The attacks of 9/11 and The Great Recession affected us all and created a new economy in the process. The result has been greater demands for management to unleash the power within diverse workforces and rapidly respond to market and technology changes.
These changes require managers to become 21st Century leaders in which their total organization is on the same page, pulling in the same direction supporting the mission and highly aware of customer demands.
Their new roles include moving communication with speed and accuracy and having high ethical standards. They create an environment in which everyone feels like owners in the business and performs at a higher level. Leaders must become fantastic listeners in which everyone is discussing how to make operations and products better and making informed decisions. Instead of good ideas being lost, the leader has them packaged in a project plan and implemented. As a result, operations respond faster to market and technology changes in this New Normal economy.
Today’s workplaces consist of greater cultural and generational diversity providing challenges for most management teams. Millennials, many of whom are proud of their technical skills and themselves, combined with GenXers who are eagerly anticipating management responsibilities and Baby Boomers who expect to be appreciated for their knowledge and experience, present dilemmas for many organizations today. As one executive put it, “Diverse cultures are no problem, it is generational differences that take most of my time. Millennials expect everything to be done quickly and Baby Boomers expect others to do things their way.”
In order to manage workplace differences and resolve resulting conflicts many businesses provide diversity training. There are a number of diversity strategies available for clients and extensive studies of generational differences have been conducted. The studies tend to characterize Traditionals being born before 1945, Baby Boomers born after 1945, Generation Xers born after 1965 and Millennials born after 1977.
According to Psychologist, Constance Patterson, PhD, Training Director for Louisiana School Psychology Internship Consortium, there are several characteristics worth noting.
“Gen Xers seem to be focused more on themselves and moving up the organizational ladder rapidly. Their loyalty appears to be more to themselves than their employers.
Baby Boomers may see Gen Xers as impatient and eager to challenge the status quo.
Traditional may perceive Boomers as thinking they have all the answers and are unwilling to listen to others.
All generations may see Traditionals as controlling and dictatorial, Gen Xers may see Millennials as having strong egos and Millennials may consider Gen Xers as being sour and negative.”
Patterson notes that teamwork provides a method for all generations to work together and collaborate. She offers the following suggestions for each generation:
“Traditionals need to hear, “Your experience is respected or “It is valuable to hear what has worked in the past.” Baby Boomers need to hear such messages as, “You are valuable, worthy”, or “Your contribution is important for our success.’ Gen Xers may need to hear, “Let’s explore options out of the box” or “Your technical expertise is a big asset.”
Millennials may seek similar messages like, “You will be collaborating with other bright, creative people” or “You have really rescued this situation with your commitment.”
I have learned that no matter what differences exist in the workplace there are several values everyone shares: fair play, being heard, being in the know, being recognized for good work, equal opportunity to progress, and being shown respect.
My goal is to integrate those values within a system of leadership behaviors to assist you developing collaborative and creative cultures within your diverse workplaces.
As the pace of change accelerates, organizations must respond faster than ever before. Business leaders can make the changes work for them by using their unique strengths to make their diverse organizations better, and in the process, create greater wealth for their businesses, employees and communities.
Most small and mid-sized businesses that survived the Great Recession offer limited management training, not to mention leadership development. Entrepreneurs are so busy that any leadership development is through the Graduate School of Hard Knocks. I continually hear business owners and management express frustration with their ability to accomplish goals with their personnel. Yet there is not one organization I serve that first, has an aligned strategy; second, communicates well; third, works with people collaboratively and makes informed decisions; fourth, motivates with more than an occasional pat on the back; and fifth, effectively innovates new products or services. These elements can make or break a business in this 21st century economy.
I would like to thank a colleague of mine who encouraged me to write this book. He mentioned that it is very hard to find good people to work in his business. After several discussions, we realized it might be a leadership issue rather than an insufficient supply of qualified candidates. I realized there are a lot of good people in business who would have an interest in learning how managers can become leaders making a difference in the 21st century. Furthermore, in order for today’s leaders to process information they demand something they can take off the shelf and use. This book is unique in that it provides time tested tools that can be easily applied to improve performance, create a collaborative culture, and maintain a competitive business.
This book has been 40 years in the making. I have been both an executive and consultant helping organizations around the world become more competitive in their marketplaces.
I am trained and certified in performance management, lean organization design, process improvement, total quality management using high performing work teams, strategy development, mediation, leadership coaching, and leadership course development. I have coached leaders from CEO’s and other corporate executives to managers, supervisors and key personnel in fortune 500’s, non-profits, and governmental agencies in order for them to work more effectively with their personnel to improve operational performance.
For 10 years, I served as Human resource Deputy for a software development company with responsibility for benefit administration, salary administration, executive and IT recruiting, and leadership development. Other industries I served as a consultant include Healthcare, Information Technology, Manufacturing, Transportation, Hospitality, Quick Service Restaurants, Public Service operations, Nonprofits, and Small Businesses.
I was born and raised in a small mountain town, Tazewell, Virginia. Tazewell’s population was 4,000 if you count a dog or two. While Tazewell was much smaller than surrounding towns, it managed to have superior elementary and high school programs with high levels of scholastic achievement along with dominating football and basketball teams. Years later, I talked to someone in a nearby town who commented on the dominance of our football teams. How could a town so small dominate schools much larger having greater resources? It was the system used by Tazewell. From the time I was 8 years old I played football.
Pewee, Junior Varsity and Varsity teams all practiced using the same plays. By the time I was ready for varsity ball, I knew by heart the basic plays our team would run. That was how Tazewell’s football coach maintained dominance. The school had a system and formula for winning and maintained that system for years. Each person on our team knew well from practice, summer camps, and repetition what was required of every player to win.
That concept also applies to business management and developing winning and dominant organizations. This book is designed to provide you with a system and formula for developing creative and innovative organizational behavior. The book is organized into concepts that when used together can be a winning combination and when used separately bring incremental change requiring more time to accomplish your goals. The choice will be yours and yours alone.
It has been my experience that organizations who educate all leaders together from the executive suite to first line supervision, successfully transform their culture, and pull people together to win in today’s competitive markets. I have seen organizations over the years perform better and quicker and believe you can do the same by using the skills and processes offered in the following chapters.