The Future of Business is X

Mal Fletcher Added 15 December 2008

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Building Multi-Generational Teams

Leaders, almost by definition, influence their environment more than it influences them.

Leaders who are serious about building teams for long-term impact must take a long-term, strategic and generational approach to influence.

Being generational means building on the past and the present a platform for the future. It also means building strategies for growth based upon the fundamental strengths of each of the major generations of our time.

There are three key generational blocks in the major cities of our age.

Baby Boomers are generally recognized today to be aged in their early fifties to late sixties. The generation that follows them, known most often as 'Generation X', after a book by Douglas Coupland, comprises people aged somewhere in the late twenties to late forties range.

And the rapidly emerging Millennial Generation - sometimes called 'Generation Y', though this ties them unnecessarily to Generation X - are now aged in their mid- twenties.

In more than thirty years of leadership experience, I've discovered something very important. In many ways, the most underrated, under-utilized and misunderstood generation where business is concerned is Generation X.

Generation X is one of the most creative, resourceful and dynamic of all the cohort groups alive today. In many ways, this is Generation X's time, its moment for influence.

In the US, there are city administrators who are working to develop and implement plans specifically designed to entice Generation Xers back into their area. They recognize that the 'next big thing' is not coming from Boomers, but from Generation X.

In many respects, the horse has already bolted. Many Generation Xers, feeling shut out of leadership positions in institutions and corporations run by Boomers, have decided to break out on their own.

This is partly because we Boomers, who until very recently occupied all the major leadership positions in government, business and community life, tend to see Generation X-ers as younger versions of us. We assume that they're as happy as we are with the way things are run - by us.

Underneath, though, Generation X-ers think in quite different ways to us. They also have different needs and are resourceful in ways Boomers can only stand back and admire.

They've birthed their own businesses and organizations, mainly in areas untouched by Boomers, many of which now make older businesses look like dinosaurs.

Google, Yahoo, YouTube and a host of other Net-based business names didn't exist just twenty years ago. Today, they're big players on the world stage - and they're impacting areas of business way beyond their original internet sphere. Microsoft, once the David to IBM's Goliath, is now itself threatened by Google's advances into the online software market.

These types of companies are driven by Generation X 'outsiders' who have now become the big 'insiders', the people to know.

Facing generational change is never easy and one of the biggest causes of frustration facing any leader. Many leaders in business feel a sense of alienation as they watch new generations emerge. Some feel threatened by the creativity and obvious ambition of rising generations of leaders.

In the end, though, we can only benefit by aligning ourselves with the changes that are coming and, rather than being threatened by them, deciding to participate in them.

The best way to be remembered by an emerging generation is to invest in it today. The greatest legacy you will leave is not in the profit you make for your company, but the leaders you leave behind when you depart the scene.

If we know the strengths of each generation we can find ways to plug our corporate vision into the aspirations of younger team members. In the process, of course, our vision may need some tweaking as fresh eyes look at old problems in different ways. Yet in most cases a multi-generational team will only sharpen a vision - and make it more 'future-proof'.

Each generation in history lives through a certain era and is shaped by specific shared experiences. Those experiences shape the cultural identity or 'personality' of a generation.

The core values of Generation X have been shaped by the following influences.

1. Poor Nurturing.

Generally speaking, Generation X children were not given too much attention by their parents, many of whom were older Boomers. Theirs was the age of the latchkey kids. In many cases, parents were too busy climbing the yuppie ladder of success to take too much notice of their kids, who seemed to represent a drag on the upward mobility. Unsurprisingly perhaps, in its teen years Generation X was the most suicidal generation in history.

2. Rapid Change through Technological Advance.

This generation was the first to be raised on fast-tracking digital media, followed by the emergence of the now ubiquitous new media based on Internet technologies. It was born into a time of high social mobility and the emergence of multiculturalism as a political and social reality.

As a result, the only real constant for this generation has been change itself. Whilst it is better equipped in many ways to deal with this change than earlier generations, too much change can be overwhelming and lead to a sense of isolation. Some studies have revealed a disconnect between the way many Generation Xers view the future of society and the way they seen their own future as individuals. Society's future looks bleak, whilst on a personal level they will somehow muddle through. This is, in part, a product of an environment of rapid and unending change.

3. Visual Media and Digital Technology.

The first generation to grow up on digital, as opposed to analogue, media, Generation X is a highly visual generation. It has learned as much or more from images as it has from text.

Communication with this generation must take a more visual approach. Having Generation Xers on the team will also mean that they're looking for visual ways to communicate you're the vision of the company to others. Why use a brochure, when you can shoot a short video? Why pay a printer when you can upload something to YouTube?

The digitization of media has in itself led to different ways of thinking. Digital technologies are based on sharp distinctions, ones and zeroes, on and off. Older analogue technologies were based on smooth wave formations.

The 'on-off' of digital technologies has spilled over into Generation X thinking. There is very little tolerance for the middle ground - things need to be pushed to the edges.

4. Existential Thinking and Moral Ambiguity.

Mass media, pop culture and often higher education all lend weight to a prevailing philosophy that, in the absence of absolute truth, the best human beings can do is to enjoy life and pile up as many good experiences as possible. Truth is fluid, all lifestyles are equally valid - and the choices can seem overwhelming.

