Work for Change

Obama Brings Generation Jones to the White House

Scott Mills, Ph.D.

    Everyone is pretty clear that Barack Obama has ushered in a new era for our country.  Not only is he the first African American president of the U.S., he is also the first President to come from Generation Jones.  Maybe you hadn't heard of Gen Jones, although the recent election coverage used it quite often as a filler, but it makes a pretty big difference in what we might see from him as a leader.

    Gen Jones was born between 1954 and 65.  Obama, born in 1961, is clearly a member of this cohort.  This group doesn't look much like their Boomer and Gen X neighbors but have rarely been discussed as having a separate identity.  Jonathan Pontell, the California based sociologist, first coined this term in 2001.  He writes of Generation Jones. 

"They were given huge expectations in the Sixties, their formative years, but came of age in the unrequited reality of the Seventies. Their attitudes are different, their experience is different, yet just because they were born when the birth rate was high they have been lumped in with the boomers for all their lives. They are a lost generation."

   Perhaps the first yuppies, the Jones have a very different way of viewing the world.  They were a little too late for the great expectations, we can change the world, attitude of the Boomers.  And a little too early for the crushing sense of being completely powerless in a world gone mad that Xers inherited.   So they are the roll of your sleeves folks who have been described as "practical idealists."  This ethic has already confused some people who are watching Obama and wondering why he is picking certain people in his cabinet.  We can look forward to lots of other choices that might have us scratching our heads until he explains his reasoning.  

    As Obama leads our nation, we will also see an expanding conversation of the role of Gen Jones.  They are only now coming into positions of leadership that the Boomers are vacating.  If we are lucky they will maintain all of the hopefulness of the Boomers combined with the pragmatism of the Xers.   What do you think are the characteristics of Jones leadership?  We would love to hear your thoughts!

Scott Mills, Ph.D. is an expert in generational diversity and organizational development.  He offers workshops, presentations, consulting and coaching to nonprofit organizations and businesses.  To find out more or read more articles check out www.workforchange.net.

Millennials Rising: Their Political Power Brought Obama to the White House

Scott Mills, Ph.D.

While many of us are still wondering what happened in 2004, the election of Barack Obama is not as mysterious.  Chief among the factors that ushered in the Obama Revolution was the power of Millennial voters.  According to the Huffington Post,

• About 1/3 of the Millenials voted.  This is impressive considering a substantial number of them are still not old enough to vote.  The clear implication is that their political clout will only continue to grow.
• This continued a youth voting trend that began with the 1996 election and has steadily climbed.  There is no reason to believe this will reverse any time soon.
• They preferred Barack Obama by a 2:1 ratio.  This is not surprising since he spoke to Millennials using their preferred means and a language that was straight forward and direct.  He also connected to the Millennial theme of hope and optimism.
• Their support of the Democratic party began before Obama's nomination and crossed racial lines.

So what does this mean for companies that are stuck in the middle of economic chaos.  Simply put, Millennials are coming into their own and companies will need to respond if they want to survive.   Not easily snowed by PR campaigns, in fact 61% of them "don't trust companies that brag about the good they do" (according to Yankelvich Moniyer 2008), companies are going to have to shift to more socially and ecologically responsible business practices if they want to gain the trust and business of the Millennials.  What has your company done to respond to changing consumers?  What do you believe the biggest challenge will be?  We would love to hear your feedback.

The Obama Revolution has been blogged!

Scott Mills, Ph.D.

As a potential candidate for president in 2004, Howard Dean turned the Internet upside down.  No longer was it a tool that could be used just to find a recipe or check movie times but it became a tool for organizing with moveon.org.   This website facilitated volunteers from around the country in setting up meetings, connecting with others like themselves and harnessing their energy for change.  While Dean did come away with the nomination, Barack Obama moved his campaign strategies even further into the realm of Gen X and Millenials with tactics clearly designed to meet us where we are.

For the first time in history, the people found out who the Vice Presidential nominee was before the press.   Barack Obama sent it to the millions who had signed up on to be texted and emailed this information.   On November 4th, before he spoke to the nation, he delivered a thank you note to all of those on his email list.

