Age Diversity: Generational Gap: GEN X

In the previous posts, I discussed the Matures, continuing the sequence; we met the Baby Boomers, and now I introduce Generation X or GEN X.

Gen X is between 35 and 45 years old, their lives shaped by Watergate, fall of the Berlin wall, the challenger explosion, 1st Gulf war, the Iran hostage crisis, and the Reagan Presidency. They witnessed the inception of home computers, video games, cable TV, and Internet.

Gen X grew up in families where the divorce rates were the highest ever. They were raised mostly in single parent homes, and called ‘latchkeys kids.’ They might understandably exhibit a suspicious attitude and tend not to trust others easily. Change is more or less the rule of their lives rather than the exception.

They feel that the government, church, military, and major corporations deserve their skepticism. The Xers’ attitude is: “There is nothing we can count on in the future, so we’ll focus short term and make sure each day has significance.” That is why they might have difficulty making long term commitments.
They are different from the matures and baby boomers to whom institutions still mean a great deal; Gen X sees institutions as deserving nothing but cynicism.

The Xers have been defined by some as spoiled and characterized by others as unmotivated, self-indulgent and impertinent, but just because they are skeptical about authority and seek work-life balance, doesn’t make them bad. Do you blame them? They have been told that they wouldn’t be as successful as their parents. They are the junior executives, directors and managers in the workplace.

• Famous examples of Gen X: Sarah Palin, Gavin Newsome, Michael Jordan, Lance Armstrong and Alex Rodriguez.

• Musical Era: Madonna, Ricky Martin, U2, Whitney Houston, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Guns and Roses, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi and heavy metal bands. They saw the rise and fall of Disco. Gen X is sometimes called the MTV generation.

• Workplace: Reject the die-hard work ethics of their parents, the boomers. Respect talent and achievement over tenure. Value control of their time. They look for a person in whom they can invest loyalty, not a company. They question authority, see rules as flexible, protocol is second as they try to find the fastest ways to results and solutions. They tend to replace face to face meetings with emails to save time.

• Family: Mainly two income families; women entered the workplace in high numbers. Soccer Mom/Dad are expressions used to describe Gen X as parents. They value work-life balance as well as freedom and responsibility. They are cautious with their money and tend to save it.

• Leadership: Rules are flexible, cooperation is more important. They do challenge authorities.

• Culture Ethos: They are the highest educated generation. They accept diversity, being diverse in such aspects as race, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation. They try to have fun, avoid stress and burnout. Their loyalty is to their individual career goals. They change jobs an average of every three years.

• Communications: Want open communication regardless of position, title, or tenure. Communication is casual and direct. They use electronic gizmos. They see long meetings as waste of time, and may be answering emails on their Blackberries during a meeting. Time is money.

• Recognition and motivation: A balance of fair compensation (immediate) and ample time off as rewards is the best way they feel recognized. They can be more motivated if they are told to forget the rules and do things their own way.

• Technology: They started the Internet and are very familiar and comfortable with their PDAs, BBs, smart phones, and laptops. They embrace technology as a way to control their lives

• As a customer: They believe in “prove it to me” and they don’t trust the traditional sales techniques, hard sell or marketing gimmicks. They want options and choices to suit their preferences. They rely more on peer to peer referrals than any other generation. As customers, Gen X are very loyal.

Next comes Gen Y, Diversity starts at home,

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC. - Home of the D.I.A.L.O.G.™ Programs
Diversity& Inclusion in Active Leadership Organizational Growth™
(Exchanging Ideas through Conversation)™

http://www.saharconsulting.com

(818)861 9434

 Let’s connect on:        

Contact me:  saharconsulting

Diversity Challenges- Stereotyping

First appeared on Technorati:  http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/diversity-challenges-stereotyping/

We discussed the Diversity Challenges in the last post. An important item in the diversity challenges is stereotyping, so let us start by defining it.

Stereotypes lead to assumptions and conclusions based on a person’s race, gender or sexual preferences. Making these assumptions and conclusions then leads us to discrimination. Stereotypes can be about race, religion, gender, age, disabilities, income, geographical locations.

Stereotyping, has its root in prejudice, is an unjustified negative attitude based on a person’s group or class identity acquired either through past personal experiences or through preconceived wrong beliefs. It includes having an attitude, opinion, perception, or belief about a person or group.

Stereotype is a mental picture developed as a result of a myth. People don’t often realize manifestations of their own bias and prejudice towards others.

