Leading the Next “Y”
Generation
By
Ruth L. Adams
PACRAO
March 2006
It’s a unique time in history; we have four different generational groups in the
work force all at the same time. It’s never happened before and as you can
imagine, it’s requiring leaders to adjust and adapt.
Overview: Generations at Work
The first three generations have been active in the workplace for about 20 years
now, since Generation X joined us in 1987. The three are:
Traditionalists (born 1900 – 1945) identify with
building a legacy at work and believe that no news is good
news when it comes to their performance. They understand
that “now” (finally) they can build a balance between work
and home and are planning for retirement.
Baby Boomers (born 1946 – 1964) want to build a
stellar career, getting annual feedback with lots of
documentation. They want to balance everyone else, then,
they want to find personal meaning. There are
approximately 76 million in the workforce.
Generation X (born 1965 – 1980) want a portable
career and need feedback, but hesitate to ask for it. They
want balance now, not when they are 65. There are
approximately 46 million in the workforce.
The fourth generation, Gen Y, is the focus of this article and what it will mean to
lead them or be lead by them.
Who is Gen Y?
Not everyone agrees on the dates for Gen Y; most authors
put them in the birth years 1977-1981 to 1997-1999. For my
purposes, I’ve used the largest range, 1977 to 1999. They
are just now entering the workforce; eventually they will
reach 70 million strong, second only to the Baby Boomers.
Here are the highlights:
They have been called “trophy children”, the first children in history
that were planned for and deeply wanted by their parents. This gave rise to
the “helicopter parents” moniker.
They have lived over-programmed lives full of school, sports, extra
curricular activities, church and sometimes a full support team; including
tutors, counselors and medical teams.
They have not rebelled as other children have; the most recent
statistics show drops in freshman year drinking, teenage pregnancy and drug
use compared to past generations.
They multi-task, they are plugged into multimedia and technology
has ALWAYS been part of their world.
Their parents had high expectations of them and they now have
high expectations of themselves.
Gen Y also has more disposable income than any other generation,
giving them affluence much younger.
As a group, they are diverse, the most ethnically diverse group to
enter the workforce; one out of three is a minority or multi-ethnic.
Two major events have affected them; the Columbine Massacre
and 9/11, both in very personal ways.
Gen Y Enters the Workplace
In the last year, there have been many surprising articles as the Gen Y’ers head
to work. Some examples from articles published in 2005 and 2006:
A mother went to work with her son on his first day as an agent working
for the FBI. She insisted on seeing his supervisor to ask him to take care of her
son. The head of the department turned to the supervisor saying “that just cost
him his career here.”
A 22 year old pharmaceutical employee was crushed when he didn’t get
the promotion he expected. The reasons given were he needed to work on his
weaknesses first, and then he would be considered for future opportunities. His
mother called the HR department leaving 17 messages in one day, each with
increasing frustration. She demanded a mediation session with her son, his
boss, HR and herself. She got it.
A 24 year old car salesman didn’t get his yearly bonus because of poor
performance. Both his parents showed up at the company’s regional
headquarters, refusing to leave until they saw the CEO. Security had to escort
them out.
Those horrors sent me to the Internet to gain some understanding about Gen Y
and what I was about to face in my work life. I wanted to know how to handle it if
I didn’t offer an open position to someone’s precious child and wound up with
Mommy in my lobby while I was calling the university’s legal counsel in my office.
Gen Y at Work
I was grateful there was so much information and frankly, much of it eased my
mind. Despite the negative things that have been said about Gen Y during their
school-years, I began to see some amazing positives this group will bring to the
work world. Everything I read, gave me pause. I was captivated by what this
generation will mean for me as a leader and as someone who will likely be lead
by them at some point.
Their approach to work is very different from the other 3
generations, which is undeniable. They want to build parallel careers with
flexibility to balance “the other things” in their lives. In short, they want what
their parents are just now achieving; they just want it at 22. Since I am one
of those VERY LATE Baby Boomers, almost a Gen X, I found it refreshing to
think they have learned from our regrets. I regretted not traveling until my mid
thirties; I regretted not buying a house sooner. They won’t have as many
regrets…
They want feedback; whenever they need it or want it and at the
push of a button. What is wrong with that? I can see the value in knowing
how you are performing and even more, communicating your own goals more
openly to your supervisor.
They are often defined as “nice” but are still a challenge to manage
and lead. Why? They have high expectations of themselves and their
employers. They want to keep learning; being bored is a reason to find a new
job. And they don’t mind leaving a job after less than a year, especially if they
think you aren’t listening to them. Truthfully, wouldn’t I want those
characteristics in my team and my colleagues? It will be a shock to NOT hear
the words, “but we don’t do it that way” ever again! This is an opportunity for
me to be creative in keeping people challenged, finding ways to help them
learn new things and reap those benefits.
They know the best way to do something and they will tell you, or
your boss, or your boss’s boss. Hierarchy doesn’t matter to them because
they want to have relationships with everyone. This is harder to swallow for
me, but frankly, what is wrong with a good idea or any idea for that matter,
getting heard? This is my chance to teach how to approach it, not be
offended when it’s heard by my boss first.
They need to understand the goal and why a policy is in place.