Obama has shown a mastery in the techniques and communication styles that appeal particularly to Gen X and the Millenials.   Obama has met the people where they are with his web presence, his postings on youtube and his use of texting.  To be sure, the grand maven of blogging, Arianna Huffington, is definitely a Boomer.   Her latest book, The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging, tells people to create a community around which your blog friends can form.  This is part of the genius of Obama's campaign.

Millenials and Xers are looking for connection.  We know that the social fabric has been stretched to the limit and we are looking for ways to connect to each other.  For employers, this desire for connection and the use of technology to facilitate it are worth paying attention to.  Why not start a blog for your employees to communicate what's going on in their world, discuss important issues that affect them in your organization or gather their thoughts?  Why not find ways for employees to feel connected beyond the company picnic and use the technology that we use in our everyday lives to do it?  It's just these sort of small acts that promote retention and build relationships across organizations.

Looking into the Boomer Worldview

Cathy A. Rodgers, PhD

In continuing our exploration into how the generations view their world differently, this post will look at the Baby Boomers. In answering the 4 questions posed in Scott’s article on the Gen X worldview, we open up the opportunity to go beyond generational characteristics to those patterns that may be altered through attention to them. So, as a Boomer, here are some of what I find true both from research as well as my experience and those of my friends and colleagues.

 Who am I?

 As the largest cohort ever in the history of America up to the middle of the 20^th century, Baby Boomers see ourselves as THE ONES! We were even declared “Man of the Year” by Time Magazine in 1967. Because there were so many of us, we barely knew anyone who was not a boomer as we grew up—other than our adult relatives, that is. As such, with the exception of those whose civil rights we marched for, we have grown up thinking that everyone is like us with life experiences similar to our own. It is hardly surprising that we are finding it difficult to understand those who have come after us.

We were the first generation in which television told us what we needed to own. In an era of tremendous product innovation and a booming economy, we began to define ourselves at least in part as what we had. Whether that took the form of flowers to put in the barrels of National Guard rifles; guns with which to hunt; sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll or in later years mcmansions and fast cars we, more than any cohort before or since, have defined ourselves by our possessions.

Who do I belong to?

We have never belonged to anyone other than ourselves. We were barely willing to admit that we were our parents’ children, let alone a member of our churches’ congregations. We were so much a part of our generation that we never trusted anyone over 30 and planned to still want to only be with each other “when I’m 64.”

 Even as we experience being the sandwich generation, pressured between our parents who surprisingly need our help and attention and our children who do likewise, we continue to search for ways to connect more fully to ourselves and each other through eastern philosophies and golf communities, among other approaches.

What shall I create?

While it once looked like we were romantics in search of a cause (peace, equality, human rights for all,) when we entered the workforce, we became (much as we would have said it would never happen,) our jobs. We introduced meritocracy with our competitive attempts to differentiate ourselves from the thousands just like us and committed to the success of our organizations. “I am what I do” became our creation.

What does it all mean?

The Baby Boomers have gone through life with the attention of the world on us. We thought life was about making the world a better place but are surprised to find that we are still engaged in questionable wars in a world run by those with questionable ethics. And, perhaps most importantly, we recognize that they are us.

We find ourselves approaching retirement and the end of life without having planned sufficiently for the expanse of time we can now expect to live. Will we live out our time focused on personal pleasure and improving our golf scores or, will we recapture the meaning of our early days and regain our commitment to leaving a legacy, a world better than the one we came in to?

Find about more about Cathy Rodgers or our work at www.workforchange.net

Boomer Generation, ready to retire?

Linda Price, MS

I recently saw a television advertisement for a financial investment company, where a 50 something year old executive man, announces proudly, “I am ready,” suggesting he is financially ready to retire to which his attractive, middle-aged wife responds, “What will you do?” He thinks for a moment and says, “I don’t know, putter around the house?” His wife answers, “I’m not ready.”

I was struck by the fact that over the next 25 years, 77 million Americans will reach retirement age and they might not be “ready,” even if they are financially ready as suggested by this television commercial.

When Boomers plan for retirement, they generally plan financially. Of the 77 million people retiring, most will not fully consider what life will be like when they leave their jobs and how they want to spend their time.

