How To Manage The New Workplace Reality

With clear caution against stereotyping people by age, Valerie M. Grubb has written an incredibly insightful book on how to manage the new workplace reality. A reality driven by the fact that by 2020, 25 percent of the labor force will be over the age of 55, and Generation Z is just now entering the workforce. All of which will drive a clash of cultures that demands a new management approach.

Key takeaways from Grubb's new book, Clash of the Generations, include:

Old habits - not old people - kill innovation, and pairing veteran workers with younger ones has proven to spur innovation at many companies.
Learning is a lifelong pursuit, and motivating senior team members to develop their skill sets is just as important as mentoring new and mid-career members of the team.
Employees and managers worry about job stability, and taking part in developing individualized career plans for your talent is a critical way to retain them.

In the book, you'll learn about:

The New Workplace Reality
Defining the Generations
Fostering a Culture of Inclusion
Setting the Stage for Great Performance
Being an Inclusive Manager
Promoting Growth Opportunities
Managing Differences in Work Ethic
Managing Different Work-Life Balance Expectations
Managing the Differences in Career Development Planning

And, you'll read some fascinating case studies about these organziations:

Chegg
Hy-Ko Products
TECT Corporation

Valerie M. Grubb

Recently, Grubb shared with me her answers to these questions about a workplace with Baby Boomers Generation Xers, Millennials and the soon-to-come Generations Zers:

Question: When do you believe most businesses will fully experience the impact of Generation Zers?

Grubb: The latest generation, commonly referred to as Generation Z, Post-Millennials or Nextsters, were born in 1998 so businesses can expect this new group of employees to show up any day now (either as interns or full-time employees).

Question: How best should a leader pro-actively prepare for that impact?

Grubb: If your company is still struggling with how to manage the Millennial generation, it’s time to get serious about your management practices and training! I have five recommendations that leaders can immediately implement:

Demand inclusivity – all voices matter, not just those new to the office or with more senior experience. By ensuring everyone is heard, your teaching respect for all which can positively affect employee motivation and engagement.
Understand that work ethic means very different things to each generation and this includes time in the office. Both Millennials and GenZ are incredibly entrepreneurial and will expect more independent work environments. So ensure your leaders are managing employees by the goals they accomplish, not by the hours in the office.
Train your managers on the value of appreciation. Millennials certainly brought the concept into the workforce but GenZ will take it to a whole new level. If your managers are stuck in the old ways of motivating and engaging employees (including not rewarding and appreciating employees), even previously successful managers will start to experience turnover.
Focus on development opportunities from the moment your GenZer (or Millennial) shows up in the office. If they are not learning, they’re looking for opportunities at your competitor. Take advantage of that strong desire to learn by offering professional development opportunities from formal training to informal mentoring options.
Step up your communication game. GenZ and Millennials are going to assume that no news = bad news, including that management doesn’t care about them. That can spell trouble for even the best of companies and it’s something leaders can immediately implement.

Question: When a leader helps to facilitate mentoring within his/her organization, what works best?

Grubb: Pairing Baby Boomers with Generatioon Xers, Millennials or Generation Zers? Any why?

Both! Learning occurs up, down and sideways, so focus on the goals of what your trying to get out of the mentoring relationship, then pair up the generations to accomplish the mission.

Boomers and Xers can gain a significant leg-up on technologies and the interests of younger workers by being paired up with Millennial and GenZers. On the flip side, more senior employees can help Millennials and GenZers with what it takes to lead in a corporate environment (and how to move up that timeline).

As long as both employees walk into the partnership with the right attitude (that we both have something to learn), your mentoring programs can result in a more engaged and motivated workforce (and one that’s smarter too!).

Grubb is the founder of the consulting firm Val Grubb & Associates Ltd. During her career, she served as vice president of NBC Universal and played a key role in creating both Oxygen Media and IAC.

