Author: admin

Yesterday, I gave a keynote for the Houston chapter of IREM (Institute for Real Estate Management). The topic was ‘Five Generations of Talent’ in the workforce for the first time in our nation’s history. A lot is written about this unique period, including a book by Jean M. Twenge, PhD, published last month, appropriately titled: Generations.

During my research I spoke to some clients to gain their perspective. A VP in charge of Europe for a plant-based food company said:

Every generation feels the next one is less committed. I think it’s more accurate to say each has a different mindset. The key to engaging them is aligning the organization’s culture and principles. Start there.

Placing broad characteristics on people requires generalizing… and not everyone fits the category. In the case of generations, one way demographers categorize them is by the technology they encountered around age 10… and what happened culturally in their twenties.

For instance, as 10-year-olds in 1956, the first Boomers were watching the spread of television… spending their afternoons with Annette and Cubby on the Mickey Mouse Club. Meanwhile, the early Millennials –in 1991 – experienced the expansion of the Internet.

From a cultural perspective, Silents – as twenty somethings in the 60’s – championed the Women’s and Civil Rights movements, while Gen X – in the 80’s – witnessed both the Challenger explosion and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The latest entry into the workforce – currently comprising 25% and growing quickly – is Gen Z… those born starting in 1997. Only 61% consider work to be ‘a significant part of their identity,’ as compared to 86% of Boomers. Yet, they’re seen as: ‘highly ambitious’… ‘optimistic and upbeat’… and ‘practical and realistic.’ They also ‘pursue their passions’ and ‘voice views fearlessly.’ Much more, in fact, than their parents and grandparents.

As my VP client suggested, each generation looks at the next one and tends to undervalue them. Personally, I believe we’re in good hands… especially with Gen Alpha coming up fast. They’ll be in the workforce in five short years. Of course, us gray-haired veterans will need to do our job and align culture and principles to help them launch. 

For the past year, I’ve worked virtually with an international group of leaders who reside in Australia, Pakistan, Mexico and the US. These are senior executives that are on track to be C-suite members during their career. Our work is around what gaps they need to overcome individually to continue soaring in the organization.

Last month, we watched a video by David Marquet, author of Turn the Ship Around, during which he shared the approach for taking the worst performing submarine in the fleet to the best in one year.

These are the three key lessons I heard:

> Never give another order – Empower the team to make decisions… and stand by them when they take a different approach than you would. (With one exception: final launch of a weapon; that responsibility alone stayed with him)

> Allow leaders to discover the answer – This is a coaching tenet: rather than tell them, ‘Do this’, ask ‘What do you want to do?’ Marquet shared: When the commander says, ‘Captain, I intend to submerge the ship,’ he asked, ‘What do you think I’m thinking right now?’ to help them consider things from his perspective. Then, later, they discussed whether their decision was the right one in the moment.

> Place more authority where the information is – Those in the field – (or on the front lines of the ship) – understand better than a CEO (or captain) what’s happening. From his viewpoint, there are two pillars that matter: Technical Competence (ability to do the job) and Organizational Clarity (everyone understands the goal and their individual role in achieving it).