Why Can't We All Just Get Along? Four Generations Working Side by Side in Harmony

Why Can't We All Just Get Along?

Four Generations Working Side by Side

(In Harmony!)Andrew KrzmarzickThe Graduate Schoolhttp://www.graduateschool.edu (202) 821-6288Andrew_Krzmarzick@grad.usda.govhttp://generationshift.blogspot.comTwitter: @krazykrizLinkedin.com/in/andrewkrzmarzick

Jean C. PalmerTraining for Success & Excellence

http://jeanpalmer.com (703) 768-4859

Jean@JeanPalmer.com

Have you heard the news?

• Imagine…

• Our mission today:

Intergenerational harmony

ObjectivesObjectives

Understand and better navigate the intergenerational differences in your office

Participate in several training modalities that reach a multi-generational audience

Experience a truly blended approach to training that addresses the learning preferences of all four generations

AgendaAgenda

Introductions/Expectations

Four Generations

Activity: Generation Appreciation

Four Common Conflictso Finding Information (Role Play by Andy and Jean)o Getting Together (Role Play by You!)o Communication (Video-Based Scenario)o Choosing Where and When to Work (Web-Based Scenario w/Special Guest)

Open Discussion/Closing Thoughts

Baby Boomers(1946-1964)

Generation Y(1979-2000)

Generation X(1965-1978)

Traditionalists(pre-1946)

Four Generations in Today’s Four Generations in Today’s WorkplaceWorkplace

IntroductionsIntroductions

Share with 2-3 people around you:

Your Name Organization Your Generation

• Be careful about comparisons

• Traditionals and Boomers aren’t done yet and still have much to contribute

• Gen X/Y: “Labels are unfair” and potentially discriminatory

• Measure individual merit

“Don't fall prey to stereotypes…It's all about going out and

finding people who are a good job fit, a cultural fit and a lifestyle fit.”

- Ed Powell Director of Business Development,

Monster Government Solutions

Generational DifferencesGenerational Differences

Each individual has a perspective – a set of filters – through which they see the world

Shapes the way they think things should be

What’s right and wrong

What’s good and bad

What’s fair and unfair

Formed during first 10, 15, 20 years of life

Most impressionable

Personality most open to influence

External: personal and social

Personal: family, teachers, uniqueness

Social: things around us - fads, news, economy, political climate, music, trends

Generational DifferencesGenerational Differences

Traditionals/Matures Baby Boomers Generation XGen Y/

Millennials

1900-1909 1910-1919 1920-1929 1930-1939 1940-1949 1950-1959 1960-1969 1970-1979 1980-1989 1990-1999

Model-T, First Flight, San Francisco Earthquake, Einstein's Theory of Relativity, Boxer Rebellion, First Silent Movie

World War I, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, the Titanic, Russian Revolution, Mata Hari, Prohibiton

Women's Suffrage, King Tut's Tomb, Mussolini, J. Edgar Hoover, Mein Kampf, Monkey Trial, Charles Lindbergh

Great Depression, Mohandas Gandhi, Empire State Building, Amelia Earhart, Nazis, "Monopoly," the Hindenburg

World War II, Adolf Hitler, Pearl Harbor, Manhattan Project, Chuck Yeager, Berlin Airlift, Apartheid, Communist China

Hydrogen Bomb, McCarthyism, Korean War, Color TV, Polio Vaccine, Mt. Everest, Disneyland, Rosa Parks, Sputnik

JFK, Martin Luther King Jr., Eichmann Trial, Berlin Wall, Cuban Missile Crisis, Draft Protests, Charles Manson

Vietnam War, Munich Olympic Games, Watergate, Abortion, Patty Hearst, Pol Pot, Star Wars, Disco, Margaret Thatcher

Mikhail Gorbachev, Mount St. Helens, AIDS, Pac-Man, Personal Computers, Ethiopian Famine, Exxon Valdez

Internet, Nelson Mandela, Operation Desert Storm, Waco, O.J. Simpson, Oklahoma City Bombing, Princess Diana, Y2K

Generational TimelineGenerational Timeline

Generational OverviewGenerational Overview

Adapted from Cam Marston at http://www.generationalinsights.com

Generational DifferencesGenerational Differences

Adapted from © VisionPoint Products, Inc.