A clear example is shown in the case of a Republican official, from Orange County, Ca, a couple of months ago; forwarding an email to some friends depicting an image of a family of chimpanzees, with the superimposed face of President Barack Obama over the baby chimp’s face. The caption read, “Now you know why no birth certificate; thinking it was just a joke. She apologized by saying that she has never been a racist; she just thought it was funny

While we are not judging the behavior, the morale of the story is that we can have our own bias and not even be aware of it, which is the real challenge when it comes to diversity, inclusion, and acceptance.

Important also to note that there a fine difference between generalization and stereotyping. Generalization is a starting point indicating common trends and patterns, for beliefs and behaviors that are shared by a certain group, to make it a bit easier to study its culture, and that there are individual differences even within the same group of people

While generalizing is a positive, stereotyping that might seem similar, functions differently, and can negatively influence interpersonal interactions. Stereotyping is an ending point and can be defined as the process by which people acquire and recall information about others based on their race, sex, religion, etc.

To understand the difference: If I assume that all Middle Eastern are Muslims is stereotyping as a good percentage is Christian, Jewish, Druze or Baha’i. But if I ask myself if a Middle Eastern is Muslim I am making a generalization

One of the publicized stereotypes in the workplace is the “gender” stereotypes, indicated in class action lawsuits as the Wal-Mart and the recent KPMG case.

Gender issues often have a strong impact on a workplace because these types of issues elicit different communication styles and perceptions. These issues can also lead to sexual harassment and other types of discrimination and those that are very subtle. However, these issues are not limited to gender issues, but also include sexual issues, cultural issues and lifestyle issues.

Gender issues are excellent for exploring how stereotypes develop and discrimination occurs. For instance, women often feel undervalued in the workplace, while men often think that they cannot do the same jobs as them. This is a classic stereotype.

Age is another issue, including whether an employee is too old or too young for their position. For instance, Gen Y are presently in leadership positions at the workplace, some may wonder whether they have enough experience for their position as well as life in general.

Sexual orientation issues also arise causing stereotypes and discrimination. As more gay men and lesbian women make their presence known in the workplace and openly talk about their sexuality and partners, many people simply do not understand it. These people are often the center of disrespectful jokes and commentary. Organizations are also openly hiring these individuals into managerial positions. These types of situations often cause tension and even violence between these individuals.

Individuals with disabilities might also be stereotyped and discriminated against. Although the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ensures workplace corrections so that disabled people can work easily in their positions, they often feel as though they are left out of the office culture.

Stereotyping and discriminating against certain people and classes that are mostly protected by law, not only affects the bottom line revenues of the workplace, but decreases morale, where employees are disengaged, increase absenteeism, diminishes the capability of recruiting and retaining talents. All these factors will not only decrease productivity, but also subjects the organization to major lawsuits that costs million of dollars in settlements and punitive damages, with a risk to tarnish its reputation forever and can be detrimental to small and middle size businesses.

Diversity starts at home.

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC. - Home of the D.I.A.L.O.G.™ Programs
Diversity& Inclusion in Active Leadership Organizational Growth™
(Exchanging Ideas through Conversation)™

http://www.saharconsulting.com

(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on:       
Contact me:  saharconsulting

Is Glass Ceiling For Women a Myth? Part 2

First appeared on Technorati:http://technorati.com/women/article/is-glass-ceiling-for-women-a2/

 

In the first part of this article, we discussed the Glass Ceiling as being an invisible barrier against promoting women to senior executive roles; I feel it is better described as a maze since it more accurately conveys the complexity and randomness that typically occurs better than the glass-ceiling metaphor.

Maze and games shouldn’t be there to start with, but women usually are met with stereotyping, and resistance to be promoted.

Some believe that if you fill the companies’ pipelines with exceptional women leaders talents, eventually they’ll make it into the executive suite kind of “build it they will come” or “just give it time” philosophies have been widely accepted for decades. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.

According to the 2010 study “The Impact of Gender on Voluntary and Involuntary Executive Departure”; showed that female executives voluntarily leave their corporate positions twice as often as counter males .

There are many challenges that continue to face women who strive to get to the top, but how long are we going to dwell over spilled milk? The fact that there are women in senior leadership positions, some in industries that are stereotypically male dominated indicates that the barriers can be broken. So what are the real reasons behind anyone including women not reaching a certain level of hierarchy, or promotion; so is it competence, supply, Comfort zones, complacency, fear of success or none of these factors?

If we can define the causes of an illness and control its symptoms, we can then find a cure, so if we can define the reasons of the Glass Ceiling and decrease its effects then we can find a solution and a remedy to the problem.

First let us address the most common obstacles: Please note that these are the generally dominant obstacles, they do not necessarily apply in all cases:

1. Gender stereotypes where women are seen as mothers and spouses with family responsibilities that will prevent them from moving upward
2. Perceptions of women inability to network especially after work hours, or mix with the boys for drinks
3. Outdated succession planning or lack of them; and career development systems
4. Frequent traveling, or relocation because of a job
5. Lack of sponsorships of females into leadership positions
6. Lack of mentors and role models for women
7. “All Boys” culture organizations’ cultures
8. Women fear of speaking up
9. Women fear of success

The leadership styles of men and women are different from each other, women are not men in dresses; and shouldn’t be expected to act or lead the same way to fit in. Plus women at the top are damned if they do and damned if they don’t; If they are aggressive and lead with an iron fist they are seen as a threat, if they try the inclusive and participative style of leadership they are seen as too soft.

In the next and final post we will discuss the effect of the obstacles and some suggested solutions.

Diversity starts at home.

Sahar Andrade

Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC.

http://www.saharconsulting.com

(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on: 
Contact me:  saharconsulting

 

Is Glass Ceiling For Women a Myth?

First appeared on Technorati: http://technorati.com/women/article/is-glass-ceiling-for-women-a1/#ixzz1F1Aa1DUq

Last Thursday I attended a conference sponsored by the US Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis, and the Women Labor Bureau. The conference theme was: Flexibility at the workplace.

Among the subjects discussed was the ability and capability of women in general to get to the C Suite positions and the barriers in the way, including lack of flexibility of working conditions

The topic reminded me of research I had done a couple of months ago about the percentage of women in the C suite compared to their male colleagues, as well as their presence and voices in board member and executive positions

Granted, the last few years have seen a bit of progress by women in the workforce, like in the Supreme Court of the United States, where in 220 years, only four women have served as justices, two of them nominated on the last two years by President Obama: Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

We have seen for the first time a female presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, and a female vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin (regardless of any political affiliations), as well as an increased number in female governors, both candidates and elected governors in the 2011 electoral race; Letitia “Tish” Long became the first woman to head a major intelligence agency. But we have also seen a standstill in the female leadership in 2010, as for every woman who was promoted to a C suite position, another was lost, according to Fortune magazine

We have also seen debates that were mostly negative around the placement of both female justices doubting their objectiveness; as well as the sexist remarks made about both Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin on the way they dressed, hair styles, how they looked, need of plastic surgeries, etc.

Statistics from the US Department of Education in 2009 show women at 57% of the students on college campuses and comprising around 60% of master’s degree recipients, as well as doctoral degrees awarded to more women than men. Nearly half of the US workforce is female, so logic dictates that there should be roughly 230 female CEOs, but reality numbers show that less than 10% of executives in large publicly traded firms are women, 12 female CEOs at Fortune 500 companies; only 6% of the most highly paid executives with titles such as chairman, chief executive officer, president and COO are women; only 15% sit on the board of directors; furthermore 12% of large companies don’t have a single woman on their boards (Korn/Ferry International).

These phenomena, accompanied by the fact that females working full time earn 81% of every dollar earned by men, have been going on forever and were dubbed by the Wall Street Journal as the “Glass Ceiling” that depicts limitations faced by women and minorities to advance into senior positions in corporate organizations. (We are only discussing factors affecting women in this post.)

In 1991, Senator Robert Dole Introduced the “Glass Ceiling Act” that was signed into a law as an amendment to Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1991. The Act established a commission to investigate if a Glass Ceiling existed or not, and if it did, to identify the barriers to placing more women and minorities into senior positions.

The commission found that, though CEOs understood the need to include women and minorities in the ranks of senior management, this belief was not shared at all levels of the organizations

The study also found 3 main barriers contributing to the Glass Ceiling causes:
1- Societal: Limited educational opportunities and bias against women and minorities
2- Internal Structural: Corporate practices; management shortcomings like outreach, recruiting and retaining female and minorities talents. Organizational Cultures that exclude women and minorities to participate in activities that will lead to advancement such as career development assignments, mentoring and management training
3- Governmental: Inconsistent enforcement of Equal Opportunity Employment laws, and poor collection and distribution of reports and statistics that showcase the problems

Audits are been conducted regularly by the commission to monitor the progress made in solving the Glass Ceiling.

