GENDER-ATIONAL MANAGEMENT:What to do when they ain’t like you!

Lynn AndersonCRMC, CDMC, MIW

Lynn Anderson Medialynnandersonmedia@gmail.com

August 30, 2010

Shifting Workplace Balance

Do These People Look Like You, Your Boss or Your Employees?

The New You

Flexibility Better Be Your New Name!

• By the end of the year 2000…• “Women for the first time, account

for the majority of American workers.”

• 40% of all Women over 18 are unmarried

• Single Parent Families– United States Department of Labor

• Changes for Working Men

US Census 2010: How Will It Change?

Attitudes: Home and Family

• “Family is a greater priority since 9/11” - 69%

• “Increased appreciation for my family…” - 80%

• “Feel less safe in my own home” - 28%

Source: NFO/American Demographics, 1/8/08

Values, Attitudes and Lifestyles

Return to “Core Values”• Family• Community

– Service & Charity

• Integrity– Honesty & Sacrifice

Balance– work/life– self– leisure

Authenticity Security

J. Walter Smith, Yankelovich MONITOR, Dec. 2008: Trying to Get Back to Business as Usual in Trying Times.

Source: DYG Scan / Yankelovich 2001

Core Values

Life Stage

Gender

The Intersection of:

Source: DYG Scan / Yankelovich 2001

Core Values

Life Stage

Gender

Generational Communication:

Knowing Who Your Employees Are And How To Talk To Them Is Critical To Their Success…and Yours!

Boomer Gen X Gen Y

Generation, Age, Attitudes

According To A July 2010 Harris Poll, To Save Money…

• People 65+ dropped the newspaper and cut back on dry cleaning

• 46-64 year olds dropped dry cleaning

• 34-45 year olds went to brown bagging

• 18-33 year olds stopped buying morning “coffee”

“Help!!! I have a bunch of ‘boomers’ on my staff…and I

sure don’t understand them!”

The “Forever Young” Baby Boomers

(1944-1961) 40 - 57

Born 1945-1964

• “Baby boomers will be teen-agers to the end of their days”• Boomers will never think of

themselves as Seniors• Sons and Daughters of the Mothers and Fathers of WWII… and may be caring for them now• Many with 2nd or 3rd marriages,

families, careers• “Set” in their ways?

The “Forever Young” Baby Boomers

Phil Goodman: Boomers: The Ageless Generation

• Live incredibly hurried lifestyles and IMPATIENT

• Job security, work longer, put off retirement

• First generation of “Dual Incomes”• Female working outside the home• Dawn of need for Child Care…and

combo Child Parent Care!• Realize need for paradigm shifts,

work at it

The “Forever Young” Baby Boomers (Con’t)

MOTIVATE THEM

The “Forever Young” Baby Boomers

(1944-1961) 40 - 57

• Respect• “Youthful” Agendas• SERVICES

“Help!!! I’m A ‘Boomer’ Manager,

and I can’t find any Gen Xers [born 1965-1979]

or Gen Yers [born after 1980]

who want to work as hard as I do!”

The “Always Cool” Gen X’ers

(1962-1976) 25 - 39

Born 1965-1979

The “Always Cool” Gen X’ers (1962-1976) 25 - 39

• “Gen X’ers define ‘cool’ and everyone else follows” Bob Rosner, Career Magazines

• Grown up in different world, different values, skills

• Great understanding of the internet

The “Always Cool” Gen X’ers (1962-1976) 25 - 39

• Strong need for self-expression • Crave information and seem to be

comfortable with information overload

• Don’t value job security, little loyalty to “job” …but a lot to the “boss!”

• Give them lots of chances to learn, redefine paradigms

Core Values• Self reliant• Own Agenda• Practical• Reactive• Modest• Survival obsessed• Authentic-oriented• Street wiseSource: DYG SCAN, Yankelovich 2001

The “Always Cool” Gen X’ers (1962-1976) 25 - 39

Gen Xers (born 1965-1979)• Grew up in the era of video games and personal

computers

• They are also painfully familiar with the price many Baby Boomers paid for focusing mainly on a career: high divorce rates and poor family relationships.

