 You're watching FJTN, the federal judicial television network. Well, I had an interesting experience. I had never used the typewriter before when I came into this job and so I actually had to learn how to use the typewriter. Being a part of Generation X, I think we're the first generation that has been exposed to computers and CDs and other technologies at an early age. Along with so many other baby boomers, I'm very career-oriented. I'm very loyal to the organization that hired me and I'm pretty much in for the long haul. Well, other generations are a little annoying because they have so much energy and it's hard to keep up with them. Hi, I'm Laurie Murphy and welcome to our program on generational differences in the courts. I'm sure most of you recognize the setting for our introduction as a drive-in movie theater, but at least one generation or members of one generation working in the courts today likely have never seen or been to a drive-in movie theater. In fact, they've never known a world without ATMs, microwaves, or personal computers. But technology is only one of many influences on each of us and today we're going to talk about many of those influences on each generation working in the courts. We'll talk about how they're unique and also how we can work better together. But before we get started, I want to let you know that you can fax us your questions at any time during the broadcast and the number is 800-488-0397. To help us explore today's topic, we've invited Patty Carey to our studio. Patty is the founder and president of Workforce Strategies. She's also an independent consultant and a generational expert. She has worked in the training and human resource management fields for over 20 years. Welcome, Patty. Thanks for being here. Thanks, Laurie. I'm glad to be here. And to give you a sense of where we're heading today with the program, we're first going to define what a generation is. And then we're going to talk about each generation's values and characteristics. We'll talk about the similarities and differences in their work styles and communication. And finally, we'll apply some strategies to work more effectively together. So, Patty, since our first objective is to define what a generation is, can you tell us how generations are determined? Generations are determined by the entire body that's born and living at the same time. Typically, we determine generations by their birth year. Researchers also incorporate things like their historical events, shared heroes, attitudes, music, fashion, and family structure into defining a generation. Research goes on to say that those factors help to shape our value system, and that's another way that we can define generations. Well, I know we want to explore a lot of how generations are defined, but you mentioned birth years specifically, so let's start there. What are the birth years for each of the four generations we have today in the courts? Well, the research varies a little bit, but for the most part, this is what we know. Traditionalists are born between 1922 and 1946. Baby boomers are born between 1946 and 1964. Generation X or Xers, sometimes we call them, are born between 1964 and 1980, and then millennials are born between 1980 and 2001. Yes, there's another generation called Generation Z, and they're born after 2001. It's 2002 forward. Now, I've heard some other terms for some of these generations, and I'm wondering how these generations got the labels you just gave them, and also if there are other ways we can describe them. Well, we call traditionalists traditionalists because of their traditional value system. You may hear them call veterans, you may hear them call the silent generation. Tom Brokaw calls them the greatest generation because of their loyalty, their dedication, and the sacrifices that they've made. Baby boomers get the name of baby boomers from one baby being born every 17 minutes for 19 years. Wow. Xers or Generation X comes from a Billy Idol song, and it relates to a mathematical equation where the X is unknown, and that's because this generation is hard to define and is so different from any generation that's prior to it. Millennials sometimes are called the net generation because of their technology background. Sometimes you may hear them call Generation Y, just feeding off of Generation X. I personally prefer to call them Millennials because my research says that this generation wants their own identity and they do not want to be considered Generation X squared. Well, in preparing for today's program, I did a little research of my own because I wanted to know what the court family looks like in terms of numbers in each generation. So using the birth years that you gave us, I did a little digging and I found out that over half, 51% of the court family, and this includes judges as well as court staff, are baby boomers. So 51%, 9% of the court family is made up of traditionalists. So if you look at that, 60% of the court family are the two oldest generations. So only 40% are the two youngest generations. Xers represent about 38%, and Millennials are about 2%. And I guess based on the birth years you gave us, you can kind of mark it as 40 and older are 60% of the population and about 40 or younger are the youngest two generations. So does this kind of compare with your research? For the most part, it falls right in line with what we're seeing in the private sector. In the private