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How Gen Y Can Better Work with Baby Boomers
Written by Buddy Hobart on September 2nd, 2009
I had the good fortune of addressing a group of management trainees the other day. My guess is the average age of the room was 25. It was a very interesting opportunity to talk about Gen Y TO Gen Y.
Gen Y Now tries to help Gen X and Baby Boomer leaders understand the leadership strategies necessary to recruit and retain Gen Y. Most of my time lately has been talking to these experienced leaders, so talking to the next generation of leaders was a bit of a shift.
One thing I learned for sure is…..Gen Y can be as prejudiced toward us as we are toward them! Our book challenges our prejudices, and I spent a great deal of time in my talk challenging the Gen Y audience on THEIR prejudices. Just like Gen Y is not WRONG for doing things differently, neither are boomers and X’ers wrong for the way they view the world. Different is not wrong. Different is, quite simply, different.
I challenged the Y’er audience to…
- Try to understand the X’er and Boomer perspective.
- Realize how it developed and that it did not develop overnight.
- Do not think it is your job to “fix” your boss. (in the book we discuss that Gen Y does not need to be fixed…and neither do their bosses!)
- Be a leader and LEAD change. Simply pointing out that a change is necessary is not leading change.
- Do not “live down” to low expectations. Display the work ethic and commitment that got you this far.
One of the biggest hurdles for businesses over the next few years will be getting each generation to realize that different is not wrong. Sometimes, different is GREAT!
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