Harvard Business Publishing

When Celtics coach Red Auebach was asked what's the secret to being a great coach, he pulled out his signature cigar and blurted out: "You gotta' love the bastards."

I've also heard that the measure of a great leader and one that John Wooden had in spades was when your people keep coming back to see you years after they worked for you to show you pictures of their kids and tell you what they've been doing.

Maybe Gen X'ers can seem more self-absorbed at times, but I think the desire to find someone you deeply respect and then gain their respect is a powerful motivator that crosses the generations.

Hi Tammy,
Oops, posted this on the original post...here are a couple of ideas from my experience:

1.) Intrapreneurship works wonders for X-ers so inclined. I have several very bright colleagues in my group who just aren't happy being "grinders". In other words, they're keen on creating and innovating a new process, product, etc., but they want to move on to the next "start-up". Many would leave or become less productive if they didn't get a chance to cut their teeth anew.

2.) Successful corporate X-ers seem to know themselves well. I've used some of the personality inventories -- MBTI, True Colors, etc. -- to at least start the conversation about to work effectively among diverse colleagues. This approach often unlocks a great strength of the generation -- flexibility -- which is critical for my group, which works across time zones, cultures, functions, etc.

What doesn't work is trying to replicate the path of the Boomers. I've seen too many 30-40 somethings saying things like "I want to be at position 'X' by the time I am age 'Y'..." Given the demographic constraints at the top -- at least today -- this approach has rarely led to satisfying work or life outcomes.

Thanks,
Paul

I very much agree with Paul Ritchie above on the comment of intrapreneurship--it has been the difference-maker for my time in corporate environments. I think in all but a couple of my roles throughouth the last 14 years I have been "employee number one or two" in newly created teams.

On the last point, though, I have a problem. I think Xers want and deserve a meritocracy. Many of my roles have involved a business development component, or a P&L responsibility. These are nice, easy, objective numbers to evaluate. I my business unit is more profitable, if I bring in more revenues than a boomer, I should get first crack at that promotion. But so should a Y/millenial. In fact, I would be more OK with a 25 year old boss who has been objectively successful than a boomer who hasn't.

Unfortunately, although almost every corporation I work with talks merit, few actually make decisions based on it. And that alienates Xers.

One thing that my corporation did that I appreciated is they recognized that there are different generations who see the world differently. We had a presentation from the team at BridgeWorks that shed a lot of light on the topic.

The ship is still turning, in terms of adoption throughout the corporation, but knowing that somewhere on some level the company has committed time and resources to the generational issues is reassuring.