sector, about 50% of the workplace is comprised of baby boomers. And that makes sense when you think about the fact that that's who has the largest group in the workplace today. And in the private sector, we're finding that less than 5% make up Millennials. And in the private sector, between 10% and 15% of employees make up that are from the generation of the traditionalist. Before we get much further, I want to talk about when we categorize employees, there's always the risk of stereotyping them. So can you talk a little bit about that challenge of putting them into a generational category but not stereotyping them? Well, I think it's important that we understand that our generation is just one way of defining ourselves. There are many other ways, too. Our gender, our race, ethnicity, education background, income level, religious background, geography, and that list goes on and on and on. So the focus here is to focus on the individual. But I want us to develop an awareness of the generational filter as well. I certainly don't want to put people in a box, but I do know from my own experience and from what research tells us that there are some genuine differences in the generation. And I think that when we understand these generational differences, we will be more effective working in the workplace. And I think it's important that we point out today that when we talk about data today, we're going to talk about trends and averages. We're going to look at a generation as a whole. Therefore, there may be some people who say, well, I really don't quite fit into that. And in fact, I find that myself. I feel like I transcend generations. For example, I was raised by traditionalist parents. Therefore, I find that I have a fair amount of values of a traditionalist. I was born in 1960, so my birth year tells me that I am a baby boomer and I have a lot of values of a boomer and certainly my peers impacted that, too, and the events that were going on during that time. But since I'm bumping right up next to the generation exers, I find that I have values of an exer, too. So I really feel that I transcend several generations. You talk about values, and so I'm wondering how values are impacted or affected by the generation that you grow up in. Well, our values and our beliefs really make us who we are. And in fact, they fuel our behavior. And there's research that says, if you can understand someone's beliefs and values, you can almost predict their behavior. In the American culture, too, we have learned that the decade in which we turn 10 years old is the decade that has impacted our value system more than any other decade. So what's going on in that decade, historical events, societal trends, eating television, programming, and pop culture are influencing our value systems. And to really take a look at this further, let's look at today's, let's say, 12 or 13-year-old. Someone who was born in 1991 or 1992. Well, according to this research, the year Y2K, the year 2000, is the start of the decade that's going to impact this generation's value system more than any other decade. So right now, what's going on in the world right now? Right now, what's going on in the world right now? So let's think about what's going on right now. What is impacting them? Well, violence is everywhere for them. It's on TV, it's in the movies, it's in video games, it's in their entertainment a lot. They're impacted also by a constant threat of terrorism. We're involved in the Iraqi War, the Freedom Campaign, so that's impacting their value systems. They're also impacted by music, and music today is more introspective. Recto-clothing is huge. Reality TV is huge. And in some states, students are actually being held accountable for learning, which is different from other generations, by focused test. So this 12 or 13-year-old, our hypothetical 12 or 13-year-old, are you saying that the values and the things that are influencing them are shaping their values, and that's going to impact how they are when they hit the workplace? Absolutely. It's hard to predict work attitudes. But again, when you look at this research, what it's telling us is that the things today are shaping the way this next generation is seeing the world. And while these things have impacted all of us, these things are impacting their value systems in a huge way. So it's shaping the way that they see the world, and it's shaping the way that they will eventually function in the world. And how they'll function at work. And how they'll function at work, absolutely. Well, since we won't have a chance to work with these 12 or 13-year-olds for at least a few more years, I think it might be helpful to give everyone a chance to think about what was going on in their world during the decade in which they turned 10. So I'd like you at your site. You can do this by yourself or with a partner or with a group. But to think about the things that influenced you during the decade in which you turned 10. So list at least a couple of key historical events that you remember and a couple of television shows that you remember watching during that decade in which you turned 10. So take a few minutes, and we'll come back and talk about it. Welcome back. I hope you enjoyed that trip down memory lane. I had the opportunity to ask some court staff these same questions earlier. And before I ask Patty to comment, let's hear what they had to say about the historical