Retirement comes and Boomers tend to fall into two distinct groups. The first group is those who delay retiring, staying on their job because they do not know what they want to do next. For some, dreams were long ago buried and forgotten as they focused on more practical matters. The second group fearlessly leaves their career, declaring “I’m off to play golf”, “Open a Bed & Breakfast” or “travel the world”, only to discover that a single focus approach to retirement is not fulfilling. The question is why are intelligent, successful Boomers not ready? Why, when they talk about retirement and will have the time and resources to create any future they want for themselves, do they think of it as time to “putter around the house?”  In fact, they do want more than “puttering around the house.” The irony is they just have not had time to think about what they want to do.

There are other reasons the Boomer may not be “ready;” they are basing their retirement thinking and plans on an outdated idea of what retirement means.  The Industrial Age model -- where factories needed to replace older workers with younger workers and once retired, you were considered “useless” is no longer relevant. Yet that model is still affecting how we approach our retirement and our planning for it. The word “retirement” itself can conjure up images of withdrawing, being disposed of, losing interest, getting out, preparing for sleep, being put out to pasture, hanging up one’s spurs and being over-the-hill, to name a few.

These images of retirement are based on the past, but these old societal beliefs still hang on in our thinking. The Boomer cohort, a huge demographic, is once again on the vanguard of change, and will reinvent the notion of what it means to retire and create meaningful and fulfilling lives.

What will it take to get the Boomers ready? I believe the most efficient way to get ready is to think about creating post-career goals in a systematic fashion. The Boomer needs to think about and gain answers to four high-powered questions that will guide, clarify and add velocity to the future.

These high-powered questions can be answered independently or a couple can work together to generate their answers. The Boomer can also seek the guidance of an executive coach or career coach for additional direction and support. There is no correct way to do the inquiry. What is important is that the Boomer engages with the questions and gain clarity on life goals and legacy.

Question 1: What thoughts do I have about retirement that are stopping or limiting me?

Question 2: What are my dreams and life purpose?

Question 3: How will I invest my time to create a meaningful and satisfying life?

Question 4: How will I monitor my satisfaction?

These questions are simple, but not easy. The answers to these questions cannot be looked up or Googled. To gain access to the answers and even deepen the inquiry takes time and patience. Sometimes the answers do not come right away. However, the answers will surface.

Such an approach catalyzes and accelerates the transition into a satisfying and productive post-career life and allows the Boomer to launch into a new phase of life “ready” to find and sustain satisfaction for the 20 years ahead.

 

For more information on how to reinvent retirement and launch and sustain an innovative a new life, contact Linda Price at iFuture, 212 874-3645.

Janus at the Doorway: What work skills are important for new hire Millennials?

Michael D. Maginn, EdD

In Roman mythology, Janus was the god of beginnings and endings and, fittingly, he watched over doors and gates. These were the places of transition where a person moved from one state to another, metaphorically leaving the past and moving into the future.

In the summer of 2007, we conducted a Janus-like study of Millennials making the transition from college to the workplace. We asked a group of college graduates who were figuratively walking through the doorway to work what they were discovering about skills they felt were important. At the same time, we asked a group of workplace veterans to identify what they viewed—from their perspective through the door—as skills important for Millennials at work.

In both surveys, we asked participants to rate the importance of a set of skills for a new hire college graduate to be effective in their first six months on the job. Here are the rank order ratings for each group.

                                                                                                               

	Rank Order
Skill	Millennials	Veterans
Having   good interpersonal communications skills	1	3
Taking   personal responsibility	2	4
Appropriately   using technology	3	8
Listening   to feedback	4	1
Being   able to read the office culture	5	7
Being   on a team	6	6
Spending   time wisely	6	9
Handling   change	7	9
Having   an effective daily routine	8	11
Saying   no effectively	9	14
Dealing   with setbacks and disappointments	10	5
Being   effective in team meetings	10	10
Selling   ideas	11	15
Influencing   others and handling conflict	12	12
Customer   focus mindset	13	2
Supervising   other people and tasks	14	16
Finding   a mentor	15	13

Notice there is fairly strong agreement between both groups that interpersonal communication skills, taking responsibility, and listening to feedback are critical to effectiveness. What is interesting about this cluster of top skills is that they reflect the characteristics of high EQ or emotional intelligence.  Said another way, these skills describe important qualities of maturity--the ability to be sensitive to communications, to have a sense of integrity and follow through and an openness to learning.

