Generational Cohorts

Many Millennials are the children of Baby Boomers; a generation named due to their large size — there were 76 million of them born in the U.S. from 1945 and 1964. Primarily, Baby Boomers are associated with a redefinition of traditional values. If their fathers were content to be company men in gray flannel suits and their mothers stayed home with the children, Baby Boomers explored ways to give their work lives more autonomy and freedom. The women among them fought to break through the glass ceiling, seeking economic parity with men. Likewise, technology gave members of this generation the birth control pill and put a man on the moon. Baby Boomers were also the first generation to be subjected to relentlessly targeted marketing.

According to the consumer insight marketing company ThirdAge, today Baby Boomers control over 80 percent of the nation’s personal wealth and exercise more than half of its discretionary spending power. As Baby Boomers begin retiring, they will have even more of an economic impact as it’s Generation Y that will be paying for their Social Security.

Another aspect that distinguishes Baby Boomers from their cohorts is that they did not achieve life milestones on the same timeline as the generations that came before them. So while some Baby Boomers became parents in their 20s, many put off starting families until they were in their 30s or even 40s. Therefore Baby Boomer offspring fall into both Generation X and Generation Y.

Generation Xers were born in the 1960s through the mid-1970s, and have about 51 million members. The end of the Cold War and the rise of globalization shaped much of Generation X’s cultural perspectives. Often children of divorce, Gen Xers are characterized by a certain degree of psychological dislocation, a post-modern worldview that often prizes parody over authentic experience and a marked disdain for authority and rigid work situations.

The New Psychology of Generation Y

Unlike Baby Boomers, members of Generation Y are not interested in putting their work lives above their family lives. They want flexible employment with an emphasis on telecommuting so they can spend more time at home. However, this doesn’t mean Millennials are not achievement-oriented. Having been raised by parents who didn’t want to see their own mistakes repeated, Generation Y defines “achievement” in a radically different way. According to Julie Coates, the author of the book Generational Learning Styles, Millennials tend to have closer relationships with their parents than previous generations and when asked to name their heroes, one-third chose one or both parents rather than a political or pop culture celebrity.

Besides being to close to their families, members of Generation Y grew up engaged in group activities, from “Mommy and Me” play activities as infants to soccer teams in school. As a result, members of this generation value teamwork and strive to include all members on their particular team. Generation Y also embraces diversity. This generation is the most multicultural group in the nation’s history. Oftentimes their parents are a mix of races and ages. Similarly, Generation Y grew up with positive gay pop culture role models and are extremely accepting of non-heterosexual gender choices. The philosophy of the Millennials has also caused them to have a more active interest in politics and social issues than Generation X. For example, Coates notes 70 percent of Colgate University’s 2006 entering class arrived on campus pre-registered to vote.

Finally, Generation Y came of age during two economic downturns: the dot-com bust of the turn of the century and the current recession fueled by the housing crisis. As a result, they have become much more financially savvy at an earlier age than the generations that preceded them. In fact, forty-six percent of the Gen Yers in the workforce have already begun saving for retirement.

Of course, no demographic cohort operates in a vacuum. Generation Y has fashioned its own worldview from the melting pot of experiences, ideas and values characterized by the two generations preceding them. However this fusion represents a new cultural and psychological awareness that is likely to bring big changes to social, political and business spheres in the years to come.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Allison Gamble has been a curious student of psychology since high school. Though her academic studies led her into writing and the weird world of internet marketing, she maintains an interest in understanding the mind. Herself a member of Generation Y, she believes knowing yourself is the first necessity for knowing what to do with yourself.

Why is that so hard to grasp? Is it because (from my research and observations), most people between the ages of 45-65 (yep…those of us who are Boomers)  often see feedback as “negative”, “problematic” and oh…no…a “confrontation on the horizon”.  That mindset was born out of industrial revolution thinking (that no feedback is good feedback…that feedback happens one time a year at the end of annual review time)…let’s get into the real world…the world of 2010 and beyond…this generation wants and craves feedback so that they can build a great career and do an outstanding job…so what’s wrong with that??? (oh…because it takes up time for you…hmmm…maybe it’s time to develop a little time mastery on the side!) …or…you are the one who is not comfortable with giving feedback…maybe it’s time to start getting involved in  training on “Giving Feedback 101″.  If you are not giving feedback (direct feeback…not sandwiched between the  great stuff and delivered with humor…direct feedback…Millennials take this quite seriously!), then you are going to miss the boat with this generation.  (Just imagine how much stronger your company would be if your employees received ongoing feedback that would make them better/stronger/more attractive in the market?)