events and the TV shows that they were paying attention to in the decade that they turned 10. Well, I turned 10 in 91, and that was right around the Gulf War. And so we did a lot of that. We watched it on television at school and everything. I vividly remember the explosion of the Challenger in 1986. The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. When the teacher was on board the Space Shuttle, I was in math class. The 1989 Tiananmen Square student uprising. I was nine years old when we first went into Kuwait to expel Iraq. And I vividly remember my dad coming in and saying to turn on the news because we just invaded Iraq. I remember when Reagan's assassination attempt occurred, and most profoundly was Olly North's trial. That was a kind of eye-opening. I remember the I Like Ike signs and everything about President Kennedy and how he was running for election and remnants of the Korean War. My favorite TV show was the Brady Bunch. When I was growing up, my favorite TV show was Lost in Space, and as I got older, Love Boat. The wonderful world of Disney with all the fireworks. I was a child that just got a color TV, so that was the most beautiful programmable. Full House was probably one of the best ones. Facts of life and family ties. When I was about six years old, I remember laying on the floor in front of the radio listening to the shadow. I love to watch Full House and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Well, when I was really young, I liked Smurfs and Dennis the Menace. Hop along Cassidy, Gene Autry and so on, and I believe that was in black and white television. Well, maybe some of the things you just heard showed up on the list that you made for yourself. Patty, when we were listening to this, I thought, I can understand why historical events are important to shape our perspectives and our values, but why is it important to care about what we watched on TV? Well, I think we can learn a lot by thinking about the radio and television programming and the changes that have occurred, but in fact it's more than that. When traditionalists and boomers watched TV or listened to a radio program, for the most part they did that as a family unit, so there was direct parental supervision. Whereas, when an exor or a millennial watches TV, they tend to watch it alone or growing up, they tended to watch shows alone, so there was little direct or sometimes no parental supervision. Also, the programming content has changed dramatically. Think about what's on primetime today versus then what was on primetime 20 or 30 years ago. Well, I know we're curious to find out a little bit more about each of these generations, so let's start with the traditionalists, and can you tell us what shaped this generation and affected their values? Well, the key historical events that shaped this generation include the years after the Great Depression, World War II, and specifically Pearl Harbor. For many members of this generation, December the 7th, 1941 had a huge impact on them. They can remember where they were when they heard the news of the Japanese bombings, and they were also impacted by the Korean War. In addition, the extended family had a huge impact on their value systems. This generation, for the most part, grew up close to their relatives, so their grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins were part sometimes of their everyday life. So in a time of economic or emotional need, they would often look to the extended family for support. This generation also listened to the radio. They didn't have TV, certainly not like we do today. And as we just heard, someone listened to the shadow. Well, interesting, this generation developed good listening skills and strong imaginations. When she listened to the shadow, she was there. Not only was she hearing the story, she was living that story. She was tasting whatever they were eating, and she was just right there with them. So they developed strong imaginations. Can you tell us some other values and characteristics of the traditionalist generation? Well, traditionalists tend to be conservative. They tend to dress conservatively. They tend to be more formal in their work relationships. And they tend to be more formal oftentimes in their clothing. They tend to dress more dressy. Their key values include they follow the rules, they value law and order, they value honor, discipline, and they value loyalty. I think it's important that we understand this generation for the most part in the workplace made the rules and they follow them. Let me give you an example. Think about the dress code for many organizations today. We see a professional attire. You wear a suit to work. It's considered to be professional. Well, oftentimes organizations have relaxed that, so they now have a casual Friday. But I'm finding when I'm in organizations that sometimes traditionalists are not comfortable with that and so you'll find that they're still dressing up on casual Friday. This generation, as I mentioned, follow the rules. And oftentimes they get frustrated when other people do not follow the rules. They read handbooks. In fact, they can sometimes quote from them. This generation values loyalty. They went to work for an organization basically forever. They worked there until they either were asked to leave or until they retired. They value loyalty in themselves and they value loyalty in others. In addition, this generation tends