So is the Glass Ceiling for women a myth or not?

Diversity starts at home.

 

Sahar Andrade
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC.
http://www.saharconsulting.com
(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on: 
Contact me:  saharconsulting

Leadership and Diversity of the Egyptian Movement

First appeared on Technorati: http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/leadership-and-diversity-of-the-egyptian/

We can’t help but admire the Egyptian protesters, and their tenacity no matter what the outcome will be.

They vowed to get back their dignity even if it meant losing their lives. What they are asking for is simple: Getting back their dignity, finding jobs, feeding themselves and their families — the simple basic human rights.

The beauty of this movement is in its diversity; the diversity of the protesters is really is what captured our attention. The protesters are old and young people, men and women, even children, covered and not covered, bearded and not bearded, Christians, Muslims and Bahia or even agnostics, rich or poor, educated or illiterate, executives, professionals and labors.

The graciousness, decency and peacefulness of the whole revolution are a great history lesson for all to learn. They showed the world that you can both be poor and civilized. It reminded me of the great Mahatma Gandhi.

With that said, I have 2 points that keep puzzling me:
1 - Leadership: Egypt with 24 political parties; and millions in the streets does not have one pronounced leader — none. The problem that I see with the movement is that they don’t have a declared leader, and they don’t know or care at this point who will be President, which is very worry-some.

Countries are like corporations if they don’t have the proper succession plans. Guess what: that country/corporation is heading to disaster.

While each one the protesters is a leader by himself or herself — inspiring each other, sharing a common vision and goals — with no ONE leader/s to take charge, to plan and lead the way, this makes this movement unique and can be either considered as a strength or a weakness.

A present prospective is “El Baradei,” who never lived in Egypt and has no clue of the Egyptian people’s suffering, and returned to Egypt wanting to seize the opportunity to become the President. He obviously supports the Brotherhood; his intentions are unclear so far. He is more a threat than an opportunity or a solution.

Then there is “Omar Moussa,” who was actually a member of Mubarak’s cabinet for 10 years. He is educated, well spoken, logical, well regarded by both the Arab and Western worlds, but again, what are his intentions; working for the good of the country or his own gain?

The thing to admire, though, is the increase of the women leadership that has been rising and seen in these protests where women have been chanting, protesting, and even leading men acting as leaders, which is new and would have been a delight to watch if the conditions were different. As women have begun to change the paradigm, they still lack both organization of their leadership and representation in the higher leadership levels.

2 - It is being said: Be careful for what you wish for. Some parties, like the “Muslim Brotherhood” party, who have been banned since President Nasser’s era, President Sadat released from prisons and gave them power in an attempt to combat communism that was sweeping the streets of Egypt during the late 70’s; and they ended up killing him.
Make no mistake; the Brotherhood is very well organized, watching from behind the scenes. They are watching what is going on, they keep promoting that they didn’t start the movement and that they are not the cause of it. Though it is true, they are still instigators, and they said it over and over again: We might not be violent, but we don’t honor the peace treaty with Israel — so if this is not instigating violence, what is?

They are just waiting for the constitution to be changed to democracy so they can become a recognized party, and with the change of constitution that will limit the terms of each president. They are looking at the long run where a President will become one of theirs. They have been around for 80 years and they are patient and know how to plan properly and smoothly. They are a danger, and not a blessing, to be watched closely.

While the protesters are sacrificing their lives for freedom — busy trying to get Mubarak out — they might be missing the real role of the invisible hand played by the Brotherhood.

In closing, I can’t still explain the leadership or the lack of it in the Egyptian movement; it might evolve in the next few days . The mosaic of the protesters and their diversity shows a beautiful painted canvas; but should they be careful for what they wish for?

Diversity Starts At Home

Sahar Andrade
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC.

http://www.saharconsulting.com

(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on: 
Contact me:  saharconsulting
Photo credit: Al Jazeera website

 

 

Age Diversity: Bridging The Generational Gap: Solutions

In the previous posts, I discussed the Matures, continuing the sequence; we met the Baby Boomers, Generation X or GEN X, Generation Y or GEN Y, and challenges

This is the final post on Bridging the generational gap, knowing the challenges illuminates the way on what kind of solutions will help build a cooperative culture between the different generations and harvest on their strengths and skills rather than focusing on the negatives.

