Emerging Leaders: Resolving the Conflict between Generations

Deborah Blanks

Angela Strelka

Dave Celata

Why should we care about intergenerational communication

and conflict?

Generations in the Workplace

• Traditionalists (1925-1945)

• Baby Boomers (1946-1963)

• Generation Xers (1964-1980)

• Millennials (1981-2000)

Traditionalist Generation

• Formative Events: Great Depression, New Deal, WWII

• Characteristics: Loyal, Trusting, Duty-Conscience

• Examples: Martin Luther King, Elvis Pressley, Gloria Steinem

Baby Boomer Generation

• Formative Events: Suburbanization, Cold War, Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam

• Characteristics: Competitive, Rebellious, “Movers and Shakers”

• Examples: Bill Gates, Hillary Clinton, Bono

Generation X

• Formative Events: Reaganomics, Crack Epidemic, The fall of the Berlin Wall, AIDS

• Characteristics: Skeptical, Independent

• Examples: Kurt Cobain, Tiger Woods, Biggie Smalls & Tupac Shakur

Millennial Generation• Formative Events: Columbine,

September 11th, Hurricane Katrina

• Characteristics: Optimistic, Global, Team Orientated

• Examples: Prince William, Michael Phelps, Britney Spears

What prevents the four generations from communicating & working well

together?

  TABLE 1.1 TOP TEN VALUES, BY GENERATION         

Silents Early Boomers Late Boomers Early Xers Late Xers

         

INTERGRITY 69% INTERGRITY 70% FAMILY 76% FAMILY 78% FAMILY 78%

         

WISDOM 60% FAMILY 60% INTERGRITY 72% INTERGRITY 60% LOVE 73%

         

SELF-RESPECT 59% WISDOM 57% ACHIEVEMENT 53% HAPPINESS 52% HAPPINESS 59%

         

FAMILY 53% SELF-RESPECT 48% COMPETENCE 50% ACHIEVEMENT 50% SELF-RESPECT 58%

         

COMPETENCE 47% COMPETENCE 48% LOVE 47% LOVE 49% FRIENDSHIP 53%

         

RESPONSIBILITY 41% ACHIEVEMENT 45% WISDOM 45% COMPETENCE 46% HELP OTHERS 46%

         

LOVE 40% LOVE 44% HAPPINESS 45% SELF-RESPECT 43% RESPONSIBILITY 41%

         

JUSTICE 38% HAPPINESS 40% SELF-RESPECT 41% BALANCE 43% LOYALITY 41%

         

ACHIEVEMENT 35% BALANCE 37% BALANCE 41% RESPONSIBILITY 37% INTERGRITY 39%

         

CREATIVITY 34% RESPONSBILITY 36% RESPONSIBILITY 39% WISDOM 36% WISDOM 34%

         

         

Deal, Jennifer J. Retiring the Generation Gap. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. San Francisco: 2007.      

TABLE 4.1 TOP TEN LEADERSHIP ATTRIBUTES, BY GENERATION         

Silents Early Boomers Late Boomers Early Xers Late Xers

         

CREDIBLE 65% CREDIBLE 74% CREDIBLE 75% CREDIBLE 71% LISTENS WELL 68%

         

LISTENS WELL 59% TRUSTED 61% TRUSTED 60% TRUSTED 58% DEPENDABLE 66%

         

TRUSTED 59% FARSIGHTED 57% FARSIGHTED 59% FARSIGHTED 54% DEDICATED 63%

         

FARSIGHTED 53% LISTENS WELL 55% LISTENS WELL 53% LISTENS WELL 51% FOCUSED 59%

         

DELEGATING 50% ENCOURAGING 50% ENCOURAGING 53% ENCOURAGING 46% TRUSTED 56%

         

ENCOURAGING 44% FOCUSED 39% DEPENDABLE 49% DEPENDABLE 46% ENCOURAGING 54%

         

DEPENDABLE 41% DEPENDABLE 38% A GOOD COACH 46% FOCUSED 43% CREDIBLE 48%

         

DEDICATED 38% PERSUASIVE 34% FOCUSED 44% A GOOD COACH 40% OPTIMISTIC 45%

         

EXPERIENCED 38% A GOOD COACH 33% EXPERIENCED 41% EXPERIENCED 36% EXPERIENCED 43%

         

A GOOD COACH 38% CREATIVE 33% PERSUASIVE 37% PERCEPTIVE 35% TRUSTING 40%

         

         

Deal, Jennifer J. Retiring the Generation Gap. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. San Francisco: 2007.      

Key Lessons

• Employees from different generations have different characteristics, work styles, and personalities

• Despite the most obvious differences, there are some fundamental values that transcend the generations

• Consciously addressing generation gaps is necessary for organizational efficiency and long term sustainability