Comments

How To Uncover Your Blindspots To Become A Better Leader

What you don't see about yourself can hold you back as a leader. That's typical for many leaders. What we don't see is what we can't see: we have blindspots . Your blindspots prevent you from achieving your greatest success. “It turns out that we're often not great judges of ourselves, even when we think we are. Sometimes we're simply unaware of a behavior or trait that's causing problems,” explains Martin Dubin , author of the new book, Blindspotting: How To See What’s Holding You Back As A Leader . “Bottom line: until we uncover these blindspots, we can't move forward. The good news is that you can learn to do your own blindspotting .” “Most of us understand the idea of blindspots in a general sense—areas we can’t see, to take the term most literally, or places we have gaps that we may not even realize, to be a little more abstract,” says Dubin. “But in the context of this book, I’m defining blindspots quite specifically: They are...

How To Do Great Work In A Fast-Changing World

Today brings the new book, Effective: How To Do Great Work In A Fast-Changing World , by Melissa Swift . “Effectiveness is where employer and employee interests come together—you want to be great at accomplishing the goals of your job, and your employer wants that too,” explains Swift. “It’s also a place where we can bring together different organizational and developmental thinking to help move people to action.” In the book, Swift, founder of Anthrome Insight , draws on current research and provocative interviews with business and academic leaders to help readers understand how to be amazing in a working world seemingly designed to make us feel incompetent. Each chapter in Effective delivers actionable approaches, enabling readers to improve their daily work life immediately with a paradigm-shifting framework for thriving rather than merely coping in modern professional environments. The book serves professionals at every level of seniority, from e...

How To Harness Your Experiential Intelligence

“Experiential Intelligence provides a new lens from which to view what makes you, you—and what makes your team and organization unique,” says Soren Kaplan , author of the book, Experiential Intelligence . Kaplan explains that over 100 years ago, we established IQ (Intelligence Quotient) to predict success. Then we explored Emotional Intelligence (EQ), the theory of multiple intelligences, and mindsets that broaden the definition of smarts. “Today, Experiential Intelligence ( XQ ) expands our understanding of what's needed to thrive in a disruptive world. While you can't change the past, your unique experiences and stories contain hidden strengths and untapped potential for the future,” explains Kaplan. Experiential Intelligence is the combination of mindsets, abilities, and know-how gained from your unique life experiences that empowers you to achieve your goals. It allows you to get in touch with the accumulated wisdom and talents you have gained over time through your ...

The Fundamentals Of Market Engineering

“Most companies don’t fail because their product is substandard. They fail because the market doesn’t understand, care, or believe in what they’re selling,” explains Bruce Cleveland , author of the new book, Market Engineering . He adds that this dilemma is “because somewhere between the product development and the customer, the story got lost, the positioning drifted, or their category was defined by somebody else and the market went to another company.” That means, every year, startups and enterprises pour millions into building world-class products--only to watch them disappear into obscurity. In the book, Silicon Valley veteran Cleveland reveals the discipline behind market-dominating companies like Salesforce, Marketo, and C3 AI. Drawing on decades of experience as an operator, investor, and board member, Cleveland demonstrates how leaders can apply the same rigor to markets that they bring to products. You'll discover how to: Compel markets to come to you instead of c...

The Do's And Don'ts Of Effective Listening

Here are some great tips from Michelle Tillis Lederman 's book, The 11 Laws of Likability . They are all about: what to do and what not to do to be a leader who is an effective listener : Do : Maintain eye contact Limit your talking Focus on the speaker Ask questions Manage your emotions Listen with your eyes and ears Listen for ideas and opportunities Remain open to the conversation Confirm understanding, paraphrase Give nonverbal messages that you are listening (nod, smile) Ignore distractions Don't : Interrupt Show signs of impatience Judge or argue mentally Multitask during a conversation Project your ideas Think about what to say next Have expectations or preconceived ideas Become defensive or assume you are being attacked Use condescending, aggressive, or closed body language Listen with biases or closed to new ideas Jump to conclusions or finish someone's sentences