Come on…we have to get over this.  This generation, born between 1977-1997 is saying that they WANT feedback, and Harvard Business Review just confirmed what we’ve all been yackin’ about for 4 years.

Here is what they are saying:

What Millennials Want:

FROM THEIR BOSSES:

• To give me straight feedback
• To mentor and coach me
• To give me a formal personal development program

FROM THEIR COMPANY:

• To develop skills for the future
• To allow me to blend work and life
• To offer me a clear career path (and maybe this is NOT with your company…HBR did not say that, I am throwing that one in as a bonus!)

TO LEARN:

• Technical skills in my area of expertise
• Leadership
• Creativity and innovation strategies

I am going to give you one tip…here is how you give feedback:

“Sally…I have noticed that you are always the first to jump in and help out…great!  We need that, and it makes our team move more quickly when you jump in and help out, and that helps us all save a great deal of time.  Now…let me tell you how you can be more effective.  You help others out as a top priority and leave your own list/tasks to the last minute.  You will be more effective if you plan ahead and get your job (s) completed on time.  It will not only help you but you will be a role model for our entire team.  If you have time left after you have completed your list, then by all means, jump  in and help…yet we need you to get your job done first, and I know you can do this.  What is your plan on making this happen?”  (don’t sandwich positive feedback around the constructive feedback, give advice or start rambling on…just lay it on the table and then ask for a goal and completion date).

I’ve said enough…if you really want to get the full skinny from an organization who studies this stuff every day, just pick up a copy of the HBR Article:  Mentoring Millennials.  You will be so happy you did!

And…congratulations to all 13 selected…was a very tough field and has been so exciting to watch the kids Jack grew up playing golf for making a huge splash in the world of golf!  Keep going guys!

About Selena Rezvani

Selena is an author, consultant, and coach whose goal is to propel more women into the top echelons of leadership. Her debut book, The Next Generation of Women Leaders (Praeger, 2009), is the career guidebook she always wished she’d had but could never find. A major underpinning of Selena’s book is the 30+ interviews she conducted with c-level women around the country. Selena wrote Next Generation while pursuing her MBA at Johns Hopkins, where she graduated first in her class. Selena also holds a Masters degree in social work from NYU.

In 2009, Selena created her own successful coaching and consulting business, NextGenWomen LLC, where she works with individuals and corporations to develop leaders and foster gender balance. Selena is also an active volunteer, serving as a regional vice president with the National Association of Women MBAs, where she helps developing leaders excel upon graduating. Learn how Selena focused her passion on emerging women leaders and what she’s learned from the executives she interviewed, the women she’s coached, and the audiences she’s spoken to around the country. For more information on Selena, visit: www.nextgenwomen.com.

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Never understimate the power of community and building a grassroots network…both online and offline…AND the intellectual horsepower and creativity our Millennial generation is bringing to our workforce.

This article in USA Today yesterday is worth the read.  I do agree that celebrity narcissism is creating a few issues not only for our kids but for adults, but what about the narcissism in our business world?  Many of us did not know the name Madoff until recently.  I suppose my question is this “Why does the media place such a big spotlight on some of the most notorious narcissists of our times and actually romanticize their lives in the process?”  I guess to sell papers, advertising and to get eyeballs on their news shows.  I suppose no one would read or watch if we devoted our media attention to people who were actually making our world a better place to live.  Those stories are reserved for public television and the Documentary Channel, and occasionally they do slip into the mainstream media, but they certainly don’t make headlines.

This book by Pinsky and Young is certainly worth the read…it seems that to be a narcissist lands you in a book…but that does not mean we need to tolerate this behavior in our children!

During this episode tonight, March 18 at 7:30 Eastern, I will be interviewing the founding partners of  the TAO Experience, a Marketing, Branding and Talent Management firm based out of Hoboken, NJ. We will be discussing their new and unique Break’n Through event, which showcases the talent of their firm to the Gen Y demographic.

To listen in live, go to Y Talk Radio.