to be fiscally conservative. We see that in the way that they spend money. They oftentimes spend cash. They don't use credit cards a lot. And their mentality is if you can't afford it, then you don't buy it. And we see that there's a link to the way they act in the workplace because of that. They oftentimes will follow, well they always follow budgets, but they like to stay within budgets and they pride themselves that they have money left over at the end of the year in that budget. Interesting. Let's switch gears here and talk about the baby boomers. And I actually met with some baby boomers and asked them what events were shaping their world during the decade in which they turned 10. So let's take a look at some of the things they had to say about the historical events in their younger years. The escalation of the Viefenheim war, my brother getting injured in that war. The GI Bill, the creation of the suburbs, and my family was a part of that movement. I remember Watergate. I remember it interrupting my television programing. I would say just after I turned 10 was obviously the assassination of the president, President Kennedy. In the decade that I turned 10, I remember that Elvis died. So we mostly heard some serious historical events going on in the 60s and 70s. Patty, can you talk to us a little bit more about what influenced the older and the younger boomers? Well, those two were growing up in the 60s. The 60s had a powerful impact on them and this today is that those boomers are now in their 50s. The boomers who are now in their 40s were impacted more by what was going on in the 70s. And as we heard also, there was a migration to suburbia. So people were now leaving the extended family and moving to the nuclear family. And with that, again for the most part, when you look at the family structure, there was a working dad and a stay-at-home mom. And that's similar to the traditionalist with the working dad and the stay-at-home mom. That's right. But unlike the traditionalist, boomers grew up watching TV. Boomers grew up watching TV. In addition to the wonderful world of Disney that we heard earlier, boomers grew up watching, and this is prime time, things like, I love Lucy, Father Knows Best, The Gomer Pyle Show, The Andy Griffith Show, Gunsmoke and Bonanza. Interesting. You mentioned also that traditionalists are fiscally conservative. Yes. Is that whole true for baby boomers as well? Boomers tend to live beyond their means. In fact, boomers love credit. The markings of a boomer include designer fashions, whatever is trendy and high status purchases. Boomers have an inner pride about who they are and they tend to display that inner pride with external things. And it's interesting too that boomers tend to feel less guilty in the workplace when they spend the organization's money. What do boomers tend to value and how does that play out at work? Boomers value work, success, involvement, team and lifelong learning. Boomers tend to focus on career and it's an individual focus. They value having a job, they are competitive in the workforce, and they also value teamwork. I think it's interesting that this is a generation that was a first generation to be graded on, works well with others, and shares materials with classmates in the work world, and they carry that over in the work world. Another point, and this is a little different, another different point, is that this generation is becoming sandwiched between their children and their parents. They are having to make decisions sometimes for children and they're having to make decisions sometimes for aging parents, so they're kind of trapped in the middle and sometimes they need flexibility in the workplace too. You mentioned success, if you could help us understand how a baby boomer might define success. A baby boomer typically defines success as climbing the corporate ladder, achieving another title, a promotion, so when you think about success for a boomer, it's about moving up. It's interesting, we've talked and you know I'm a Gen Xer from Generation X and I got to tell you that definition of success really doesn't resonate with me and I'm wondering from your research how would you say that other Gen Xers would agree with me or would they not agree with me? I think other Generation Xers would agree with you. This generation defines success by adding value, by displaying competence and by adding meaning to the organization. But not necessarily by climbing the ladder? Not necessarily about climbing. It's more about achieving results than it is about climbing a ladder. Would you share with us some of the historical events that helped shape Generation X? For the most part, the 80s were the formative years for the Xers. President Reagan was shot. The Challenger explosion was part of this. We heard that earlier. We heard that earlier, that it shaped them. The Tenement Square uprising as well as the fall of the Berlin Wall, those things helped shape this generation. If you look at an older Xer, what shaped them were things that were going on during the 70s, such as the Nixon resignation, the energy crisis that caused long gas lines and you bought gasoline by the digit that was in your license tag. And also they were impacted by the Iran hostage crisis. But there's another impact that's huge and that is massive corporate downsizing. Members of this generation saw their working parents be loyal to an organization and then one day they were told, you're not needed anymore. They were downsized. And that has impacted this generation's sense of loyalty to an organization. Can you tell us a little bit about the values and characteristics of this generation, Generation X? Generation X was impacted by divorce. 