Generational DifferencesGenerational Differences

Adapted from © VisionPoint Products, Inc.

TraditionalsFormal/conservative

Value to team vs. self

Straightforward

Learn privately

Big picture, then detail

Respect for experience

Clear and logical facts

BoomersLifelong learners

Well educated

Interactive/participatory

Non-authoritarian

Networking, teamwork

Make ’em feel important

Be democratic

Gen XEdutainment

Clear expectations

Be efficient

Use visual aids

Up-to-date technology

Break frequently

Role plays are good

MillennialsTeamwork

Technology

Experiential

Learning communities

Clear structure

Fun and games

Short attention span

* Source: Coates, J. Generational Learning Styles. LERN Books. River Falls, WI

Learning PreferencesLearning Preferences

Learning PreferencesLearning Preferences

Activity (please break into groups of 3-4):

“One Thing I Appreciate

About Each Generation is…”

Learning PreferencesLearning Preferences

Four Common Conflicts Finding Information (Role Play: Andy & Jean)

Getting Together (Role Play by You!)

Communication (Video-Based Scenario)

Where/When to Work (Web-Based Scenario)

Conflict 1: Finding Information

(Role Play by Andy and Jean)

Four Common ConflictsFour Common Conflicts

1. What generational characteristics did you see?

2. Do you see this scenario in your workplace?

3. How do you best handle it?

Four Common ConflictsFour Common Conflicts

Conflict 2: Getting Together

(Role Play by You!)

Four Common ConflictsFour Common Conflicts

1. What generational characteristics did you see?

2. Do you see this scenario in your workplace?

3. How do you best handle it?

Four Common ConflictsFour Common Conflicts

Conflict 3: Communication

(Video-Based Scenario)

Four Common ConflictsFour Common Conflicts

1. What generational characteristics did you see?

2. Do you see this scenario in your workplace?

3. How do you best handle it?

Four Common ConflictsFour Common Conflicts

Conflict 4: Choosing Where and When to Work

(Web-Based Scenario w/Special Guest)

Four Common ConflictsFour Common Conflicts

1. What generational characteristics did you see?

2. Do you see this scenario in your workplace?

3. How do you best handle it?

Four Common ConflictsFour Common Conflicts

DON’T Stereotype (e.g., judging your colleagues’ capabilities by what

they wear and what their work hours seem to be).

Ridicule or make derogatory remarks like “dinosaur,” “bureaucrat,” “slacker,” or “kid.”

Miss opportunities to improve communications and strengthen relationships.

Make assumptions that every member of any given generation thinks or behaves exactly alike.

Tips for Working Across GenerationsTips for Working Across Generations

DO Recognize that generational differences influence our ideas,

expectations, values, and behaviors at work.

Acknowledge that everyone wants to be treated with respect –it might look and feel different, based on differing experiences and perspectives.

Know that you have different life experiences and can learn from others’ experiences and perspectives.

Find ways to create shared values and common ground.

Tips for Working Across GenerationsTips for Working Across Generations

DO Be willing to flex your natural style and preferences in order to

work effectively with all your colleagues. Be open and honest about your “hot buttons” (i.e., recurring

sources of tension or conflict). Give your colleagues specific suggestions on what they can do

to help you perform at your best. Focus on what really matters- productivity, teamwork, and

customer relationships. Challenge assumptions and raise awareness regarding the

multigenerational workplace.

Tips for Working Across GenerationsTips for Working Across Generations

Take-AwaysTake-Aways

Regroup with the same 2-3 people from the beginning:

Take aways? Ah-ha moments? Surprises? Lingering questions/concerns?

Andrew KrzmarzickThe Graduate Schoolhttp://www.graduateschool.edu (202) 821-6288Andrew_Krzmarzick@grad.usda.govhttp://generationshift.blogspot.comTwitter: @krazykrizLinkedin.com/in/andrewkrzmarzick

Jean C. PalmerTraining for Success & Excellence

http://jeanpalmer.com (703) 768-4859

Jean@JeanPalmer.com

Thank you!