Many other skills in this inventory are less character-driven and more tactical. For example, reading the office culture, being on a team, and spending time wisely are more learned than innate and important topics for company training programs. Both groups agree these are of middling importance.

There is also some agreement on what skills are least important for new hires. Finding a mentor, influence skills and handling conflict, supervising other people and selling ideas don’t break the top 10. It’s not unusual that both groups find supervising less critical; new hires don’t often do that. It may be that finding a mentor is viewed by both groups as something the new hire doesn’t actually do. Mentors usually pick, or are assigned to, the people they mentor.

What is interesting is that neither group expects new hires to be effective at influence, conflict and selling ideas (another form of influence.) Perhaps they don’t believe new hires are familiar enough with the office network to even have the opportunity to engage in those activities. Another interpretation is that these are fairly sophisticated skills, even for Veterans, and develop, if at all, with experience.

One very interesting result is that Millennials and Veterans differ on how important it is for new hires to deal with set backs and disappointments. It may be that Veterans, who have been through set backs and disappointments, know how critical it is to deal with these potentially emotional episodes. New hires simply haven’t been there yet so it is a lower priority. It will be interesting to see how they react when they start seeing layoffs and reorganizations. The importance rating for how to deal with upsets will then most likely increase.

One clear difference between groups is the view of a customer focus mindset. Millennials don’t even rate this in the top 10, while Veterans view it as the second most important skill, after listening to feedback.

How can this difference be interpreted? For the Veteran group, focusing on the customer is a standard mantra, surviving waves of strategy shifts and leadership changes. Since Tom Peters focused businesses on customers back in the 1980s, everyone has tried to figure out who his or her customer is and how to best serve them. However, new hires don’t seem to see the link between their work and how it impacts the customer. Let’s hope it won’t be long before they recognize how their actions—however slight or transitory—impact the customer’s impression of the entire organization.

What does this all mean?

Surfacing these expectations and questioning them can be a healthy exercise for organizations. Organizations might benefit when Millennials develop influence and conflict management skills and/or selling or even supervising people skills from the outset of their careers. What’s the message that would send about contributing ideas—and positive actions-- to the organization?

What do we gain if a customer focus mindset is key to the onboarding process? Would that provide a context for Millennials to see how they contribute to the Big Picture? And, if so, is that advantageous?

Janus watches over the passerby who moves to a different place—from outside to inside, from inexperienced to experienced, from naive to wise. What is the lesson we can learn from thinking about people on both sides of the door?

Article by Michael D. Maginn, Ed.D. who also writes  the Singularity Managerzine.

Gen X Strategy #1: Seeing What's In Front of Your Face

Scott Mills, Ph.D.

For each generation of employees, Dr. Rodgers and I have identified some key leverage points in efforts to create change and foster innovation in organizations.   These are rooted in the generational worldview or story that I have written about earlier as well as the characteristics that we have seen across the generations.  I chose to start this series by stating what might seem obvious but doesn't quite play out that way.  The most important strategy for enlisting Gen X in change efforts is to recognize their value.

As I noted in an earlier article, Gen X has been largely invisible as a generation even as our societal contributions have continued to grow.   Where would we be without Google and Amazon?  Thank the Xers.  Gen X has grown up in a period where children were largely ignored by American culture.  We came home to empty houses as latch key kids, learned to fend for ourselves and spent "quality time" with our parents.   As a result, one of the most significant elements of our worldview tends to be a sense of being unseen or invisible.  This is especially true for institutions.

This has had direct implications for the business world.   The most obvious example is that almost all business journal articles on the generations are currently focusing on Boomers or Millennials.   While we are small in numbers, we are incredibly innovative.  Our capacity to see outside of the box often leads to creative solutions that would otherwise go unseen.   

However, our basic skepticism of authority figures means that we may not share our ideas unless we are in a place of trust.  Our ideas and innovations have become our capital with which we can move from company to company.   This can lead to a huge loss of knowledge and innovation for companies that are busy paying attention to retiring Boomers and entering Millenials.  You may have noticed that many Xers simply strike out on their own and then hire themselves out to companies that truly value them as consultants.