40% of them are from divorced families. And they also had working parents. So when they came home from school, they were latch-key kids. In fact, this is the first generation to be strong latch-key kids. Okay, significant numbers of latch-key kids. They came in off the school bus. They got a snack, maybe did a little homework and then they watched TV. By the time an Xer reached the age of 18 they had watched the equivalent of three years of their waking lives in television. And remember, they're watching this alone and the programming changes. The subject material is different than what boomers and traditionalists were watching. Three years, that's amazing. So one-sixth of their childhood was spent. Well, my childhood was spent watching TV. That's right. Well, I had a chance to talk to some fellow Xers in the courts and I asked them what they were watching during some of the time they were watching television. Here's what they said. Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, I used to watch the Cosby Show and the Three Stooges. I liked growing pains and Cosby Show. Family ties, those were probably my favorites. Of course, I enjoyed Lancelot Link's Secret Chimp. The Smurfs, Care Bears, The Simpsons. The Cosby Show, Good Times and Sesame Street. I remember watching many of those shows myself. In fact, it was a really big deal to stay up late on a Friday night and watch Dallas and I remember Love Boat being on on Saturday nights. Patty, I'm wondering what you would say about the programming that we watched as Xers? Well, for Xers, the programming tended to focus more on one's individuality and more than it did on the family structure. So it's more about the individual and less about the family structure. Also, the programming had working women shown and there was more diversity displayed in this programming, too. Those two factors also have helped to shape the view of the world that Xers have. And earlier, you talked about the family structure. I'm wondering if you could go in a little more specifically about the values and characteristics of Gen X. Generation X tends to value balance, fun, diversity, informality and they focus on results at work. They tend to wear more casual, functional clothing and they oftentimes have what I call body art piercings and tattoos. Now, for a generation that's before them, the traditionalist and the boomers, they struggle with that. In fact, sometimes boomers can be judgmental and this body art causes them to raise an eyebrow. Think about when I was a kid, the only man who I'd ever seen with an earring was Mr. Kling. Well, so we know how to spot an Xer or we kind of know how to spot an Xer. Well, the markings of a millennial include cell phones, retro clothing and brand name clothing. By the time a millennial reached the age of nine, they were considered to be brand washed. They only want to wear certain clothes that have the right label on the back. By nine years old. By nine years old. They are drawn to objects and clothes that say expensive and an interesting survey, recent survey tells us that the average 18-year-old in this country receives $125 a month allowance. So this generation is not used to waiting for what it wants, whether that's in their personal life or whether that's in their work life. Wow, that's a good amount of disposable income, absolutely. What else has shaped their values? One third of this generation are born to single mothers. And those who are living with two parents, for the most part, are living with two parents who are working. So the family structure has changed dramatically or significantly for this generation. For the millennials working in the courts right now, their formative decade would have been the 90s, right? The 90s. So let's take a look at some of the things that were going on in the 90s that helped to shape them. There was the first Gulf War, the OJ Simpson Trial, the Thomas City bombing, the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, numerous schoolyard shootings including Columbine, Election 2000 and, of course, the terrorist attacks on September the 11th, 2001. These things have significantly impacted the way this generation sees the world. So we were all affected by those things, but you're saying that they were particularly affected by them? Absolutely. Okay. Well, I think it would almost be impossible to talk about this generation without talking about technology. I mean, it was so prevalent during their formative years. And some court staff actually weighed in on this issue and how technology and millennials almost go hand in hand. So let's hear what they had to say. Technology is changing rapidly and that is the first major obstacle to, especially to, like, the baby boomers in older generations. First and foremost is the natural talent and facility that they bring with their automation skills. What takes me three months to master, they can do in one week. We're not afraid of, and in fact embrace, new technological advances in the workplace. They understand the computer. They grew up with the computer. You know, working with five, six different programs open at the same time. They