Overview
In this surprising and sure-to-be controversial look at today's workplace reality, Bridging the Boomer-Xer Gap separates fact from fiction about what it will take to effectively integrate the generations into high performance teams.
Synopsis
In this surprising and sure-to-be controversial look at today's workplace reality, Bridging the Boomer-Xer Gap separates fact from fiction about what it will take to effectively integrate the generations into high performance teams.
Soundview Executive Book Summaries
Today's workplaces are dominated by two generational groups: Baby Boomers and Generation Xers. The Boomers now hold top management and policy-making positions, while the younger Xers have just recently entered the world of work. Unfortunately, both groups view each other with suspicion. Boomers tend to believe the stereotype that Xers are slackers, loners and self-absorbed. Xers think Boomers are incapable of adapting to technological and social change. Both stereotypes are false, and those who manage Boomers and Xers must learn how to dispel the myths. The authors show organizations how they can help Boomers and Xers overcome their stereotypical thinking and bridge the actual differences that do exist.
Two age groups currently dominate the world of work: Baby Boomers born between 1945 and 1962, and Gen Xers, born between 1963 and 1982. Both groups eye each other with suspicion. Boomers believe Xers are slackers with little work ethic while Xers believe Boomers just don't get technology. The authors write that Boomers have difficulty taking a stand on issues, often attempting to bridge the generational differences between their parents and their children. To Xers, those behaviors seem to reflect ambiguity and lead to a perception that Boomers simply never take a stand on anything. Xers have responded by taking strong stands on even minor issues, behavior which certainly is not ambiguous.
The Role of Loyalty
The authors write that one significant difference between the two groups lies in their perception of the appropriate role loyalty plays in the workplace. Boomers grew up with the belief that if you took care of your employer, the employer would take care of you. Xers have seen that, in practice, loyalty might not be a two-way street, as they observed the jobs of their parents downsized, right-sized, process re-engineered, and eliminated. The authors cite one recent study that showed that only 25 percent of employees today consider themselves truly committed and plan to stay two or more years. One-third don't plan to stay even that long, and a full 39 percent plan to stay, but only because they are "trapped" with no other options.
The authors write that this lack of commitment is hard for Boomer managers to accept. Faced with unprecedented high turnover rates, managers find themselves continuously recruiting and training new employees. Given issues of loyalty and commitment alone, organizational survival is at risk. Commitment plays a major role in an employee's willingness and ability to be fast and flexible on the job. Ultimately, it is people who make or break an organization, and the authors predict that if Boomers and Gen Xers continue to move in separate directions regarding commitment, corporate dysfunction will get worse.
Today's workplace relies on teamwork to succeed. Yet, if the participants in those teams don't buy in, the authors write that businesses might be creating self-defeating organizational structures. They might be building teams of people who don't like teams. Given preconceptions about Xer and Boomer behavior and values, it would be easy to conclude that Boomers value teams while Xers value individualism.
Building Teams
To bridge the Boomer-Xer gap, the authors write that businesses need to develop a different kind of team. The current model holds that effective teams are based on common ground and similar interests. The new model, called the "authentic individual-based model," holds that the most important element in team building is how each contributing member is uniquely different from all other members. The authors write that although both models aspire to create highly effective teams whose members work well together, they differ in how that end is achieved.
The authors write that a new organizational structure must emerge that allows different generations to work together efficiently. Work teams are the means by which the workplace of the 20th century will evolve into the workplace of the 21st century, and authentic teams are most likely to do so successfully. Authentic teams must be supported by the organization to endure, and the authors write that recognition and reward for team effort and success are critical. They write that rewards should reflect individual, team and organizational achievement.
The authors write that two other factors play an important role in team management: the role of the coach or team leader, and managing the changing membership of an ongoing team. When the goal is to develop positive team attitudes and behaviors, collaboration is the long-term objective. Collaboration creates synergy. Synergy is what separates a team from a group. Synergy means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Team members working together actually create energy.
