The Future Belongs To All of Us: Possibilities for Intergenerational Organizations

1. The Future Belongs To All of Us: Possibilities for Intergenerational Organizations CHHSM Annual Meeting February 28, 2014

2. “In my organization, there are real differences between older and younger generations and how they approach work.” YES, AND THOSE DIFFERENCES SOMETIMES OR OFTEN POSED CHALLENGES: 72%

3. Who knows only his/her own generation remains always a child. –Cicero (adapted by George Norlin)

4. Generational cohort = common tastes, attitudes and experiences

5. Four Generations Zemke, Raines, and Filipczak (2013), Generations at Work.

6. Four Generations Zemke, Raines, and Filipczak (2013), Generations at Work.

7. Likes consistency and uniformity • Likes things on a grand scale • Conformers • Believes in logic, not magic • Disciplined • Past-oriented and history absorbed • Believes in law and order • Spending style is conservative The Traditionalist Personality

8. Assets • Stable • Detail-oriented • Thorough • Loyal • Hard-working • Liabilities • Struggles with ambiguity and change • Reluctant to buck the system • Uncomfort-able with conflict • Reticent when they disagree Traditionalists at Work

9. Four Generations Zemke, Raines, and Filipczak (2013), Generations at Work.

10. Believes in growth and expansion • Tends to be optimistic • Learned about teamwork in school and at home • Has pursued personal gratification, often at a high price to themselves and others • Has searched their soul—repeatedly, obsessively, recreationally • Has always been cool The Baby Boomer Personality

11. Assets • Service-oriented • Driven • Willing to go the “extra mile” • Good at relationships • Want to please • Good team players • Liabilities • Not naturally “budget minded” • Uncomfortable with conflict • Reluctant to go against peers • May put process ahead of result • Defensive in the face of feedback • Judgmental of those who see things differently • Self-centered Baby Boomers at Work

12. Four Generations Zemke, Raines, and Filipczak (2013), Generations at Work.

13. Self-reliant • Wants balance • Has a nontraditional orientation about time and space • Likes informality • Approach to authority is casual • Cynical • Continues to be technologically savvy • Attracted to the edge The Generation X Personality

14. Assets • Adaptability • Technoliteracy • Independence • Creativity • Willingness to buck the system • Liabilities • Skeptical • Impatient • Distrustful of authority • Inept at office politics • Less attracted to leadership Generation X at Work

15. Four Generations Zemke, Raines, and Filipczak (2013), Generations at Work.

16. Resiliently optimistic • Digital native • Collaborative • Goal and achievement oriented • Diverse • Confident The Millennial Personality

17. Assets • Collective action • Optimism • Tenacity • Heroic spirit • Multitasking capabilities • Technological savvy • Adept at change • Liabilities • Need for supervision and structure • Demand for constant feedback • Helicopter parents • Family events trump work Millennials at Work

18. Possibilities for Intergenerational organizations Zemke, Raines, and Filipczak (2013), Generations at Work.

19. Possibilities for Intergenerational organizations • Recognizing and leveraging what is already present

20. Possibilities for Intergenerational organizations • Strategic plans to include specific, measurable goals for equipping younger generations to carry the mission into the future (but it may not look the way you want it to) • Hiring and retaining generationally diverse employees to include training, celebration, and inclusive policies / benefits • Governance and leadership to include boards with younger generations having a significant voice and active role in decision making