have no problem doing that. You know, I have always considered myself technically savvy, but I'll tell you that some of the younger folks in the office, they put me to shame. You know, Pat, it seems like the millennials are especially technically savvy bunch. Well, like Xers, millennials certainly are technoliterate. They use communication tools as email and they've grown up with the internet. They use instant messaging. They use text messaging. They have never known a world without, for many of them, the internet or cell phones or email. And they've also been inundated with technology for entertainment. They grew up playing with an electronic gadget or playing with a video game and that's different than the way boomers and traditionalists grew up. It's also interesting to note that the television program programming has actually changed not only the subject material but the programming is much faster paced today than it was 20 or 30 years ago. And let's think about what was this generation watching during prime time. They were watching things such as the X-Files, Friends, Frasier, ER, The Simpsons, Seinfeld and of course, Reality TV. Very different. It's interesting too that this generation I think has competing media. They have the internet, they have iPods, they have CDs and what blows my mind is that they can use them all at the same time. Well, now we know a little bit about what influenced them. What do they value? Millennials tend to value. Millennials tend to value civic duty, street smarts, their achievement, diversity and money. They have a strong self-image. They are confident in who they are and they are confident about the skill set that they bring to the workplace. They thrive on innovation and they thrive on making money. Actually, another survey tells us recent survey taken of college graduates and they cite economic benefit as the major reason for attending college. Interesting. This generation also is oblivious to gender and race. As I mentioned, they value diversity. Some call this generation colorblind. Some say that this generation is more open-minded than any other generation yet and they do not have preconceived ideas about what men and women should do in the workplace. They do not have preconceived ideas about the roles that they should play. Interesting. Well, we've talked a lot about each of these four generations and I'd like to give everyone a chance to think about this from a personal perspective since we're all members of a generation. So, at your site, take a few minutes to answer the question, which generation do you identify with and maybe it's one particular generation or maybe you're like Patty and maybe you identify with more than one generation. But think about it for yourself and then share with a partner. So, we'll be back in a few minutes. Welcome back. Thanks for sharing your generational story with a colleague. Patty and I were talking during the break as well and I was sharing with her that I definitely feel like I'm a Gen Xer. I really, really feel that the values of a Gen Xer, that's what I embody, the value of balance, fun and flexibility. So, that's a little bit about my story. Now that we have a sense of what generation we fit in, we want to talk about generational characteristics and how they can be assets or liabilities at work in the courts. So, we're first going to look at the two youngest generations. The 40% of the court family that is either a Gen Xer or millennial. And we're going to look at, again, assets and liabilities and we're first going to hear their older colleagues, the boomers and traditionalists. And then we'll also hear from some Xers and millennials themselves. So, let's take a look. I think at work that the generational differences are most pronounced in the way that people approach whatever the task is. Someone my age is a little more careful and doesn't rush right in where someone who's younger, they're right there, ready to go. For the younger generation I think it's easy solutions. They tend to try to solve an issue too quickly with an easy solution and really it's more complex than that. I really admire Gen X's sense of risk taking. I think it's an invaluable quality in today's world that they are looking forward, they are not afraid to take chances and make a mistake and they're willing to learn from their mistakes and move on. Well, perhaps with some of the Gen Xers there's a bit of a sense of entitlement. I think that at times they expect to move up through the ranks faster than some of us baby boomers have. They find new ways of doing the job. I think their strength is that they question the status quo. The younger generations they're so fast, they're so quick. I tend to want to speed things up a little bit get through things as quickly as humanly possible. I'm a Gen Xer and I definitely like to have fun at work. I love having flexibility our bosses are flexible we have flexible hours, that means a lot. People of my generation find it important to be more fast paced and efficient so I think the whole advancement of technologies and everything have added to that. Well, there's definitely some honest feedback there about Xers and Millennials and Patty I'm wondering if you would talk a little bit about this tendency towards speed and risk taking. It sounded to me like it can be almost an asset or a liability at work and if you could talk a little bit about what the younger generations