Generation Management

Much has been written about generational differences in the workplace, but what about generational attitudes about management? The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)'s Emerging Leaders Research Survey tackled this topic, obtaining 3,417 responses from a sample composed of 57 percent women and 43 percent men.

Overall, some 66 percent of respondents hold management positions, with the generational breakdown as follows:

• Silent Generation: 74 percent
• Early Boomers: 69 percent
• Late Boomers: 75 percent
• Early Xers: 56 percent
• Late Xers: 9 percent

Here are the generations' responses related to management issues:

• All groups-but particularly Late Xers-indicate they want to be in senior decisionmaking roles.

• Early Boomers and the Silent Generation cohorts tend to agree that upper managers at their organizations clearly articulate their goals and priorities, while both Early Xers and Late Xers are more neutral.

• All groups do not find it difficult to work with/for or to manage people of older or younger generations. However, the younger an employee is, the more difficulty they express in working with/for or managing people from older or younger generations. Early Xers and Late Xers are more likely to express difficulty with working with/for or managing people of older or younger generations.

• Early Xers and Late Xers are more likely to sense tension between people of different generations at work than the Silent Generation, Early Boomers, and Late Boomers.

• Some 88 percent of respondents believe that having a mentor/coach is useful for career development. Preferred mentor choices are a senior colleague (24 percent), an expert in the person's discipline (17 percent), or a chosen coach (16 percent).