Comments on: Engaging Gen Xers at Work http://www.innovationlabs.com/2008/05/engaging-gen-xers-at-work/ Innovation Consulting, Innovation Labs, Collaborative Facilitation, Strategic Solutions, Where Innovation Happens Tue, 03 Jan 2012 01:49:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Michael Kaufman http://www.innovationlabs.com/2008/05/engaging-gen-xers-at-work/comment-page-1/#comment-74 Michael Kaufman Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:58:00 +0000 http://www.innovationlabs.com/wordpress_test/169/engaging-gen-xers-at-work/#comment-74 Well said! One of the things that would make your idea even better is to engage employees in co-creating the plan, developing the benchmarks and goals, and, dare I say it, the reward systems! This will help to build trust and loyalty that is so important. Well said! One of the things that would make your idea even better is to engage employees in co-creating the plan, developing the benchmarks and goals, and, dare I say it, the reward systems! This will help to build trust and loyalty that is so important.

]]> By: Juhi Heda http://www.innovationlabs.com/2008/05/engaging-gen-xers-at-work/comment-page-1/#comment-73 Juhi Heda Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:05:00 +0000 http://www.innovationlabs.com/wordpress_test/169/engaging-gen-xers-at-work/#comment-73 The article you have linked to is great and very insightful, particularly when it discusses the relationship that is emerging between Boomers and Millenials and how this leaves the Gen Xers feeling left out. Really the key to a GenX manager or leader’s future success is to understand how the Millenials view the world and use that knowledge to motivate them in ways that work. One of the biggest myths about Millenials is that they have no work ethic and don’t want to put in the hours to really get ahead. In reality, they are willing to put in the time to do the job, but they aren’t going to spend extra “face time” brown nosing. Gen Xers view time as something that must be invested and something that proves loyalty. In the face of a rapidly changing world where nothing is for sure, however, Millenials view time as a currency whose value is uncertain in the future and must be used to maximize the present. Thus, they demand a work life balance, and emerging technologies are enabling them to achieve this balance better and better. They want to spend just enough time to get the job done right and then move on to other things. So show your employees that you have a plan and make the effort to ensure there are benchmarks and goals (maybe even rewards) in a time frame that is short enough for them to visualize. This approach will ground them and give them something to work towards, while simultaneously building that coveted trust and allegiance.<br/><br/>Juhi Heda<br/><a HREF="http://www.brilliont.com" REL="nofollow">Brilliont</a><br/>www.brilliont.com The article you have linked to is great and very insightful, particularly when it discusses the relationship that is emerging between Boomers and Millenials and how this leaves the Gen Xers feeling left out. Really the key to a GenX manager or leader’s future success is to understand how the Millenials view the world and use that knowledge to motivate them in ways that work. One of the biggest myths about Millenials is that they have no work ethic and don’t want to put in the hours to really get ahead. In reality, they are willing to put in the time to do the job, but they aren’t going to spend extra “face time” brown nosing. Gen Xers view time as something that must be invested and something that proves loyalty. In the face of a rapidly changing world where nothing is for sure, however, Millenials view time as a currency whose value is uncertain in the future and must be used to maximize the present. Thus, they demand a work life balance, and emerging technologies are enabling them to achieve this balance better and better. They want to spend just enough time to get the job done right and then move on to other things. So show your employees that you have a plan and make the effort to ensure there are benchmarks and goals (maybe even rewards) in a time frame that is short enough for them to visualize. This approach will ground them and give them something to work towards, while simultaneously building that coveted trust and allegiance.

Juhi Heda
Brilliont
http://www.brilliont.com

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