This has led, in many areas, led to a 'whatever' attitude to ethics and behaviour. 'Hey, there are just too many options out there - I'm overwhelmed with change as it is. So, just do whatever…'

This type of existentialist thinking also gives rise to a 'live only for the moment' mindset. Strategic thinkers need to overcome this in order to engage the future.

Responding to these influences, Generation X is marked by the following characteristics. (Of course, these are generalizations, but they are helpful in giving us an overview.) If we can connect these needs with the vision and philosophy of our company or organisation, without manipulating people, we can help fulfil our goals while helping Generation Xers to reach their enormous potential.

A. Boredom.

Generation Xers are not bored as in 'I have nothing to do.' Their boredom is one that says 'I have plenty to do, but very little underlying sense of meaning or purpose in what I do.'

The notion that meaning comes merely through a multiplicity of experiences and relationships leaves many Generation Xers with the sense that 'something is missing' in their lives.

To enlist the support and talents of this generational group, we will need to offer an altruistic core in our business projects and strategies. It's not enough to offer these people a profit motive; they need a sense of adventure, of risk, of working for a cause.

Generation Xers are attracted to companies that work for more than the bottom line, seeking to add both practical, psychological and, where possible, spiritual value to people's lives.

We will also need to offer the opportunity for people to push the limits of previous practice. Feeding into the digital thinking of this generation, the projects we offer need to include some 'danger'; an opportunity to quench the thirst for 'extreme' practice.

B. Confusion.

Many Generation Xers ask: 'If all roads lead to the same place, why am I still searching for a truth that is, in the words of the X-files, "out there"?'

Generation X is interested in finding some sense of certainty, something solid on which to build its future. Generation Xers are attracted to companies and groups that offer the stability of proven values, rather than just proven products.

They're also much more process-oriented than Boomers, who tend to focus more on the event, the end result. Generation X wants not only to know what are the company's goals, but why; it wants to be invited into the process of charting the course, rather than simply lumbered with a 'to do' list once the destination has been decided.

C. Resignation.

With Generation Xers, what sometimes looks to outsiders like apathy is in reality a sigh of resignation. Again, this is the 'whatever' generation.

To attract Generation Xers, we shouldn't be put off by this seeming apathy on some issues. We need to engage their even stronger sense of pragmatism; their drive to take an idealistic dream and turn it into a pragmatic reality, which produces measurable change.

In the process, many Generation Xers will enjoy being reminded that they are making a difference - but in clearly measurable ways, not just in theory.

D. Cynicism.

There is a cynicism, or at least scepticism, in many Generation Xers which is in part a result of poor nurturing, and partly a reaction to the idealism of Boomers.

Having seen so many Boomers talk up their dreams then watch as those dream fail to materialize, Generation Xers are more likely to stand back and say, 'Great dream; let's see if it works.'

Transparency is highly valued in this generation. In its youth, Generation X gave the world the catchphrase: 'Get Real!'

Raised on a constant diet of TV, movies and advertising Generation X is quite adept at telling the real from the fantasy - the 'put on' from the sincere. Though celebrity culture has grown up around this generation, it is not impressed by performance alone; it eventually demands reality behind the facade.

Generation X is highly attuned to authenticity and very sceptical of anyone who poses as an 'expert' on anything - especially if the expert is unwilling to share his or her secrets!

E. Alienation.

Poor nurturing has left many in this generational group with a profound sense of being cut off from other people, by social or institutional structures. This is a generation that is largely suspicious of institutions.

In growing up, Generation X clung to icons like Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and Princess Diana - all of whom it saw as reconcilers.

To attract and make the best of Generation X team members, we must break with institutional thinking, with all its emphasis on positional leadership, titles and symbols of personal success. We must become more relational in our leadership style and more 'horizontal' in our structures.

Generation Xers make some of the best candidates for brainstorming sessions and other creative team exercises, partly because of their drive for community and involvement in the process of change.

Our structures need to become more accessible, with a more human face, without becoming sloppy and unworkable. We need to explain to our team members why things are set up as they are - and if we don't have a good rationale for our structures, we need to change them.

When we change structures around, we need to take time to explain why the changes were necessary. In fact, wherever possible we need to enlist the input of our teams in deciding what changes have to be made.

And we must stop using hierarchical structures as shields behind which to hide our own insecurities as leaders. Remember, transparency is a highly prized personal trait among Generation X.

Their drive for community also means that Generation Xers often enjoy knowing that the company they're working for has a history, a 'family tree'. They like to feel that they're part of a community before they will buy into the goals of the company. They need to feel that they belong before they will 'believe'.

The bottom line is this: attracting and holding Generation Xers in our teams will require that we proactively engage with them and the way they've come to see the world.

We need to provide the kind of vision and leadership that's big enough to accommodate different ways of seeing things, based upon different generational identities. We must refuse to be threatened by generational change, offering instead the affirmation, encouragement and, above all, models for living that this generation prizes.

This is Generation X's time, its moment for influence. We can only benefit by aligning ourselves with the changes that are coming and, rather than being threatened by them, deciding to participate in them.