I remember it like it was yesterday, even though it was 20 years ago. I was in a room with hundreds of colleagues and our leaders (Boomers) were talking about the intentional steps they planned to take to begin to include the next generation in leadership. That was exciting and I wondered how that might impact me. Near the end of the meeting, they even had the next generation stand to add some ceremony to the whole ordeal; the boomer with the mic said, “All of you who are 34 and younger, please stand.” There I sat; I was 37. The Boomers were generally looking to the Millennials (the generation of their children) as the next generation. Generation X was skipped, at least the oldest Xers.
It is a thing. Google “Generation X Skipped” and some 11 million entries will result. It has been the focus of research, books, articles, and such for years now. For example, some speculate that we will skip Generation X when voting for President; when we are finished electing Boomers (and older) we will jump right to a Millennials. (I think we have a good shot at an Xer in 2024, based on my list, but if we don’t elect an Xer in 2024, we might skip right to a Millennial in the future.)
Of course, this is not universally true… but it does seem to be generally true. I am not qualified to speak in terms other than generalities. What follows is merely my observations and proposals. I have not done the research or read all the important articles.
Today’s 60 and 70 somethings are usually not handing things off to us 50 somethings… preferring, rather, the 30 and 40 somethings. That does not give me heartburn. Like I said, it is not universally true. Some of that is merely how population trends work; there is a reason Xers are called Generation X. I’m not a victim… it is just a general observation.
My main point is that us Xers, after working for Boomers for decades, now may find ourselves working for Millennials. Boomers are different from Millennials… often a lot different. I have found myself in conversations recently with Xers navigating these waters, often with difficulty. Here are a few observations worth considering.
Soft Skills are Way More Important to Millennials
Boomers were generally, often narrowly, concerned with outputs. In the words of the contemporary sage, “Get ‘er done.” There were metrics and less complex measures of success.
Millennials are concerned with more comprehensive outcomes including the journey, relationships, and culture. They are concerned with justice too in most every form, including environmental justice and racial justice.
Boomers did not bring their feelings to work. If they did, they were embarrassed and apologized for it. Xers bring their whole selves to work and expect to balance it all.
For Xers to thrive we need to intentionally embrace comprehensive outcomes and value justice.
If we do not bring our feelings to work, we must, at least, value when others do.
Flexibility, Uncertainty, and Even Ambiguity are Embraced by Millennials
Millennials
are post-modern. Boomers are modern. And Xers are somewhere in the middle, perhaps
post-modern on the inside, but accustomed to working for moderns which has forced
us to be modern on the outside.
For Boomers, there is one right way, or at least one best way. For post-moderns, there are all sorts of right ways with equal value. Xers, having worked for Boomers all these years, are accustomed to striving for the one right or best way, or at least spinning things so that Boomers will agree that it is the right way. Millennials find claims that there is one right way, or efforts to find the one right way, irritating… perhaps even offensive.
Millennials (post-moderns) value paradoxes and ideological tension. They don’t need all the answers, are glad to be flexible, happy to adjust as we go along, and operate in the fog without difficulty.
Boomers plan their work and work their plan; they prefer a waterfall approach to planning… a ready-aim-fire approach to work in which they stick to the plan if at all possible. Millennials are more flexible, planning as they go along, welcoming change along the way (more of an agile approach to planning).
For Xers to thrive, we need to let our inner post-moderns out of the closet. We need to stop insisting that we have the one right answer, or that there even is one right answer.
Communication styles need to change. Xers, perhaps regressing to a plan-the-work-and-work-the-plan approach, often bring their questions to Millennial leaders and it is perceived to be an interrogation or critique. We Xers should be careful to not attack or box-in Millennials with our communication.
Leadership Dynamics May Be Under Stress
Millennials are
sometimes not sure how to lead Xers. Xers are often not sure how to follow Millennials.
I’m not sure what the answer is, but I think it has something to do with how Xers are perceived to be more like Boomers in the workplace. Again, having been trained by Boomers, us Xers have learned Boomer behavior. We may appear to be stuck, unwilling, or even unable, to change.
For Xers to thrive, we need to shake off the Boomer clothes. We need to demonstrate that we can change and are in glad to champion organizational change.
It may even be that Xers need to be self-leaders, to discern the times and workplace relationships and lead ourselves in change to better adapt to workplaces led by, and dominated by, Millennials.
Communication styles are key here too. Our Boomer bosses liked memos and agendas; we moved them to email and started to get them moving toward virtual meeting spaces. We Xers must pivot to text and Slack, continue to embrace virtual meeting spaces, and thrive in shorter, but more frequent, bursts of communication.
Am I on to something here? I would love to hear your perspectives and feedback.
