Last week I attended a very fun and engaging workshop at the UBC Vancouver campus. The workshop was put on for UBC AAPS members and hosted by Gail Levitt. Gail is the President of Levitt Communications Inc. which is an organization dedicated to instructing, coaching and mentoring staff to improve their leadership influence. The half day workshop was intented to improve communication effectiveness, particularily for those who engage with multiple generations on a daily basis. Since I work with people of all ages I was interested in taking this workshop to learn more about the generational differences and how these differences may or may not affect the way my office communicates with one another. As the morning unfolded it was interesting to discover work styles, values, motivations and general work mottos pertaining to each generation. I wasn’t necessarily surprised by the findings but I was defintiely fascinated and learned a lot; different strokes for different folks!

My morning began in the back of a line up of cars – waiting to enter a poorly organized north parkade parking lot. It was pouring rain, cars everywhere and a frenzy of chaos. When I finally approached the only gate open I was narrowing in on the five minutes I needed to make it from my car to the second floor of the SUB. Just barely making it on time I run into a gal named Carrie, who has just made it too. We say hello and ask one another if we are attending the same workshop. We discover we are and begin to chat as we shake the excess water of our umbrellas and smile, delighted to know we are on the ‘same page’. Later I would discover this to be a quality of the generation we both belong to: social interaction. We enter the room together and situate ourselves at a table near the front. Gail, our host, is walking around the room, introducing herself. The program begins.

“Hi, I’m Gail,” pronounces Ms. Levitt. “I’m here today to talk to you about generational trends, work values, preferences and priorities so you can learn how to communicate better with eachother and apply some tips and techniques to strengthen your workplace. Does that sound good to you?”  “Yes,” we reply meekly, morning caffiene yet to take effect. Gail, unimpressed, replies “Sorry, I didn’t hear you. Does that sound good to you?!” We boast “Yes!” and immediately awaken with Gail’s enthusiasm. This will be a good experience, I think to myself; I love a good dose of enthusiasm.

Gail began the course by introducing the different generations:

Veterans (also GI Generation, Silent Generation or Traditionalists) 1909- 1945
Baby Boomers (Three Waves) 1946 – 1960
Generation X 1961 – 1979
New Millennials (also Gen Y) 1980 – 1999

She then worked through a number of reminders about the points she was going to make for each generation: these are trends and patterns only, we are not to assume they apply to everyone, don’t stereotype, avoid judgements, focus on understanding, not agreement and remember that each geneartion provides a unique contribution.

We moved on to unfolded the interesting aspects of the generations. Do any of these apply to you?

Generation Motto Why Work? Preferred Leadership Evaluating Performance Values at Work
Veterans “Follow the rules, learn to fit in, do your part and you’ll do fine.” 1.To survive and support one’s family.
2.To build a career in one company.
3.To give and receive loyalty.		 A Clear Chain of Commander Working hard with the hierarchy to prove oneself worthy of movement to the next level. Stick with what you committed to, be loyal, do your part and you will be looked after when you retire.
Baby Boomers  “The most direct path to the top can be found by working long and hard to achieve your dreams.”  1.To earn a good income.
2.To make a difference.
3.To demonstrate company loyalty.		  A Democratic Leader  Number of Hours worked equal to success: hard work pays off.  Experience matters as a way of developing knowledge and expertise.
Generation X  “Money is good but control of my time for people I choose to spend it with are more important.”  1.To pay the bills.
2.To learn new skills.
3.To demonstrate loyalty to individuals, not the company.		  An Influencial Mentor  Get the job done on time and to the boss’s satisfaction so you can leave to do important things outside of work.  Do what you say and say what you do consistently and without lying.
New Millenials  “Don’t waste time waiting for tomororw when you can get it today.”  1.To afford chosen lifestyle and hobbies.
2.For social interaction.
3.To become whatever one wants to be as quickly as possible.		  A Friendly and Flexible Coach  Productivity is doing things as fast as possible by working smarter to live better.  Knowledge does not depend on experience, so one is entitled to ask questions and give suggestions.

Moving through the different generations, work values and mottos was an interesting process. Many of the participants in the room identified with several of the characteristics pertaining to their generation, while some identified with generations they were not born into. Being on the cusp of the New Millenial group, Carrie and I both felt we shared values from Generation X as well as the New Millenials. We shared our thoughts in group discussions and were set up with different activities to play around with the generations and brainstorm ways to communicate under different scenarios.

One of these scenarios was:

You are from Generation X and you have 5 direct reports who are Baby Boomers planning to retire in the next two years. What can you say and do to increase the work speed and innovation of some of your Baby Boomer staff? Some ideas were generated:

  • Ask the Baby Boomers to share their knowledge and experience, to pass it on to others
  • Ask the Baby Boomers how they want to spend their next years
  • Provide an opportunity for Baby Boomers to leave a legacy
  • Reflect and focus on the hard work they have done over the years
  • Look ahead and ask Baby Boomers to provide suggestions for future successes, based on their expertise

These exercises encouraged us to think about our resepective workplaces and the people behind the great work we do. Thinking about my office, I identified several different generations and thought about their preferred workstyles. I could attribute a lot of this information to the people I identified and noticed how I could implement these ideas. Specifically, I thought one colleague I work with directly. He too is a Baby Boomer and I notice he is often called on for his expertise as he’s been with UBC for over 25 years. He is a very important member of our community and I notice he takes great appreciation when called upon to share his knowledge. Although I already knew which generation he belonged to what I didn’t know was how his generation might be motivated at work.  Learning more about his preferred working style helps me to understand his preferences and this understanding will undoubtedly lead to better communication and a strong working relationship between us.

By the end of this workshop I learned a lot about the different generations and the work styles, preferences and values affecting our working relationships. I learned a lot about my own preferred work styles as well thought about the different ways I can improve my working environment, both as an individual and as part of the office I work in. I really enjoyed the morning spent with Gail and would highly recommend this course to anyone who wishes to build on their personal and professional development.

Let me know if you have any questions about the course by commenting below!