Understanding your behaviour style and the behaviour styles of your team is invaluable today in creating high performance in your organization. Today five generations of people make up the current workforce in Canada – silent or traditional (born before 1946), baby boomers, (born approximately between 1946 and 1964), generation X (born approximately between 1965 and 1979), millennial or generation Y (born approximately between 1980 and 2000), and generation Z (born approximately 2000 and after). All the generations share strong work ethics and workplace needs. They all want work that is meaningful and that adds purpose to their lives.
Following is a brief description of each generation’s needs and motivations.
Traditionalists need respect. They are motivated by acknowledgement of their historical experience and expertise. They maintain an attitude of commitment and endurance and make personal sacrifices for the greater good. Their professional relationships are formal and reinforce workplace hierarchies.
Baby boomers need success. They view money as evidence of social status. They are motivated by material gain and professional advancement. Although driven, as individuals, boomers promote collaborative efforts and prefer business decisions to be made by consensus. Boomers believe in the importance of following historical precedents and take a process-oriented approach to their work.
Generation X needs autonomy. Supervisors should provide feedback, not give orders. Generation X employees are motivated by professional growth and flexibility in their work. They work independently, believe in personal responsibility, and struggle to fit work into their lives. For Generation X, precedent is superseded by what is pragmatic, and its members’ informal approach undermines workplace hierarchy and positional authority.
Generation Y need validation. Generation Y employees seek to contribute to society and to make a difference. Flexibility and the opportunity to pursue personal growth are highly motivational to Generation Y employees. Generation Y expects equality and its members consider everyone from the CEO to the mail clerk as their peers. Their casual approach to work and social interactions reflects their desire for immediate recognition on a professional and personal level.
Generation Z need stability. Generation Z employees are entrepreneurial and tech savvy. They tend to want independence and may be motivated by security. Multi-tasking could come naturally for this group. In spite of the fact they are tech-savvy and live in a connected world, this group generally prefers to talk face-to-face. Generation Z can easily adapt to different technologies and pick up new software. They will seek out environments that prioritize social responsibility and diversity and they want to participate in highly collaborative management relationships.
There is an art to motivating employees from differing generations to work together and share their knowledge – it’s mission critical in a time where the answers of today will be outdated by tomorrow. Furthermore, no matter how you look at it, you will end up with a multi-generational workforce or customer base.
Advancing a culture of Positive Presence develops in you and your employees the behavioural and emotional awareness necessary to be mindful of each other, to treat each other as individuals and to stay open to listening. There is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to managing in this day and age.
CORPORATE HARMONY is grateful to Dr. Michael E. Frisina for his contributions to this entry.
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.