• As such, Gen-Xers do not see work as the most important thing in their lives, even though they themselves were often pampered.

Gen Xers (born 1965-1979)

• In addition, after seeing how their parents were laid off despite their hard work and loyalty to the company they served,

• Gen-Xers are prone to move from one employer to another in search of better benefits, professional growth and personal fulfillment.

• As employees, they are motivated more by

personal satisfaction with their jobs rather than overtime pay and career advancements, but…

Gen Xers (born 1965-1979)• As long as they are involved and learning and

contributing, they'll stay. Pay for performance may work too.

• Give them more money to go along with those bigger challenges.

• So how do you improve the relationship?

Gen Xers (born 1965-1979)• One trait that is shared by almost all Gen Xers

is, they like to explore and problem-solve on their own.

• So, to get the best results from them, you can tell them what you want them to do, but don't tell them how to do it. They want to figure that out themselves.

• If you work on improving that one-on-one relationship, you can eliminate a lot of problems that lead to high turnover.

Gen Xers (born 1965-1979)• Set clear deadlines for tangible results.

• Treat Xers' questions as opportunities to teach.

• Give them freedom to manage their own time and work; avoid micromanaging.

• Provide opportunities to interact with others; Xers work well in teams.

• Expect Xers to thrive in corporate cultures that value the individual.

Gen Xers (born 1965-1979)• Support the quest to learn and improve skills.

They see their resume--not the system--as their ticket to job security.

• Provide constant feedback that is specific and accurate.

• BE FLEXIBLE! To them, as long as their work gets done, it shouldn’t matter whether they come in at 10:30am today or leave at 3:30pm tomorrow, as long as they complete their projects within the agreed time frame.

• Celebrate successes!

MOTIVATE THEM• Expressions of individuality• THINGS

– Surprise: Investments!– “How would you spend an unexpected $50K”

Invest in future 55% Down pay home 11% Buy new car 7% Vacation 7%

Pay credit card bills 6% Go on Shopping Spree

6% Other 8%

Source: USA Today: Greenfield Online for MainStay Mutual Funds, May 2008

The “Always Cool” Gen X’ers

Young Adults “Wired” Generation Y, Echo, Millennials

(1977 - 1983) 18-24

Born After 1980

Young Adults “Wired” Generation Y, Echo, Millennials

(1977 - 1983) 18-24• Expectations:– Information is everywhere–Personal information has value–Choice is a Human right, individuality rules– There IS such a thing as a “free lunch”–Building trust doesn’t require face-to-face

interaction• No need for “paradigm shifts”…they never had

them!

Young Adults “Wired” Generation Y, Echo, Millennials

(1977 - 1983) 18-24

• “Y Generation internalizes net - online technology” Forrester Research

• Lifestyle and attitude is defined by technology

Core Values• Self-absorbed• Entitlement mentality• Entertainment-oriented• Fun obsessed• “Whatever”• Self-confident• Instinct-oriented

Source: DYG SCAN, Yankelovich 2001

Young Adults “Wired” Generation Y, Echo, Millenials

Young Adults “Wired”Generation Y, Echo, Millenials

“This is the largest, healthiest, most pampered generation in history.

They were expected to spend their spare time making the varsity team, not working part-time.

Their parents showed their love by staying late at the office to bring home more money.

The children expect to be home for dinner. Career dominance, their thinking goes, can be achieved by 5 p.m., can’t it?”

-- Clair Raines, noted generational expert and author

Gen X / Gen Y EmployeesMyth: They don't want to grow up.Reality: They really don't know how.

* Facing a delayed adulthood. * Getting married, having children later* Generally facing the “real world” later.

Why: Boomers partially responsible: As Parents:* coddle their children * Use their own good fortune = no adversity for

children

As career models * toll of working long hours & “paying one's dues* children corporate ladder = “there must be

another way.”