They need to know what the values and vision is for their work. I’ve
experienced this one already, pressing to know why an academic policy is in
place. It’s true; some policies don’t really work anymore. I want to make
processes simpler if it benefits the students and faculty and still maintains
academic integrity.
They want to build relationships, with everyone. I have to
recognize that this isn’t about circumventing me; it’s about their desire to have
multiple relationships that will help them in their work.
They were given lots of opportunities, but weren’t taught proper
social skills and don’t treat older employees as well as they should. I learned
that when they were students and we will continue that education as they
move to workers. It’s actually easier for us in higher education. We’ve
already seen it and know what to expect.
They want to do things their way; so let them create the process.
Truth be told, do I really care how the job gets done, if it gets done without
mistakes and errors? Why would I want to stifle creativity and spend my time
prescribing a plan, when I have capable people to do it?
Applying All This Information
After all my reading and self-analysis, I turned to the 16 people working in Seattle
Pacific University’s Office of Student Academic Services. After all, what is the
point of learning if we don’t apply it? Since we all work in higher education
shouldn’t we feel obligated to use our knowledge?
So, let me share what I have learned about these wonderful 16 people who share
my work day. Most are Gen X and Gen Y. 4 are “pure Y”, 6 are “pure X”, 3 are
right in the middle of X and Y. Two are late in the Baby Boomers era and one is
a Traditionalist.
The Gen Y and Gen XY make up more than ½ the SAS staff. While I have not
experienced any calls from their parents or seen any of them lacking in social
skills, there are other characteristics that I had not recognized as being Gen Y
related.
Initiative-takers: I didn’t realize it may be out of boredom; or out of wanting to
learn something new, but these folks jump to new challenges, even to the point
of asking for them outright. They don’t wait for an opportunity to present itself.
Excellent Communicators: They are quick to loop people in and cover all the
bases. They use multiple approaches, not just email. They use as many options
as they can find. One of them sends weekly updates to his supervisor making
absolutely sure she is aware of his workload, new ideas and the weekly goals he
has set for himself.
Multi-taskers: They seem to like three projects at one time; in fact, if they don’t
have more than one, they ask for more. Even when it gets overwhelming (and
they do tell me when it gets overwhelming because they do communicate), they
don’t want to give something back. They accept help, but they still want to be
part of the project.
Fun in the workplace: This has always been important to me, but this group
takes it to another level. They want our office to be the place everyone wants to
be and they come up with wonderful ways to include others around campus.
Teams: They want to be connected to as many teams as they can; within our
office, around campus, in our profession. The ones that give them the greatest
joy have a clear goal and allow them to actively participate. If that is not in place,
they are happy to let someone else take their spot.
Reflections
In the end, I reflected on the last year and saw how these folks have already
influenced the work of Student Academic Services for the better.
Last Summer, several of these folks came to me with a request for additional
training in how to be an effective team member and how to develop stronger
teamwork in our office. I was a bit surprised; I thought we had that already! As
they talked about what they wanted, it was clear, we should address this. So,
over this year we have set aside a monthly staff meeting to focus on this topic
and discuss the skills in our smaller teams in the office. It was a step I would
never have taken if they hadn’t stepped out and took the initiative to let me know
this was a need.
Last Summer I wanted to create a booklet with all the steps needed to create a
new academic program. It would be given to departments considering a new
major or program, giving them all the steps, forms and administrative processes
they needed to follow. I was surprised when “the booklet” turned out to be a
wonderful website! I would have eventually gone that direction, but this staff
person didn’t see any reason not to go there up front.
They completely remodeled our front office area. For years it was poorly
designed, but the cost of reconfiguring our Herman Miller furniture and cubicle
designs was prohibitive. They saw this as a puzzle to be solved and managed to
take each existing HM piece to rebuild the new space. We only needed to
purchase few additional panels (well under the cost I expected) and got a lobby
that is inviting, comfortable and serves our students much better.
My next step is to look more intentionally at our projects and processes to see
what the Gen Y folks can contribute; actively pursuing their input from the start.
They have a great deal of energy and creativity to offer and wouldn’t I want to
capitalize on all that?
References
Armour, Stephanie. (November 6, 2005). Generation Y: They arrived at work
with a new attitude. USA Today.
Gogoi, Pallavi (May 4, 2005). Welcome to the Gen Y Workplace. BusinessWeek,
Online.
Krotz, Joanna L. (2006). Tough Customers: how to reach Gen Y. Microsoft
Lancaster, Lynne C and David Stillman. (2000). When Generations Collide: Tips
for Working with Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y.
Humanresources.com Tips for Working with People at Work
Moses, Barbara. (March 11, 2005). The Challenges of Managing Gen Y. Globe
and Mail.
Sacks, Danielle. (January 2006). Scenes form the Culture Clash. Fast
Company, pg 72.
About the Author: Ruth L. Adams has been University Registrar at Seattle
Pacific University since 1995. Prior to that, she was the Associate Director on
that campus. A PACRAO member since 1992 and on The Writers Team since
2003. For comments or questions, please e-mail radams@spu.edu or call
(206)281-2548.
Staff pictures were taken at our “Celebrate the End of Summer” event at the Family Fun
Center in Renton, Washington. A video clip shows SAS teamwork & support at its best.