Advantages of a multi-generational workforce:

• Teams can gain an edge by utilizing their wealth of experience and talent of each generation. Older employees to learn to trust and leverage the younger ones’ skills.
• Understanding the key themes for each age group can build a base for understanding and can reduce stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination. Build active engagement
• Increased innovation and creativity by sharing experiences, ideas, skills and perspectives bringing new solutions and opportunities for a competitive edge
• Mentoring and reverse mentoring: To fill the gaps of experience in each generation, and avoid the old mistakes.
• The team can attract and retain talented people of all ages, being more flexible.
• The team can gain and keep greater market share because its members reflect a multi-generation market, and can meet needs of a diverse public.
• Decisions are stronger because they’re broad-based.

To build an inclusion culture:
• Know the demographics- externally and internally
• Demonstrate respect and recognition
• Open channels of communications and dialogue
• Participative problem solving and decision making
• Comprehensive leadership of all generations
• Build on strengths, understand and appreciate them
• Offer options
• Transfer knowledge from older generation to younger ones as they have a tendency to keep all their knowledge and experience in their heads

Solutions:
• Start with a generational audit to grasp your internal demographics
• Conduct Diversity and Leadership training workshops. The training will use sensitivity making younger employees aware and sensitive to older employees’ needs, strengths and potential contributions. Also give information to older employees to be more aware of their own actions that foster widening the gap; as well as offering solutions.
• Train managers and leaders on the ADEA Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 – prohibiting discrimination of workers of 40 years or older
• Bring out the best in each employee, adapt to the styles and preferences of a multi-generational workforce and look through a generational filter to consider actions with employees.
• Host a Generational Awareness Week. Post photos that represent the generations. Include icons and popular expressions. Play music that is popular to each generation
• Write four versions—one for each generation—of an Employee Value Proposition, in a way to match each generation’s values, wants and needs.
• Review the benefits package; match them to appeal to each single generation.
• Design three rewards specific to each single generation.
• Review the makeup of the Board of Directors. To make sure they match the company’s DNA
• Learn about other generations beside yours. Ask questions, learn history, characters, motivation, and work preferences. Respect others.
• Ask employees from the 4 different generations about their ideal manager characters. Then, create profiles of four ideal managers—one for each generation. What do all the profiles have in common? Where do they differ? And think how to apply these findings
• Consider implementing inter-generational mentoring and generational employee-resource groups.

Case Studies:
Companies are aligning jobs with the shared values of employees:
• American Express is providing more job flexibility, allowing people to work where and how they want;
• CitiGroup’s Alternative Solutions Work program; which provides opportunities for social contribution
• Ernst and Young‘s Corporate Responsibly Fellows Program which has instituted progressive work policies that value multiple bottom lines including sustainability.
• Time Warner and Cisco which has instituted inter-generational mentoring.
• Deloitte created a platform like Facebook D-Street to communicate with their GEN Y.
• Kaiser Permanente built an internal networking site called KP IdeaBook, an interactive site where employees can create detailed professional profiles, find and connect with colleagues via search and browsing capabilities, establish groups and provide status updates on work projects

Age is a diversity issue, the melting pot theory is not applicable anymore as melting everything down, gets everything mixed together into a mass of gray mud. The different groups lose their uniqueness. Everything becomes homogenous and loses the variety of perspectives. Potential goes untapped. So I rather look at diversity is a big bowl of salad with different color vegetable, each retaining its nutrition and flavor; that we can mix and match and choose our own dressing to match our tastes i.e. goals.

It is not singing “Kumbaya” but rather understanding and respecting our similarities and differences and putting them to work for us rather than against us.

Posts related to the discussion: Matures, Boomers, GEN X, Gen Y and the Challenges.

Diversity starts at home

Diversity: Bridging the Generational Gap: Baby Boomers

In the previous posts, I discussed the Matures

Picture credit to Bloomberg Business Week

In the previous post, I discussed the general characters of the Matures Generation. Continuing the sequence of the generations, we meet the Baby Boomers who were born in a post-war era. The Vietnam War erupted, the civil rights movement was shaping up, and taking on a life of its own. The cold war started, John and Bob Kennedy, as well as Martin Luther King, Jr., were assassinated. Woodstock was the event of the century. The Baby Boomers era also marked the beginning of the Women’s movement and the emergence of Feminism.