How To Lead With Deep Purpose

Having conducted extensive field research, Ranjay Gulati , author of the book, Deep Purpose , The Heart and Soul of High-Performance Companies , reveals the fatal mistakes leaders unwittingly make when attempting to implement a reason for being. “My interviews with well over 200 executives across 18 firms revealed the secrets of these companies—not the usual facile frameworks, but new ways of thinking about business that allow leaders and companies to operate with heightened passion, urgency, and clarity,” shares Gulati. “I call this, deep purpose .” Furthermore, Gulati explains that most leaders think of purpose functionally or instrumentally, regarding it as a tool they can wield. On the other hand, deep purpose leaders think of it as something more fundamental; an existential statement that expresses the firm’s very reason for being. These leaders project it faithfully out onto the world. “Rethinking the nature of purpose should prompt you in turn to re-imagine ...

How To Overcome Four Common Challenges To Become A Better Communicator

“Raising your game as a communicator is one of the best ways to make a difference in the world, but it takes courage to open up to others and invite others to open up to you” says Michelle D. Gladieux , author of the new book, Communicate With Courage: Taking Risks To Overcome The Four Hidden Challenges . Gladieux explains that those four hidden challenges and sneaky obstacles that can keep you from becoming the best communicator you can be are: Hiding —Fear of exposing your supposed weaknesses. Defining —Putting too much stock into assumptions and being quick to judge. Rationalizing —Using “being realistic” to shield yourself from taking chances, engaging in conflict, or doing other scary but potentially rewarding actions. Settling —Stopping at “good enough” instead of aiming for something better in your interactions. According to Gladieux, these challenges all have something in common. They require taking risks—to reveal yourself, question your beliefs,...

10 Quotes From The 5 Levels Of Leadership -- John C. Maxwell

Soon I'll post my full review of John C. Maxwell's latest book, The 5 Levels of Leadership . In the meantime, here are some of my favorites quotes from the book that I believe should become a must-read book by any workplace/organizational leader: Good leadership isn't about advancing yourself. It's about advancing your team. Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others. Leadership is action, not position. When people feel liked, cared for, included, valued, and trusted, they begin to work together with their leader and each other. If you have integrity with people, you develop trust. The more trust you develop, the stronger the relationship becomes. In times of difficulty, relationships are a shelter. In times of opportunity, they are a launching pad. Good leaders must embrace both care and candor. People buy into the leader, then the vision. Bringing out the best in a person is often a catal...

6 Ways To Seek Feedback To Improve Your Performance In The Workplace

Getting feedback is an important way to improve performance at work. But sometimes, it can be hard to seek out, and even harder to hear. “Feedback is all around you. Your job is to find it, both through asking directly and observing it,” says David L. Van Rooy, author of the new book, Trajectory: 7 Career Strategies to Take You From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be . As today's guest post, Van Rooy offers these six tips for how to get the feedback you need to improve performance at work . Guest Post By David L. Van Rooy 1. Don’t forget to as k : One of the biggest mistakes people make is assuming things are going perfectly (until they make a catastrophic mistake). By not asking, you’re missing out on opportunities for deep feedback: the difficult, critical feedback that gives you constructive ways to improve. 2. Make sure you listen : Remember, getting fee...

Leadership Lessons From Kent Taylor, Founder Of Texas Roadhouse

From cover-to-cover of Made From Scratch you’ll learn the leadership lessons of the late Kent Taylor , founder of the restaurant chain Texas Roadhouse. In the new book, Taylor recounts how he built the restaurant chain from the ground up after being rejected more than 80 times as he pitched the idea for the business. His approach to business was often out-of-the-box, however, his business lessons and leadership lessons from the course of his life and career are invaluable. Here are some of my favorite leadership lessons from Kent and his book: The best leaders stay down-to-earth and approachable. In a bottom-up company, the leader learns from frontline people. As soon as you make a profit, find a way to give back. Be willing to laugh at yourself. Become a student of your craft. Positive reinforcement inspires much greater performance than fear ever can. Want to get the respect of your people? Then roll up y...

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog