Generation X: In the Leader's Seat

A lovely rant from a fellow Gen Xer, or should I say "PC Generation" point of view about generations written by Jay Harvis from HRCleanup.

Jay found an interesting article from a blog on Boston.com written by Joshua Glenn titled"The Original Generation X"

I love how Joshua mentions movies that helped shape me into the woman I am today! "The Breakfast Club," "St. Elmo's Fire," "Pretty in Pink," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," All classics in my world. I quote these movies to often to count!

http://hrcleanup.typepad.com/hrcleanup/2008/01/generation-x-in.html?cid=97431696#comments

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Generations Data- Now what do we do with it?

This past year I have been engaged in developing my own understanding of generational interactions. It is my job to understand the needs of each candidate and be able to relate to them what my company has to offer. My recent study into generations is really to understand why and how to connect all groups by understanding then utilizing each others strengths, needs and wants in the workplace.

The environmental, sociological and cultural data collected affecting each group is interesting, often accurate and sometimes useful. Use it as a tool, but only as a tool, when you are using several other sources of strategy for building a competitive workforce.

Labeling can be dangerous so look at each of your team members or candidates as individuals not by the characteristics of an entire generation’s label. Utilize each member’s talents, passions and strengths for balance collectively. Generational data is useful because it can help each generation relate to the next by understanding the specific needs.

Be a leader and take time to listen what is important to people as individuals, develop them and then see what happens.

Companies that have developed over the past 10 years such as Google.com are often founded by Generation Xer’s that “get it” They have a diverse workforce of Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation Xers and Millennials. These company’s founders have learned to embrace our wonderfully diverse workforce. Many long standing large organizations are now developing “strategic HR plans” because the Baby Boomers leading them just came to terms with the fact they are falling behind with the needs of many of the Gen Xer’s and almost all of there employees under the age of 25. I know that sounds as a criticism but look at it as “whew” hopefully they figured it out before it is too late.

Millennials are not just your entry level workers that haven’t put in there time yet. Ever heard of Facebook, the founder is in his early 20’s and is worth close to 1 BILLION DOLLARS.

Once again, stop trying to figure out how to manage people by there generation. Give people the tools they need to be successful and embrace everyone’s individual strengths and use their power for good.

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Gen X; Bridging the Gap

Being part of Generation X, I often feel like a bridge between two different dimensions. (Boomers & Millennials.) Gen Xer’s possess traits of both Baby Boomers and Gen Y.

We are a small group sandwiched between two huge and socially impactful groups. We are often the Baby Boomers kids and we are in many cases the parents of Gen Y. We are in our late 20’s to early 40’s and make up about 30% of the workforce. Being a bridge between these two groups is greatly beneficial to me as a recruiter because I relate comfortably with both the Boomer and the Millennial candidates. I can also connect the two groups as well.

I have become a “go to” person for instructions to find things on the internet, attach documents to email and reading things with small printing often for Boomers professionally and personally.

Boomers have a comfort level to ask me internet related questions without feeling out of touch. Asking “What is an avatar?” is not a silly question. It is valid to me but probably not to a millennial. To them it is obvious because I believe they were born with one assigned to them. Gen Y’s look at me as old enough to have a clue but more for validation or praise but definitely not about the technology.

Gen Y’ers (AKA Millennials) live in the 2.0 world. They don’t know life without cel phone, personal computers, the internet and information at your fingertips for all.

Baby Boomers have computer and do use them effectively but can live without them because they had a life before them.

Boomers can type well because they were required to take classes in high school to learn. Gen Y can type, but with whatever method they choose and holy cow can they text! Boomers can text but many are like my mom, taking 30 minutes to write “Thanks.” (10 minutes to find her glasses, 10 minutes to figure out how to get to the messaging feature on her phone and 10 more to actually type the response.) I have watched her do this process and although she is proud of her accomplishment, it is exhausting to watch. It is just as tiring as watching a Gen Yer maintain 5 different text conversations while eating lunch, browsing MySpace and driving their environmentally friendly car. I can text but prefer email or phone because I want the details. (Gen X trait)

As I stated in my previous post, Gen X are the next leaders of the free world. From this post I realize that we have also become the bridge in the generation gap. I guess from my clearly biased, amusing and condescending accurate view, Gen X, holds it altogether.

Ever heard of Generation X?

If you don’t know a great deal about Generation X it is because you are part of the other three, much larger generations that share the work force today.

I am not a fan of labels. To me they often have the look and the feel of a cattle brand because they tend to be on you no matter who you are and where you go. They can be dangerously bias. With that understood, I will now contradict myself by acknowledging and addressing that I am part of a Generation X and this is my clearly biased, amusing and condescending accurate slant:

*Below are a few key facts pertaining to the generations for the sake of the article

Traditionalist.....................................Born from 1922-1945
Baby Boomers....................................Born from 1946-1964
Generation X......................................Born from 1965-1980
Millennials.........................................Born from 1981-2000

Traditionalist about 76 million
Boomers are at about 80 million
Generation X equals to about 46 million
Millennial are at about 76 million

Over the past few years, a popular subject has surfaced “Generations” or more specifically, The effect on the workforce by the retiring Baby Boomers (Suit-wearers who are freaking out that they are discussing retirement) and the Millennial that have now entered the workforce wearing IPODS and flip-flops.

Only a small fraction of these discussions relate to Gen X. We are only mentioned in passing. For years we were too small to bother speaking about at length and it often feels like we are only mentioned to be polite. Often, if we are referred to at all it is indirectly with statements like, “Baby Boomers are nearing retirement, the US is bracing for a major shortage of skilled leadership” and “With the pending retirement of baby boomers, employers are facing a lack of talent.”

Being part of this group myself, statements like these bother me. Normally I make jokes to the fact that we are rarely addressed as a group. No one even bothered to give us a cool name! (Apparently being sarcastic is Gen X trait so it is not my fault I am like this.)

I have found myself downright annoyed when I listen to discussions about the generations. I understand we are a small group but HELL-O, we are your next C-E-O!

I started writing this commentary about 2 month ago and never finished. A few weeks ago I went to an event that had several different speakers all chat about “Generations in the Workplace”. This prompted me to revisit this unpublished rant. The information was not bad, but it was redundant. Did I mention that the majority of the speakers were baby boomers? Redundant because I really didn’t need one more baby boomer stressing out because they have no idea how to relate to millennials. (Sorry, I am hard to impress, Gen X trait)

One amazing thing did happen at this event. They did speak about Gen X. They didn’t just skip over us.

I think the boomers just realized that they spent years thinking of us as “the kids,” and they would work forever and many still feel that way. All of a sudden the millennial moved in and the boomers realized that Gen X will be the next leaders of the free world and they better be nice to us.

* Disclaimer: The dates and data I collected for this article seem to vary from source to source but it gives you the general idea of numbers and time frames. I have collected my data from several reliable sources and I am comfortable the numbers are fairly accurate but don’t hold me too them!