The Baby Boomers period was a very complex one in terms of how this generation’s world was affected and is reflected in their behaviors, values, beliefs and characters. The Matures laid the groundwork for the United States to become an influential member of the world community. The Boomers came behind them, with their intense work ethic and their competitive nature; they got  US productivity to the forefront of the world community.

Today, the Boomers are in control of business, government, and culture. They are the CEOs of most companies, executives, faculty professors, supervisors and managers; they dominate the workplace.

Boomers are still working very hard, but questioning whether it was worth it, as they have seen massive layoffs and downsizing caused by the tough economic conditions. Boomers are currently changing their outlook on work, and reexamining their values concerning work, family and culture.

• Baby Boomers’ generation marked the highest birth rates ever in the US.

• Famous examples of the Baby Boomers’ generations: Bill and Hilary Clinton, The Beatles, President Obama, Oprah, Tony Blair, George W. Bush, Bill Gates and Steven Jobs.

• Their music rocked. Rock and Roll was an expression of their generational identity. They listened to the Beatles, Motown sounds, Beach Boys, Rolling Stones, and The Supremes. The real revolution was the transistor radio that was portable and could be carried everywhere. Colored TVs as well as the Peace symbol also mark the era.

• Workplace: Boomers started the “Workaholic” expression. They care about getting the job done no matter how long it took. They believe that teamwork is a key to success, as well as building relationships. They love face to face long meetings. They are competitive and defined by their works and their work ethics.

• Family: Work came first; they worked very hard and for very long hours. That affected their families, hence the high rate of divorce of the Boomers’ generation. Two income homes started to bud, as women entered the workplace in big numbers.

• Leadership: They changed the McGregor’s management style from Theory X to Theory Y, a participative and collaborative style of management. They respect power and achievements.

• Culture Ethos: Individuality, the “ME” generation. Rebuilding was their motto. Demanding personal freedoms, individually seeking personal fulfillment. They looked at education as a birthright.

• Communications: Somewhat formal and through structured networks. They choose face-to-face conversations, and practice diplomacy.

• Recognition and motivation: Public acknowledgement and career advancement counted the most. They love to hear how much they are valued and how much they are needed. Success is displayed by certificates, trophies and plaques.

• Technology: Necessary for progress and advancement.

• As a customer: They worked too long and too hard, interested in products that save them time and put them in control of their lives. They want products customized for them, the individual. They want also want products that reflect status and success. Famous brand names reflect these qualities: Mercedes, BMW, Cartier etc…

Generation X will be discussed in the next post.

Till then, remember Diversity starts at home,

Sahar Andrade
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC.

http://www.saharconsulting.com

(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on: 

Diversity: Bridging the Generational Gap: The Matures

First appeared on Technorati: http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/bridging-the-generational-gap-the-matures/

Last week-end, we were invited to a 55th wedding anniversary dinner. The dialog that took place around the dinner table was amazing. The grandmother was angry at the grand daughter after leaving a voice mail that was never returned. The response from the Grand daughter was rolling her eyes, saying: Grand-Ma; voice mails are so yesterday, I never listen to my messages you should have Facebooked me.

The Grand-Mother response was: You kids are so spoiled, and have it so much easier.

This kind of conversation is not unique, it has been happening at family gatherings and frequently in the workplace.

This is the first time in American history that four different generations are mingling and intertwining in all aspects of our daily lives. They work side-by-side, bringing their own values, goals and communication approaches to the workplace; which can be a blessing or a curse.

The older generation is still contributing and working due to few reasons:

• Medical breakthroughs allowing a healthier and longer life.
• Today’s financial turn-moils, where most Americans have lost a considerable percentage of their savings, retirements and 401K.
• Unaffordable high costs of health care.

But before we go any further; let us discuss who are the four generations, their characteristics, their values and beliefs and most importantly what makes them tick.

Here are the different generations in our society, community and workplace:

1. The Matures/ Veterans/ Traditionalists: Born between 1927 and 1945; and are 65 to 83 years old.
2. The Baby Boomers: Born between 1946 and 1964; and are 46 to 64 years old.
3. The Generation X/ GEN X: Born between 1965 and 1975; and are 35 to 45 years old.
4. The Generation Y/ GEN Y/ or Millennials: Born between 1976 and early 80’s; and are 28 to 34 years old.