value. Well, I think from what I've seen the Xers and the Millennials tend to get a stereotype of being a slacker and I think they've gotten a bad rap quite honestly. I think what we're seeing is that they are motivated by different things than are boomers and traditionalists. For example Millennials tend to be motivated by technology, opportunity, money, and training. Xers tend to be motivated by state of the art technology and a fun, relaxed, flexible work environment. This generation does not, neither of these generations do not choose to live to work and other generations have really focused more on career. We'll actually ask some court staff off camera what their, some older court staff the boomers and traditionalists, their opinions of Gen Xers and Millennials to tell me a little bit about the assets and liabilities. So let's take a look at those. Some of the assets include flexibility, adaptability, fearlessness and a tendency to be more relaxed and open minded. Even care free, energetic, that word came up a lot. Bold, innovative and as we've said, technically savvy. We heard this earlier unafraid to challenge the status quo and because they're newer in the workplace a source of fresh perspectives. On the other hand also heard some liabilities. They can be Xers and Millennials immature, they can be procrastinators, they can be a little bit unreliable and they tend to not admire much of anything. They're a little bit self centered on occasion and lack discipline and personal skills. At work they may be less apt to stay late and more apt to question everything. So Patty, would you comment first talking about the Millennials? Well, when you look at the generation as a whole the assets for Millennials typically include they are great multi-taskers. They are positive and optimistic and as we've heard they are technologically savvy. In fact, this is the first time in history that we have a generation that is considered to be an authority on a subject that their parents are not and that subject of course is technology. They do have liabilities. Because of their age they tend to need structure and supervision because of their age they're inexperienced and they're inexperienced specifically with handling people issues. What about Xers? Xers also are technoliterate. Their assets also include that they are creative, they are adaptable and they are independent and I think these things come from the fact that they were latchkey kids. They had responsibility early they were independent early and that has tied into shaping who they are. They do have liabilities. This generation tends to be cynical. They tend to be impatient. They tend to sometimes have poor people skills and another interesting thing is that this generation has been inundated with news and sadly almost nothing knocks them cold. In fact, they invented the phrase, been there, done that. Can you share with us any similarities, other similarities between the Xers, Gen Xers and Millennials? Both generations embrace change and they flow with it. Change is not a stress or for them, it's not anything new so they like change. They are unimpressed with and they sometimes are unintimidated with authority. They will oftentimes challenge an older colleague in the workplace openly. They tend to have a leadership style that's equalitarian. It's about being inclusive and about being fair. When they are led, they want to have honest, frequent feedback. They want to feel like that they're valued to the organization. They want to feel like that whatever they're working on is meaningful and adding meaning to the organization and they are demotivated when they are micromanaged. They want a real hands-off management style when it's managing them. The focus here for them tends to be on results. It's about what's achieved and what's accomplished, not about how many hours did you work today or how many hours did you put on that project. The results that are achieved. I think it's interesting too we know that they're motivated by different things. There was a recent survey taken asked boomers and exers, given the choice, what would you want? An office in the corner with a door of windows or state-of-the-art technology. And the boomer said give me the office in the corner and the exers said I prefer the state-of-the-art technology. Let's talk about the boomers in the traditional. It's only fair to say. And we had some exers and millennials actually talk about their boomer and traditionalist colleagues. So let's hear what they had to say. I admire their knowledge base and I also admire their the paths that they have paved for us future generations. Their experience, their patience and understanding and willingness to share that. Some of them have a tendency to view their ideas and their ways of doing it. The older generations, they tend to not trust us younger generations as much. Think that maybe we don't know enough to do our jobs. It's the change thing. We have a lot going on in our office right now, for example, that's changing and you see a lot of the older people resisting that and not willing to really move forward with everybody else. Before I ask Patty to comment on that I'd like to share with you some other thoughts from court staff we didn't get on camera. Again, talking about honest and boomers and their assets and liabilities and this is coming from of course the millennials and the Gen Xers. They say that the older generations