In the last blogpost, we explored the overall characteristics of the 4 generations now present in the American workplace. When we are discussing a group that covers tens of millions of people, we are reduced to generalities and shared large scale experiences. The further point of this exercise, though, is to think of these groups as different enough so as to be from different, but related countries. Also, to understand how to work through conflicts most effectively.
Sticking Points
Haydn Shaw illustrates these common conflict areas artfully and concisely. He has a general assessment and action heuristic. It is: acknowledge the conflict, appreciate the other party’s position, be flexible, leverage your strengths and resolve anything necessary to get yourself “unstuck”. Many times, the first three steps are all that’s necessary. For simplicity sake, I’ll leave the traditionalists out, since there are so few left in the workplace.
A few of these conflict areas play most strongly into a chiropractic office, and would in most smaller-scale healthcare providers, no matter the specialty. They are:
• Work ethic
• Decision making
• Policies
• Communication/feedback
Work Ethic
Boomers expect work to provide excitement and achievement and they expect to work long hours to differentiate them selves. X-ers do not have the excitement and achievement expectations, and they desire to balance work and personal lives to a greater degree. Millennials do not see borders between work and home and cannot really understand or enjoy the idea of fixed hours. Getting unstuck from any conflicts in this zone would involve asking:
• What parts of our work require a physical presence and what parts do not?
• How can we be as time-flexible as possible without damaging our quality of service or reputation?
• How can we cross-train effectively so physical absences or remote work pieces have little or no impact?
Decision-making
Boomers use a decision making process that involves stakeholders, and the boss or top person ultimately decides. X-ers defer decision making to whomever is the most knowledgeable, Millennials decide through group efforts and working through options. This can be a tough point if the owner or manager is a boomer, particularly one who likes to be in charge. Good questions to ask to get moving again are:
• Is this a single decision or part of a series of decisions? If it’s the latter, what parts can I defer to the X or Millennial personnel?
• What risks are involved in making a wrong decision? Can it be reversed?
• Is there a pilot program available to me that I can use to experiment with other decision making pathways?
Policies
Boomers assume that all procedures and operations can be governed by a set of rules to make everything run smoothly. X-ers assume that policies are arbitrary rules that are made to be broken and may be relics from past ideas. Millennials assume that if a policy does not make sense to them, it does not apply to them, and can be ignored.
This area is really more of an art form and a balancing act than most of the others. If the structures are too tight, your younger workers will find the workplace overly restrictive and will typically seek employment elsewhere. If they are too loose, are not enforced equally, or do not exist at all, some form of chaos ensues and the quality of your work goes down. Here are some good questions to ask in this zone:
• Does the policy pertain to something governed by state or Federal law? If so, it’s not really your company policy, it’s the law and cannot be modified.
• Does the policy pertain to something related to quality and consistency of service? If so, it has to stay. If it’s really a preference of the owner or manager, then flexibility is the pathway.
• Is the policy simple, clear and easy to understand? If so, then it stay, generally. If not, it has to be modified or deleted, because it will lead to perceptions of unfair treatment and favoritism.
Communication/feedback
Boomers communicate through paper memos or CC e-mails, then use the phone to schedule a face meeting. X–ers use single e-mails, IM or intranets to communicate. Millenials use texting or IM/facetime, watch links on their schedule to receive the delivered message.
Most boomers feel that virtual only communication is alienating and disconnecting, especially when there is nothing visual involved. Millennials feel that a scheduled face meeting, especially a larger group one is a waste of time and gets nothing accomplished. How to meet in the middle?
• When dealing with a younger workforce, what’s the shortest and fastest way to communicate? That’s your method of choice even if something gets lost in translation.
• Does the communication involve exploration or brainstorming? Is there a necessary group dynamic to achieve the end result? If so, an in-person meeting is the way to go.
• Does the communication apply to everyone, or are there a few individuals who directly influence the ideas? If it’s the latter, group communications by any method will look like spam.
This is just a brief summary of a complex set of ideas. I recommend that anyone who has to manage or is being managed by a person of a different generation use this excellent reference as a great guidebook.