Managing Generation X

What would you think of a poker player who plays each hand of cards the same way, regardless of how they were dealt?

This is how most managers lead their teams, as if they are being dealt the same play of cards with each new batch of employees. Each worker is different, and although we are governed by the same human emotions, each of us has a different perspective on the work place.

"I've been successful for the past twenty years as a manager in my company and treat all my employees the same. Why should I change and adapt my style of leadership?"

That depends on how important it is for your employees to be happy and put forth their best effort. Think of your employees as customers and seek out their unique individual needs. One system of learning the motivations of your employees is to categorize them into different age ranges, or generations. Understand the motivation that each generation brings to the workplace, and seek to meet that need. Leadership is servanthood, and your leadership must follow the unique motivations of each individual. All of us are motivated to some degree by our own self-interest, and if our needs are not met in our current place of work, then we will jump ship. When it comes to managing workers from different generations, the play of each hand in the poker game of management must be carefully focused on the motivations of each generation.

One of the south's leading experts on generational issues in the workplace is Cam Marston of Marston Communications in Charlotte. "Managers must understand the motivation of the different age groups," Marston says. "The needs of a 25 year old are different than a 45 year old. And not just their needs, but their motivation for staying with a company."

Because Generation X and younger employees have grown up seeing layoffs and downsizing as the normal course of business, they do not feel a strong sense of corporate loyalty compared to older workers. Marston says that the best way that managers can deal with those in this category is to become a mentor and to help them at the personal level to advance in their career…even if it means that younger worker could leave the company. "Ironically," Marston says, "when a manager seeks to mentor a younger worker in this way, the younger worker will have a higher likelihood of staying with a company. Loyalty has changed. With these workers, their loyalty is not to the company but to their boss and to their profession. If you can show them how they will personally grow in their profession, then they will more than likely stay with your company."

With this understanding, Marston gives the following three steps to leading your staff:

1. Become available. The boss needs to make himself or herself available to the team. Don't be a shadow that mysteriously appears every once in a while. Be visible. Walk around the floor and chat with your staff. Hang out at the water cooler so people can see that you actually exist.

2. Interact with employees. This needs to be done on a day to day basis. Managers need face time with their people every single day and need to be interested in them.

3. Become interested in their career paths. Invest yourself in their career paths, even if it means the risk of losing them to a competitor.

If you can keep your employees past their third year, the likelihood of their departure significantly diminishes. By focusing on what motivates your individual employees, you will not only decrease turnover, but you will lead them in a way that causes them to perform at their peak levels. And you'll never have to worry about being dealt a bad deck of cards again.

Scott Love shows managers and sales people how to manage their risk and win the game of business. He is a professional speaker and can be reached at 828-225-7700 or on his website at www.nolimitachievement.com