Why Soundview Likes This Book
Bridging the Boomer-Xer Gap offers an abundance of eye-opening ideas about the ways these two groups think about work and better ways they can work together. The authors' insights provide strong roots from which a new type of workplace can grow and become more productive. By addressing the conflicts in perceptions that take place every day across the country with practical advice that is based on cutting-edge research, this book contributes a clearer perspective on the American workplace along with helpful recommendations that can make organizations more successful. Copyright (c) 2002 Soundview Executive Book Summaries
Editorials
Soundview Executive Book Summaries
Today's workplaces are dominated by two generational groups: Baby Boomers and Generation Xers. The Boomers now hold top management and policy-making positions, while the younger Xers have just recently entered the world of work. Unfortunately, both groups view each other with suspicion. Boomers tend to believe the stereotype that Xers are slackers, loners and self-absorbed. Xers think Boomers are incapable of adapting to technological and social change. Both stereotypes are false, and those who manage Boomers and Xers must learn how to dispel the myths. The authors show organizations how they can help Boomers and Xers overcome their stereotypical thinking and bridge the actual differences that do exist.Two age groups currently dominate the world of work: Baby Boomers born between 1945 and 1962, and Gen Xers, born between 1963 and 1982. Both groups eye each other with suspicion. Boomers believe Xers are slackers with little work ethic while Xers believe Boomers just don't get technology. The authors write that Boomers have difficulty taking a stand on issues, often attempting to bridge the generational differences between their parents and their children. To Xers, those behaviors seem to reflect ambiguity and lead to a perception that Boomers simply never take a stand on anything. Xers have responded by taking strong stands on even minor issues, behavior which certainly is not ambiguous.
The Role of Loyalty
The authors write that one significant difference between the two groups lies in their perception of the appropriate role loyalty plays in the workplace. Boomers grew up with the belief that if you took care of your employer, the employer would take care of you. Xers have seen that, in practice, loyalty might not be a two-way street, as they observed the jobs of their parents downsized, right-sized, process re-engineered, and eliminated. The authors cite one recent study that showed that only 25 percent of employees today consider themselves truly committed and plan to stay two or more years. One-third don't plan to stay even that long, and a full 39 percent plan to stay, but only because they are "trapped" with no other options.
The authors write that this lack of commitment is hard for Boomer managers to accept. Faced with unprecedented high turnover rates, managers find themselves continuously recruiting and training new employees. Given issues of loyalty and commitment alone, organizational survival is at risk. Commitment plays a major role in an employee's willingness and ability to be fast and flexible on the job. Ultimately, it is people who make or break an organization, and the authors predict that if Boomers and Gen Xers continue to move in separate directions regarding commitment, corporate dysfunction will get worse.
Today's workplace relies on teamwork to succeed. Yet, if the participants in those teams don't buy in, the authors write that businesses might be creating self-defeating organizational structures. They might be building teams of people who don't like teams. Given preconceptions about Xer and Boomer behavior and values, it would be easy to conclude that Boomers value teams while Xers value individualism.
Building Teams
To bridge the Boomer-Xer gap, the authors write that businesses need to develop a different kind of team. The current model holds that effective teams are based on common ground and similar interests. The new model, called the "authentic individual-based model," holds that the most important element in team building is how each contributing member is uniquely different from all other members. The authors write that although both models aspire to create highly effective teams whose members work well together, they differ in how that end is achieved.
The authors write that a new organizational structure must emerge that allows different generations to work together efficiently. Work teams are the means by which the workplace of the 20th century will evolve into the workplace of the 21st century, and authentic teams are most likely to do so successfully. Authentic teams must be supported by the organization to endure, and the authors write that recognition and reward for team effort and success are critical. They write that rewards should reflect individual, team and organizational achievement.
The authors write that two other factors play an important role in team management: the role of the coach or team leader, and managing the changing membership of an ongoing team. When the goal is to develop positive team attitudes and behaviors, collaboration is the long-term objective. Collaboration creates synergy. Synergy is what separates a team from a group. Synergy means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Team members working together actually create energy.
Why Soundview Likes This Book
Bridging the Boomer-Xer Gap offers an abundance of eye-opening ideas about the ways these two groups think about work and better ways they can work together. The authors' insights provide strong roots from which a new type of workplace can grow and become more productive. By addressing the conflicts in perceptions that take place every day across the country with practical advice that is based on cutting-edge research, this book contributes a clearer perspective on the American workplace along with helpful recommendations that can make organizations more successful. Copyright (c) 2002 Soundview Executive Book Summaries