Managing different generations requires new skills, insightful leadership.

IN THIS ARTICLE ...

Mentoring, a new approach to teamwork and plenty of time for outside activities are among the ways that physician executives can help ensure smooth relationships between baby boomers and GenXers.

We often hear baby boomer physicians grumble in their microbrews about the independent attitudes of their twenty--and thirty-something colleagues.

The Gen Xers are faulted for laid-back work habits, lack of motivation and commitment. They have no respect for traditional values or organizational culture. There is some truth to this.

Younger physicians know (the current economic slump nothwithstanding) there's a coming shortage of doctors and they're not about to be exploited work longer hours, be loyal as dogs--as the boomers were.

Nurses know there's a critical shortage, too. This disconnected feeling is a two-way street. Younger docs have different priorities in their lives than their older co-workers. They don't understand the competitiveness and intensity of the boomers at the expense of what they consider a more balanced lifestyle.

These opposing viewpoints often lead to friction in the work place. What's the answer?

Interestingly, the different generations actually have some things in common. In the interest of establishing a greater rapport between the age groups, let's dispel some myths.

Here are some generalizations that may not withstand close scrutiny--and some that will.

Hard work is a function of age

Are all GenXers slackers and all boomers (and pre-boomers) intrinsically worker bees?

Of course not. Every boomer physician or nurse isn't a workaholic, including many who claim they are. Conversely, younger workers will work intensely and enthusiastically if they're emotionally engaged in the job. Moreover, many younger physicians have an eye toward self employment. When they strike out on their own, they will work non-stop and recruit family members into the business.

What a manager perceives as lack of ambition or poor work ethic may be caused by subordinates' boredom. Younger workers demand high content and meaning in work. It must make a visible difference to the organization--right now.

GenXers do not subscribe to the idea of "paying your dues." Having their ideas ignored or told to wait until they've learned more about the organizational culture doesn't make sense to them. If a job lacks content or the break-in period seems to go on interminably before real challenges emerge, they are gone and quick to say why.

In this preoccupation with job satisfaction, many boomers seem to have been influenced by their younger colleagues. Sometime between 1990 and 1995 an idea grabbed the collective worker consciousness. Since job security doesn't exist, it makes no sense to remain in an unhappy situation, unless you are strapped for cash.

Even in this sluggish job market, boomers will follow the lead of their younger colleagues. They will job hunt surreptitiously and leave without explanation for a better or more interesting opportunity.

The difference is that a GenXer will decide in a week that a job has no future; a boomer will suffer longer before facing this troth and acting on it.

Our conclusion: Hard work is a function of interest, not age.

Professional attitudes are different

The most rigid generational differences cluster around expectations of the role that work plays in life. Young physicians and nurses see their commitment to medicine as pet of their identity--and perhaps not the most important part--whereas most boomers see themselves as MDs first.

Younger people say, "I'm a physician but I also cook a mean risotto, wield a wicked backhand and I'm a Cub Scout leader." Boomers often find this attitude unprofessional because, for most of them, their commitment to medicine is total.

One result of the desire to be more well-rounded is that GenXers put a greater emphasis on lifestyle choices. They try harder to make morn time for family and leisure. This philosophy, however, is slowly gaining ground across the age spectrum.

Some boomers are questioning their commitment as they realize their younger co-workers think devotion and loyalty are not necessarily admirable, productive, nor particularly self-serving. Until the economy faltered, boomers watched GenXers dictate the terms of their lifestyles without negative influences on job or social position.

Today, even the most dedicated boomer may rethink his frenzied schedule and slack off, especially if his wile returns to the workplace. Not surprisingly, two incomes can help shift priorities. This reflects again the impact of the under-35 crowd--a "trickle up" effect.

Many of our clients of all ages want jobs with fewer hours even if it means less money and less responsibility, (Unfortunately for many boomers, the present economy has seen their savings dwindle, thwarting their plans for early retirement.)

This desire for a life outside of the clinic, hospital or university translates into less time for work-related socializing or participation in non-essential activities such as after-hour gatherings or volunteer endeavors.

Ask any organization in any industry and you will hear how they struggle with meeting attendance. Boomers will arrive early, network and stay late; GenXers are out the door after an hour, if they show up at all.

Expectation about work differs among age groups

Younger workers are truly less interested in a long-term career plan; they want to work at an interesting series of short-term jobs. They're focused on learning transferable skills and getting results they can showcase on a resume. In a healthy economy when jobs are plentiful, this is the main reason turnover rates are so high among GenXers. In contrast, many boomers--despite all the evidence against the possibility of achieving this goal still yearn for long-term employment even if they will have to give up leisure time and money to get it.

Most boomers who recently lost jobs are still in a state of shock. The idea of at job hunt--especially in this labor market--is too dreadful to contemplate. Some may not have undertaken one since graduation. No wonder they want to hold on to the jobs they have.

Younger workers aren't interested in workplace relationships

Boomers have traditionally formed close friendships at work; younger workers arrive with full dance cards. Any discretionary time is likely tilled with obligations to family or established friendships. Besides, people just passing through on the way to the next gig have little interest in developing a relationship with co-workers or the boss.