I remember reading this quote in an article written about generations, I really thought it summarized the perceived differences between the generations: “When asked to recall how and where Kennedy died, the Veterans and Baby Boomers would say gunshots in Dallas, Texas; Generation X remembers a plane crash near Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.; and Generation Y might say, “Kennedy who?”

To really understand what makes each generation characteristics, we need to dig deeper in the conditions and surrounding that influenced the world in which they grew up. Childhood experiences helped shape each generation’s future, and often held tightly to age-based values, thoughts, passions, and ideals

I will start by the world of the Matures. Who are also called Veterans or Traditionalists:

It is a generation that was born or grew up during the radio era (Radio babies), the great depression, World war 2, Hiroshima and Pearl Harbor; which all took a toll on their lives. They love their privacy, and have a problem sharing their inner thoughts.

• They are the smallest generation in numbers (55 M), the wealthiest and most likely to vote.

• Famous examples of the Mature generations: Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, John Mc Cain, Martin Luther King, JR, Billy Graham, John Glenn, John Wayne, Charlton Heston, Elvis and Frank Sinatra. Bill Cosby

• Their music tastes varied between Frank Sinatra, Elvis, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. They listened to the Radio, records; Juke boxes and read the Readers Digest.

• Workplace: Many of the Matures joined the work force either after the depression or after coming back from the war. They worked in companies that took care of its employees, so they were loyal and spent all their lives working for one single employer. Great work ethics and discipline at work. They worked by the book.

• Family: The man worked and the woman generally stayed home raising the kids. Family was kept separate from work. Traditional families.

• Leadership: Accepted Mc Gregor’s management style of Theory X (Up to down management style, autocratic), Command and control; as a norm. They rarely challenged authorities.

• Culture Ethos: Security, surviving, saving money, defending freedoms, high sense of duty to family, workplace and the country. Education was a dream.

• Communications: Formal, honoring the chain of command, through the proper channels as memos.

• Recognition and motivation: Personal acknowledgement and compensation for work well done is very important to them as well as showing respect and valuing their experiences and dedication.

• Technology: If it is not broken, don’t fix it

• As a customer: Have great faith in American products and brands (GM. P&G, Coke etc…) and the Government. As loyal customers, they expected durability and quality of the products. Pricing was important to them as they believed in saving and being thrifty.

I will be discussing the other generations in the following posts.

Diversity starts at home.

 

Sahar Andrade
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC.

http://www.saharconsulting.com

(818)861 9434

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Chile And the Rescue of the San Jose Miners

Article first published as Chile And the Rescue of the San Jose Miners on Technorati.

The whole world watched the rescue of the last Chilean miner last night.  There was not a dry eye in the crowd, countries from Japan, to China to Australia, the whole Middle-East; even Iran rejoiced the rescue of the miners which is unusual.

Till now, I am still mesmerized by the spirit of these miners and their resilience as well as the resilience of everyone involved in the rescue operation including both the Chilean President and Chilean Minister of Mining.

There are many lessons to be learned from this miracle, as a business case, a human spirit case, safety case etc… But what I am mainly concerned with today is the application of Diversity and leadership building great teams efforts cross-culturally.

The President of Chile asked for help from any country form anyone that could help save his miners, his team, he looked beyond he went beyond his own personal lens, his own emotional limitation, and  reached out for the United States, NASA, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Germany.  He said bring it on no matter where you come from, no matter where you are and no matter what it will take.

Chile through excellent use of diversity, inclusion and crisis management was able to turn around a possible disaster into a rejoiced rescue mission that saved lives.

The President of Chile demonstrated his strong leadership skills by being creative, inclusive, positive, inspiring, looking for solutions before placing blame, taking control of the situation, claiming responsibility and accountability for the situation, and finally putting together a diverse global team for the operation.  And he delivered.

The President of Chile also showcased the advantages of applying diversity:

• Diverse global talents that were included in an inclusive culture enhanced productivity, creativity and were a key driver in success.
• Diverse talents established a benchmark of global team work directed to one goal; to save the miners and getting them alive no matter what it took.
• They put together an effective business strategy as how to solve the problem; that even worked better and faster than expected.
• Leveraging each unique individual to strive toward a common goal and objective.
• Diversity of voices and ideas created the successful brainstorming and competencies that resulted in saving the miners.
• The diverse rescue teams leveraged their diverse skills, perspectives, and problem-solving and creativity skills to find a solution.
• The diverse team built on each other strength’s and practiced effective communication cross-culturally.
• None of the team members looked for individual gratification and recognition, their reward was the success of the rescue operation as a whole team operation.

