Managing Generational Differences, Part 2
In this blog series, I’m discussing how each generation prefers to interact at work, which will help you create a cohesive team. Let’s look at Generation X today. Gen X grew up between the Baby Boomer face-to-face lifestyle and the Generation Y tech lifestyle. They can be perceived as too independent, too self-focused and too […]
Managing Generational Differences, Part 1
It’s easy, when someone from another generation is driving you crazy, to overlook the unique contributions she can make. In the next three blogs, I’m going to spell out how each generation prefers to interact, helping you create a cohesive team. Baby Boomers love face to face interactions. They grew up with large groups everywhere, […]
How to Mentor Each Generation in the Workplace, Part 3
So what can Gen Y teach Boomers and Gen X? Technology! *They* are the digital natives. If you’re Gen X, you’re a digital immigrant. If you’re a Boomer, you’re the parent of the digital immigrant, still living in the old country. Gen Y’s were born with technology; they get it. I’m not talking about asking […]
How to Mentor Each Generation in the Workplace, Part 2
So what can Gen X teach Boomers and Millennials? Gen X often has something that both the Boomers and Gen Y lack: focus. I know, I know. Boomers and Gen Y think they’re focused. But if you look at things unsentimentally (which is what Gen X excels at doing), you’ll see that a Boomer’s idea […]
How to Mentor Each Generation in the Workplace, Part 1
It’s easy, when someone from another generation is driving you crazy, to overlook the unique contributions she can make. In the next 3 blogs, I’m going to spell out how each generation can mentor another generation, helping you create a cohesive team. So how can Boomers mentor Gen X and Millennials? Baby Boomers are extremely […]
How to Delegate so Employees Stay Engaged, Part 3
In my last blog, I talked about Gen X and delegation. Now let’s talk about delegating to Milllennials, otherwise known as Gen Y. One mistake Baby Boomers and Gen X often make when delegating to Gen Y is that they like to delegate *details. *Mary might say “Hey Juan, can you please update this database?”, […]
How to Delegate so Employees Stay Engaged, Part 2
In my last blog, I talked about Boomers and delegation. If Baby Boomers mastered the art of delegation, Gen X perfected it. That’s because Gen X had to be laser focused to navigate their formative years. Between stagflation, high divorce rates, and the humiliation of both the Iran Contra crisis and the Challenger explosion, they […]
How to Delegate so Employees Stay Engaged
It’s easy, when someone from another generation is driving you crazy, to overlook the unique contributions they can make. Yet it’s crucially important to remember that every generation has strengths that can be leveraged for the overall good of the team. What does this mean for you, as a manager, as someone’s direct report, and […]
Responding to Hate with Knowledge
As many of you know, I am a management consultant who specializes in analyzing and explaining generational differences. After The Washington Post published a profile about me on July 9, my work was belittled in various blogs. The Hater claimed I am “spewing a bunch of random, completely useless generalizations.” Gawker declared that I hold […]
What Gen Y Stands For
Due to popular demand, here is another blog by Jon, a Gen Y colleague. I’ll start writing again for the next blog. One of the defining characteristics of Gen Y is our love and need for immediacy. Raised in an on-demand world, we expect to have anything we desire just by googling it. The uncertain […]
