X appeal: secrets to managing Generation X

Entrepreneur, May, 1997 by Robert McGarvey

The generation X stereotype is that those born between 1966 and 1978 are lazy, anti-authority slackers with an ultrashort attention span and absolutely no loyalty to their employers. Sound harsh? That verdict was loudly echoed in a recent survey of small-business owners. A stunning 65 percent said Gen X's work ethic is worse than that of prior generations, with 49 percent contending Gen X simply isn't willing to work hard, according to Cleveland-based small-business lender Key Corp.

Is this sweeping put-down accurate? Not according to the many management experts who insist Gen X workers are top quality and highly educated (more have attended college than any prior generation). More important, "These are the employees who are coming into the workplace," says Rebecca Haddock, a career counselor at the University of San Diego. Since these are today's - and tomorrow's - workers, you've got to learn how to motivate Gen X for best results.

Small-business owners who have learned how to handle Gen Xers are profiting as a result. "If you allow slackers to work for you, that's what you'll get. But I don't have any slackers on my payroll - my people all work hard," says Denise Pagura, owner of Dublin, Ohio-based Northern Lights Tree Farms, a Christmas tree grower and multistate retail operation that employs some 50 Gen Xers in peak seasons. "Set your standards high enough, and many will rise to meet them."

"They will work very hard and very long hours if you manage them properly," agrees Pamela Hamilton, founder and president of Collaborative Communications Inc., a Cambridge, Massachusetts, public relations agency. Hamilton says 12 of her 13 employees are Gen Xers, and "it is a challenge to manage them, but if you do, you'll get terrific results."

* MOTIVATING FORCES

A big hurdle, according to Hamilton, is that the age-old motivational carrots - loftier job tides and more pay - won't work magic with this group. "What gets these folks up in the morning is very different from why baby boomers woke up. They are not interested in climbing the conventional job ladder. Offer them an extra $10,000 per year, and they won't necessarily hop jobs," says Hamilton. "What's critical to Gen Xers is feeling they have an impact on what the business is doing. Titles don't matter to them, but job responsibilities do. They really want to feel as though they are contributing."

These different motivators link directly to the big goof most managers make when handling Gen Xers: Don't view and treat them as a young you, says Richard Thau, executive director of New York City-based fiscal policy advocacy group, Third Millennium, and co-author of Get It Together by 30 (Amacom). "To believe this generation is like its predecessors is wrong, but that's a common mistake baby boomers make," says Thau.

How is Gen X different? A key difference is that "this generation prizes its individuality," says Thau. Proof of this: Many Gen Xers even deny they are part of a generation - what they want to be is individuals, period. And that shapes how they need to be managed. "Management has to recognize them as people with individual needs. You shouldn't try to force-fit people into the same mold," says Thau.

Case in point is flextime - Gen Xers thrive on it. "I tell my staff I need at least 40 hours a week of hard work, but they have a say in what hours they work," says Thau, who manages three Gen X employees. Ditto for dress codes. Gen Xers often have a flair for the unusual in appearance, and when it doesn't impact the work, why make it an issue?

Mind you, Thau is not urging disruptive behavior be condoned, but when there's room for flexibility, bend a little. The payoff can be immense, he promises: "Provide a degree of choice, and members of this generation flourish."

* THE PARENT TRAP

The other big goof with Gen Xers is "parenting us," says Melissa Daimler, a 27-year-old career coach in New York City. It's understandable that many managers parent younger workers - "many have children of their own that age," Daimler says - but it's no way to inspire an employee to achieve. "Many managers don't even realize it, but they don't trust young workers to do the job without direct supervision. That causes resentment among Gen Xers."

Worse still, parenting Gen Xers backfires because there is a strong anti-authoritarian streak among them. "The old business rule was 'Do what I say because I'm the boss.' That doesn't work with this generation," says Barbara Fagan, a management consultant in Healdsburg, California. "Gen Xers won't follow a rule until they understand and value it for themselves." That puts the onus on management to explain the "what" and "why" of decisions and rules - Gen Xers insist on a lot more communication than prior generations - but when management is committed to ongoing employee education and involvement, Gen Xers respond positively, says Fagan.

"They are desperately looking for somebody to help guide them through the business process," Fagan continues. "They don't want you to do the job for them - or tell them exactly how to do it - but they respond to a manager who says 'Let me show you how to play to win.' The leader who can communicate in that vein will get the loyalty of this generation."