Myth: They have no respect for authority.

Reality: They have great respect for leaders * Don't respect authority “just

because.”

Why: Loyalty and respect must be earned. *When it is earned, it is given fiercely.

* Loyalty to the individual is the number one reason these people stay in the job.

Gen X / Gen Y Employees

Myth: They don't want to put in the hours to get ahead.Reality: They are willing to put in the time to do the job,

Why: View time as a currency not to be wasted

* Baby Boomers see time as something to invest, * Demand work-life balance and paid time off.

* Get the job done, put it behind them, enjoy life.

Boomer = lose the interest of these employees by looking too far into the future.

Gen X & Y= Live in timeframe based on

right now.

Gen X / Gen Y Employees

Check Out Clair Raines – this woman KNOWS her generations!

MOTIVATE THEM• Everything that embraces diversity• Flexibility

Source: DYG SCAN, Yankelovich 2001

Young Adults “Wired” Generation Y, Echo, Millennials

(1977 - 1983) 18-24

Gender

Differences!!!

Now…can we talk…

There is a world of difference between facts and truth.

Facts can obscure the truth.

Maya Angelou

• Men being paid more than women for the same job.

• Women not being included in certain company-sponsored activities, such as golf outings.

• Women being passed over for promotions.

• Men not being able to listen

• Men not being expressive with their feelings Joan Runnheim, Monster Career Advisor and president of Pathways Career Success Strategies,

DON’T LET PAST STEREOTYPES PARALYZE YOU

Get Past Stereotypes

• "Women tend to take things more personally; thus, you can't figure you're going to give her criticism and then she'll want to go out (for happy hour).”

• Respect is more important than control. "Men are often more comfortable in hierarchical situations.“

• Women should not be afraid of taking command. They don’t have to be liked to be respected."

Joan Runnheim, Monster Career Advisor and president of Pathways Career Success Strategies,

Gender Differences in Managing and Manipulating Others’ Feelings and Behaviors

• 219 undergrads participated- 150 female, 69 male, ages 18-49. Given tests on the ability to change people’s feelings AND behavior

•  Findings: Women scored much higher than men in the ability to get others to change feelings and slightly higher in getting others to change behavior.Fehmidah Munir1, Joanna Pryce2, Cheryl Haslam1, Stavroula Leka3, Amanda Griffiths3 Mark Taylor, Ashley Meyers, Kimberly A.

Barchard University of Nevada, Las Vegas, April, 2004

Gender Differences in CommunicationIn General…

• Most men use “Report Talk”…no fluff, no “bunny trails.”

•  Most women use “Rapport Talk”…look to build rapport.

• Most men want to “fix” problems

• Most women want to “explore” problems

Drs. Les and Leslie Parrot

Gender Differences in Management Style: Evidence from the Accounting Profession

Presentation by Deborah H. Turner, Ph.D., CPA DuPree College of Management,

Study commissioned by the American Woman’s Society of CPAs and supported financially by a number of firms including J.P. Morgan, Sara Lee, Deloitte & Touche, and KPMG Peat Marwick

Learn more about how female and male accountants interact with and influence others in their work organizations.

Management Skills Examined

• Problem analysis & decision-making

• Communicating• Time management• Coaching & developing• Conflict management• Delegating

Conclusions of study• Female accountants are at least as effective

at managing as their male colleagues…and maybe better.

• Females are more likely than males to use the most

effective style (transformational leadership, i.e. encourage others to approach problems from new perspectives)

* and less likely to use the least effective style (management by exception, i.e. (command and control).

Conclusions of study• Organizations that restrict the advancement

of women

• based on the false belief that women are not as good at managing as men

• may be underutilizing their female personnel, thereby reducing the effectiveness of their companies.

Ilene H. Lang, president and CEO of Catalyst.

“It is in everyone’s best interest to bring qualified women into leadership positions,

especially now when fresh perspectives are needed,”

“What is good for women is good for men, business, and the global economy.”