So the starting point for enrolling Gen X in change management efforts (as well as keeping them on the job) is to actively value the work that we do, speak with integrity making only commitments that you truly can keep and making an effort to see us.  While this may take a bit of effort at first the payoff is increased sharing of high leverage ideas and commitment to organizations that value us.

A Story for Change: Examining Gen X's Worldview

Scott Mills, Ph.D.

After interviewing people from all over North America for years it has become clear that each of the generations have a story of their own. While some researchers have limited their understanding to characteristics of the generations, Dr. Rodgers and I have seen that understanding the worldview or story of a group creates greater capacity for understanding and growth. Out of this comes new opportunities for innovation as well as efficiency.

In order to provide a very brief taste of this story, I have limited this series to four questions. Who am I? Who do I belong to? What shall I create? What does it all mean? Surprising to many, people from different generations have different basic answers to these questions. (Look for our book this spring if you would like a fuller version of this work.) In this article, I am looking specifically at Gen X.

Who am I?

At the root of this question is how we understand ourselves and whether other people see us. In integral psychology one of the basic needs of humans is to be seen for who they are. In the case of Gen X, we have often been invisible to the world at large. We are sandwiched between the larger Boomers and Millenials. This has meant that often our needs and concerns have largely been unnoticed or ignored. With Gen Xers often telling ourselves that those around us, particularly institutions, miss who we are, there is a great opportunity for connecting to Xers simply by making a concerted effort to understand who we are.

Who do I belong to?

Xers grew up in a time where the American family was on a decline. More women had entered the workforce and the latch key kid was born. At the same time, after school programs were cut around the country leaving many children to fend for themselves. As a result, the question of belonging shifted. We often felt missed by our families and communities and created tribes of our own. With the television as our most common babysitter, there are entire inside languages that have been formed from these cultural references. The television program Friends is a perfect example of the way that Gen Xers have formed our own communities.

What shall I create?

This has been a particularly sticky question for Xers. Raised in a time where the world seemed to be going to hell in a handbasket, left with tremendous environmental problems and an economic morass, the world has often seemed overwhelming. Couple this with a healthy skepticism of the institutions that once protected us and you can imagine that Xers are often seeking different answers to this question. And we are seeking different solutions. As Jeff Gordinier has recently pointed out in Gen X Saves the World, Xers have not lived up to their apathetic reputations. Instead, we have quietly but in great numbers worked to create local solutions to problems around the world. This is also reflected in the fact that Xers are not as tied to their workplace as our parents often were.

What does it all mean?

This question has actually driven much of my research. Across the country more and more people are asking this question. The answers that they find are very diverse and particularly for Xers, often very individual. However, this question points to our life purpose at its core. Xers have been pushing the postmodern envelope pointing to the small pleasures, connections with other people and the satisfaction of solving problems both large and small for meaning.

Obviously, this is only a very wide view of Gen X's worldview. The starting point is simply asking the questions. I can guarantee that each individual will have their own particular way of answering these questions but patterns do emerge. If we can begin to understand the importance of these questions in the way that we live our lives and connect to our answer in the workplace, we will create spaces for engaged community to emerge and innovation to flourish.

More Surprises for the New Hire College Graduate

Michael D. Maginn, EdD

In Office Space, the zany comedy about work place culture and rebellion, Peter, the very twenty-something main character asks the next cubicle occupant, Milton, the office nebbish, to turn down his radio. “I was told I could keep it on at a low volume,” stumbles Milton in flat rejection of common courtesy. Peter just rolls his eyes and glances at the clock. It’s only 9:15 am.

 Indeed, to many college graduates, the culture of work is filled with many such unpleasant surprises. Our recent survey of new hire graduates surfaced a number of frequently mentioned revelations.

 For example, former students said they didn’t realize how much attention—and money—was devoted to dressing professionally and “looking good.” The idea of working in a cubicle affected several respondents. “Environmentally disappointing,” was how some in this environmentally-sensitive group described their space. They also reported bosses weren’t as understanding as professors, and co-workers weren’t as friendly as classmates. In fact, one person reported people at his job weren’t eager to help new people out. The need to learn fast and learn a lot was part of the package, and it was expected that they would take the initiative to learn. “There’s no end at work. When you achieve a result, you are given more work. At least in school it ends,” was one comment. Indeed, the engine never stops. No one was providing a lecture for them to capture knowledge; for many, it was a do-it-yourself learning experience. The need to work in teams—effectively communicating with colleagues—required a new set of responses far different from school. Of course, diplomatically listening to and playing office politics and mastering red tape were challenges of their new world.