It feels so good to see diversity serving its real purpose, bringing people together for a good cause; showcasing the positive influence of diversity in our everyday life.  What a better way to celebrate diversity than cheering the lives of 33 men that were trapped for 70 days, with an unprecedented rescue that will be remembered worldwide for generations.

There are many lessons learned from Chile that will become more obvious in the upcoming days, lessons that we can apply if we are ever hit again with disasters like Katrina or the BP oil spill. But for now, let us celebrate the saved lives; and sheer the resilience and strength of the human spirits.

Diversity starts at home,

(- Picture credit to dailymail.co.uk -)

Sahar Andrade
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC.

http://www.saharconsulting.com

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Stop The Bullying In Schools

Tyler Clementi, Billy Lucas, Asher Brown, Seth Walsh, what do they have in common?  They all committed suicide last week, to end the torment of being bullied and harassed in school.

• Tyler Clementi (18): A brilliant violinist, in New Jersey, jumped off a bridge.
• Billy Lucas (15): Hanged himself in Greensburg.
• Asher Brown (13): Shot himself in the head in Houston.
• Seth Walsh (13): Hanged himself in their own backyard at Tehachapi, CA.
• Justin Aaberg (15) last July was found dead in his room, he hanged himself.

Is this what we became as a society, intolerant and ignorant? Where kids harass and bully other weaker kids just because they are different? And where do these kids get the sense that it is acceptable to bully others, and that it is acceptable to be prejudice, and discriminating? The answer is simple; they learn it from their parent or at school.

Bullying teen agers especially the gay teen agers or the ones that are still questioning their identity is becoming an epidemic.  Gay teen agers are called names like: Fag, queer, dyke, Lesbos and the worst part is that the teachers and the school don’t address these issues, or don’t know how to address these issues, sweeping them under the carpet will not make them disappear.

The poor teen agers, are tormented, feel isolated, unloved, hated, not accepted, ridiculed and mostly shamed for who they are.  They have no idea where to turn, how to look for help.  Most School administrations don’t have any designed system in place to address the gay issue in schools, teachers don’t know or are scared to face these issues, or feel documenting the bullying or harassing situations to the office is enough.

Some schools have anti-bullying programs mentioned on their curriculum, but it is just to be politically correct, and they don’t intervene to stop the bullying as in the case of Walsh where they were made aware of the torment, he was going through.

This is also a wake up for the parents; Parents should realize that they are the first gate of knowledge for their kids that absorb totally how they act, including their prejudice. In fact, children learn to discriminate in the same way they absorb a new language, learn to dress in a certain way, or to use a toy. Early child and family experiences shape children’s attitudes and behaviors.  Bullying is a product of the home.

Parents of teen gays, accept your children, love and support them, embrace them for who they are, you are their first line of defense and you might make all the difference in saving their lives.

The solution is within us, we can save unnecessary loss of young teens.  We need to make these teens know that there is hope, that there is help Dan Savage: It  gets  better project is a start, campaigns should be designated to let these teens know that there is nothing wrong in being gay, that being gay is not a choice, it is who they are; and they are loved for who they are; regardless of who they choose to be with.

Legislation laws have be scripted to protect these teen agers, school administrators should impose very strict rules regulations for zero tolerance for bullying and harassment, offer counseling to these teens, in safe environment with total privacy.  Teachers should get a thorough training on sexual orientation and harassment.

Other resources are:

• SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education) offers many resources on suicide prevention and depression information. Their phone: 952-946-7998.
• Another suicide prevention information organization is Trevor Project. The organization offers resources specifically for the GLBT youth.

I do stand for the freedom of choice and the rights of everyone to live their lives the way they want it.  Who are we to judge anyone or judge that being gay is wrong or shameful? Hatred never bring any positive changes, it just generates more hatred.  Just think if it was your child that lost their lives how would you feel?

Please advocate for zero tolerance for prejudice and discrimination, let this be a wake up, let these tragedies be a candle light that illuminate our path to recovery and healing.  Let us stand up and speak up; it starts by each one of us saying no more bullying and no more discrimination. We need to make our voices heard- Enough loosing promising young lives!

Diversity starts at home,

Sahar Andrade
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC.
http://www.saharconsulting.com

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