This isolationist attitude extends to teamwork. Young people want to work alone. The forty--and fifty-something boomers were part of a crowded generation. They had to "play well with others."

Thirty-somethings belong to an uncrowded generation and they're determined not to be part of any crowd, even if it's called a team. They want to follow their job descriptions to the letter, with specific tasks to be done within a set time frame so they can check them off a list.

They think team participation wastes time. "We meet, we talk, we flounder," a mid level physician manager says. "The boss rarely attends and when he does, he says nothing. We're left to figure out the next steps. We can't make all the decisions and execute them, too."

Younger workers dislike politics, too. Why gossip over the coffee pot or give credence to the grapevine when you don't care about the subject matter and won't be around to hear the end of the story anyhow? This is another reason they dislike teams. Teams without politics don't exist. They involve give and take and maneuvering for power.

There is one exception to the generational trait of eschewing workplace relationships: GenXers are enthralled with mentoring. Mentors are a wealth of information and therefore a shortcut to any career goal--however short-term--a GenXer might have. A mentor can also ease the transition into the organization by explaining culture and values.

Managers faced with motivating an age-diverse work group face enormous challenges. There is no universal motivation because the age composition of the workplace isn't stable and isn't likely to become so.

Not only is there a coming shortage of younger workers but some group practices and hospitals are actively recruiting older physicians--clones of themselves--whom they hope will prove more stable and provide role models for the young.

Here are some ideas for bridging the generation gaps:

Begin a cross-generational mentoring program

Employees absorb organizational culture through co-workers, not from the annual report. A newly hired physician, eager for knowledge about the hospital or department sees the mentor as a fountain of nuts-and-bolts information about the organization and often as the dispenser of political insights.

When boomers are willing to share their wisdom, they can often mentor the GenXers into compliance and cooperation--not to mention the bonus of longevity. In exchange, GenXers can bring their elders up-to-speed technologically and perhaps offer more current medical insights.

Mentors slow turnover and both parties get greater job satisfaction. When boomers are willing to share their wisdom, they can often mentor the GenXers into compliance and cooperation.

Rethink your approach to teamwork

First, triage the team by separating people into those who've played their roles well in the past (probably boomers) and the hard-core resisters (mostly GenXers). Meet with each group to decide what will induce them to cooperate.

Don't be surprised if the resisters say that the only tiring that will satisfy is "clear goals and direction from management." They mean, "Tell me what to do. Let's just get on with it. Don't try to make me think."

Don't waste time trying to change them unless you're willing to punish non-compliance. If you get a few members to cooperate, peer pressure will work better than your attempts at coercion.

In the meantime, what tasks can most effectively be assigned to individuals? (Research is number one and GenXers love it.)

Make learning the centerpiece of the team experience. GenXers are hooked on e-mail so use it liberally but judiciously: Save some important information for distribution exclusively during a team meeting and make sure team members know that's on the agenda.

Like it or not, meetings are important so members can get feedback from others that's friendly and helpful--including from the boss who absolutely should attend.

Keep rethinking your goals. Is total participation really necessary except when strategic decisions are being made? If you're not going to change courses no matter what, don't demand an opinion from everyone. Gen Xers hate being lashed into discussion when they know the boss has already reached a decision.

Compensate only those who exhibit the desired behavior even if that means some high performers don't get the reward they might have had if they'd been team-minded. They'll probably move on, but that's exactly what the reward system is meant to facilitate.

As part of your evaluation, ask your direct reports, "What have you done (initiated) that has enhanced the productivity, effectiveness and satisfaction of co-workers, especially your teammates?"

Unless compensation reflects the individual's contribution to the team, teamwork is doomed. (It may be anyhow: As younger workers take over from the forty- and fifty-somethings they are much more likely to reward individual efforts and breakthroughs. That will doom teams no matter what top management wants or thinks.)

Understand the importance of lifestyle

You will never get 100 percent commitment from GenXers.

The word "loyalty" doesn't mean what it meant to their parents, many of whom were reward ed for their loyalty with massive layoffs in the 1980s. As often as possible, make allowances for family or personal needs.

They will put family and friends before the organization regardless. In deference to family time, consider moving meetings to early morning. Schedule working lunches instead of keeping people late.

If an activity is not a command performance and you want cross-generational participation, understand that lifestyle roles. Make the meeting short. Provide an agenda for every meeting and stick to it. Make sure there is some sort of a welcoming committee.

GenXers will not work a room like their elders. If no one talks to them, they just won't come back. And don't expect 100 percent turnout even at an organizational social function.

The goal of cross-generational harmony in the workplace is not impossible. Boomers can learn to manage, motivate and retain GenX MDs. GenXers can try and appreciate the boomers' knowledge of organizational history and culture--and yes, their work ethic.

As boomer physicians retire, GenXers may end up managing older workers--an excellent reason for them to develop an understanding of that generation's values and styles.

Marilyn Moats Kennedy is managing partner, Career Strategies, Inc., Wilmette, Ill., and a long-time member of the ACPE faculty. She can be reached by phone at 847-251-1661, and by e-mail at [e-mail].