 Even more disappointing, many respondents said that work was “essentially meaningless,” boring, not challenging and not using any of the knowledge gained through years of study. “Every day is pretty much the same.”

 Finally, new workers found that the amount of income they received for their labor was an unpleasant disappointment. After taxes, retirement plans, dues and health insurance, take home pay was reported as much less than expected. Bills, living expenses and payments on student loans made that amount even smaller. One person put it this way: “I make significantly less than I thought I would with my degree.” With loan payments looming, you can understand how that obligation makes these new workers look at work in a bitter-sweet way. Yes, there is a job that brings in a salary, but they are not making that much when all is said and done, and the background pressure is always there to make sure they don’t lose their paycheck because of student loans.

Of course, new workers also have a sense of freedom from papers, tests, homework and “no more school.” But you wonder what the amplified pressures of working, learning how to survive in a somewhat alien—and sometimes unfulfilling—work culture and living on much less than expected can do to even the most confident new worker.

 It would be useful if someone told them that finding friends at work makes a huge difference in how engaged they feel at work. Or, an avuncular manager might offer advice on finances, giving them some control over money. Unfortunately, that happens only by chance. Why don’t we build it in to our onboarding processes?

 Yes, people adjust over time, but it appears that expectations are frequently adjusted downwards.

 And at what price? Surely, there must be a better way to welcome the new folks aboard.

 
Article by Michael D. Maginn, Ed.D. who also writes  the Singularity Managerzine.

Graduates: Welcome to your new life

At the end of the wonderful French movie, L’Auberge Espanole, a young college graduate is shown showing up for work in a tomb-like, corporate glass and steel office. His new boss awkwardly crushes him with an embrace in his stiff, new suit, the drab office workers enthusiastically describe what the different color folders on his desk mean and then exchange opinions about the best setting for the air conditioner. “Two” seems to be the consensus.

When the workers look up from adjusting the thermostat, the new employee is gone. The next scene shows him frantically running…away.

New college graduates are coming into a world of work that is purposeful, efficient and frequently relentless. It’s surprising that more of them don’t leave after their first morning. The transition to adult employment is abrupt and, for many, a dismal and permanent change to their lives.

 Doesn’t it make sense for employers to look at the impact this transition has on graduates? It would be helpful to know what those “thermostat” moments are, making it easier to soften the landing.

In our study of recent college graduates, we asked these new workers to identify the biggest surprises and disappointments they experienced when they settled into their cubicles. What they said was interesting, if not provocative.
Probably the biggest surprise about going to work was how hard life had suddenly become. To many, just getting a job had been a long and difficult process. Some reported taking work in a field they didn’t want and didn’t plan to stay in “for the rest of my days.”
When graduates did get a job, there was little free time; people reported they were not used to being anywhere for eight hours at a time and actually heads down working for the whole time. One person found it hard to get his mind around the idea that he had to be at work “no matter what.” “Someone was expecting me to be somewhere at a certain time with no flexibility and no rescheduling. That’s different for me,” said a new worker.

 Another said that the magnitude of projects and amount of work that had to be done was something he was “totally unprepared for”. Indeed, life had changed; new workers didn’t have the energy they had at school, they didn’t exercise as much, they came home pretty exhausted. No more naps during the day; no more schmoozing with friends. Work schedules found former night owls needing to get to bed early and forgoing a social life for the sake of getting up with a clear head. Work had taken time away from their lives.

 Of course, instead of being overwhelmed by the change, these new hires can chose a productive response. They can build exercise into their schedules, ask for help or offer their time on an interesting project and figure out how to adapt to the loss of so much free time. Action, although perhaps hard to take on during overwhelm, is hard. At the same time, it is what will make a difference in easing the transition from student to employee.
And, what are we, people who have been in the organization for years doing to recognize the “thermostat” syndrome and help them?

Article by Michael D. Maginn, Ed.D. who also writes  the Singularity Managerzine.