Generations and Change

by Kathi Irvine and Chris Edgelow

The past 20 years of helping organizations change has taught us one simple thing: When organizations clearly identify their business strategy, align their priorities and initiatives to the strategy, and help everyone through transition, change efforts yield the desired results. This is The Integrated Approach to Leading Change™ model we to share with our clients.

Each of the three phases — strategy, change and transition — combined with continuous and repetitive communication are important for all employees to understand and experience. However, recent studies of the four generations in the workplace indicate that members of certain generational cohorts have a keener interest and need to experience one or two of the factors over all of them. Who are these generations and what aspect of The Integrated Approach to Leading Change™ is important to them?

The Traditionalist cohort born between 1922 and 1945, grew up between two world wars and the great depression:

• Traditionalists believe the top-down approach to leadership is the most effective and they trust their leaders to know where the organization is going and what needs to be done to get there.
• Traditionalists tend not to need great detail on the strategy nor will they question the change initiatives to meet the strategy.
• Traditionalists respond to an emphasis on transition — validate the work they have done in the past, help them separate from the old way of doing things and create safety in the uncertainty of the in-between.
• Include Traditionalists in your project teams to take advantage of their organizational knowledge and to help them see they still have a place in the changing environment.

Baby Boomers born between 1946 and 1964, make up 45% of today’s workforce. This group came of age with the largest number of members and changed every market they entered — the consumer, job and stock market:

• Organizationally, Baby Boomers similar to the Traditionalists before them, have a large degree of trust in the leadership’s ability to create a strategy; however they are a bit more cynical when it comes to the changes required to meet the strategy.
• Boomers want to know specifically how the initiatives align with the strategy and how the changes will benefit their career needs.
• If the change initiatives won’t meet their needs, the Baby Boomers will want to make some changes within the organization or may leave to find what they need.
• It is imperative that each of the three phases of transition (separation, in between, and integration) is clearly identified for the Baby Boomer cohort.

Generation X born between 1965 and 1979, has entered their 40’s and are in middle management roles moving into senior ones. These children of Baby Boomers and Traditionalists watched as parents after years of loyalty to an organization were laid off in the sweeping actions of the 80’s and early 90’s:

• Experience through their formative and coming of age years has left the Generation X cohort with a strong faith in themselves and less on the institutions that had failed their parents.
• Gen Xers have no hesitancy to request full disclosure of the strategy of the organization and often expect to be part of its creation. They want to have a clear picture on all of the change initiatives and how the actions will serve the future — theirs.
• Communication is straight-up, frank and fully inclusive. Taking Gen Xers through transition is valuable but don’t expect them to wallow in the separation of what was — they will jump to the creativity of the in between phase and enter the new world with limited baggage.
• Often identified as disloyal to organizations, Gen Xers are anything but — it is poor leadership and questionable business practices they are disloyal to.

Millennials are the most recent generation to enter the workplace. Born between 1980 and 1998, they enter the organization spoon-fed feedback from parents and grandparents, coaches, teachers and peers. Millennials have been the center of organized attention their entire lives, having calendars full of activities and weekends at alternate parents’ homes:

• Millennials have operated in groups while being the centre of attention and see no reason for things to change in the workplace.
• Everything is important — right from knowing and understanding the strategy, the timeline and intentions of the change initiatives, and how they can be part of the project teams with the rest of the gang.
• Transition for Millennials is all about the new world and how quickly they can integrate themselves in.
• Managers will fare well to provide an engaging environment for the Millennials cohort to transfer their theoretical knowledge to practical organizational knowledge.

The Integrated Approach to Leading Change™ continues to serve organizations well, and as it is more fully understood and practiced, lasting success will come from the ability to meet the expectations and needs of all four generations. Identify your generation, acknowledge your experiences and resulting biases, to bridge the gap to the other generational cohorts.

By Kathi Irvine and Chris Edgelow
Sundance Consulting Inc.
inquiries@sundance.ca 
1.888.944.8383