music:
Readers Digest, Blondie, Golden Age of Radio
Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra,
Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, Charlie Parker
Major Events & Pop Culture
Baby Boomers
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Born:
Population:
1946 – 1964
76.8 million
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Events:
John F. Kennedy’s Assassination
Vietnam War
Civil Rights Movement
Women’s Liberation
Moon Landing
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Icons:
Music:
Television, Doonesbury, Peace Symbol, Fallout Shelters, Discos
Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Jimmy Hendrix, the Rolling Stones,
the Beach Boys, the Supremes
Major Events & Pop Culture
Generation X
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Born:
Population:
1965 – 1978
52.4 million
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Events:
John Lennon’s Murder
The Challenger Disaster
Fall of the Berlin Wall
Operation Desert Storm
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Icons:
Music:
Personal Computer, the Simpsons, Music Videos, Tattoos
The Cure, U2, Madonna, Guns N Roses, Metallica,
Nirvana, Green Day, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Major Events & Pop Culture
Millenials
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Born:
Population:
1979 – Present
77.6 million and counting
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Events:
Oklahoma City Bombing
OJ Simpson Trial
Columbine School Shootings
Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal
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Icons:
Music:
Internet, PlayStation, Beanie Babies, Body Piercing
‘NSync, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna,
Beyoncé, 50 Cent, The Strokes, The Killers
Questions