tend to be dependable, dedicated and experienced. As Patty mentioned, the word loyal came up often. They're committed to work and hard working. They tend to be structured and honest, even courageous. They're very respectful of others and they also tend to be very knowledgeable. On the flip side, liabilities include being a little bit less adaptable and flexible, even to the point of rigidity. They can be prone to go it alone or do it themselves. Serious, again, resistant to change we've heard earlier and a bit conservative. Patty, it's clear that with age and experience comes wisdom. You've heard that expression but is there more to it than that? There is. First of all, these generations have a wealth of experience and have a wealth of skills. They have a historical perspective on the organization. They tend to be dedicated, hard working and sometimes even driven in their work ethic. I oftentimes will hear a boomer say, I'm sorry, oftentimes we hear a traditionalist say, if a job is worth doing, then it's worth doing right. They take pride in the fact that they have a job and they take pride in the product of their job. It's also interesting to point out that boomers tend to have a strong self-identity with their work. My experience has been if you ask a boomer who are you, they will respond with their job title. Can you tell us a little bit more about the assets that each generation, the traditionalism that the boomers bring to the workplace? Traditionals tend to be detail oriented, thorough and even tempered. They also have a stick it out mentality. They just stick with it. They have a respectful view of authority also. And let's not forget their imaginations. Remember we talked about this earlier and I think they developed strong imaginations as children and they still have those imaginations that we sometimes forget to tap into today. Boomers on the other hand are team players. They are good, they have strong people skills. They are good rapport builders and they have a very strong customer service orientation. Their focus is about putting the customer first. And from an authority perspective, those tend to have a love hate authority. A love hate view of authority. They love authority when authority is on their side. They hate authority when authority is against them. Speaking of authority, most of the court leaders and managers are from the baby boomer and traditionalist generations. So would you share with us how they tend to be as leaders and also what motivates them as workers? Traditionalists tend to have a command and control in leadership style. They tend to make the bulk of decisions themselves. They have a take charge mentality. They are not afraid of making a decision or of being in charge. They are motivated by stability and security and that makes sense when you think back. Many of them grew up after the Great Depression, those years that followed that. They are also motivated with the work itself. Having a job is a motivating factor for them and they tend to be motivated by a sincere appreciation for the work that they've done. They like handwritten notes, for example. So if you want to show appreciation to a traditionalist to be motivating, you need to hand write them a note instead of sending them an email, a typed email. Boomers lead with the consensus method. They oftentimes will put a team together to tackle a project but it's important to understand here too that boomers have a hierarchy oftentimes in these teams and at the top is where they are and so they will make the decision if they need to. What they're motivated by tends to be respect, success, visible perks and climbing the organizational ladder. That's important to a boomer. What about how they tend to work with others? You mentioned a little bit about that but can you expand on that a bit? Well, traditionalists are formal and boomers are formal but not as formal in the workplace. Both generations tend to use voicemail and telephones more than they use email. Both generations follow the rules, they read procedural handbooks, they go by them and both generations tend to assign and assess work with a meeting so they need they have this something inside of them let's get everybody together and let's talk about what's going on in your area and how can we work on it just in a meeting setting. Boomers also are overachievers and often times they expect everyone else to be an overachiever too. We talked a lot about assets earlier about these two generations but can you talk a little bit more about the liabilities for traditionalists and boomers? Traditionalists tend to resist change they like the status quo they're comfortable with it in fact they will say if it ain't broke don't fix it. They also sometimes are apprehensive of technology I have seen in my experience an organization implement a new automation system and a traditionalist really struggle with that and say you know what I can retire and maybe this is the time to do that instead of having to learn this new automation system. So they tend to resist change they tend to be apprehensive with technology often times they won't buck the system it depends on how you look at it whether that's an asset or a liability but often times it's a liability they just kind of are very conforming they will not openly challenge a member that's a person who's an authority they may talk one on one but they're not going to openly challenge that person. Boomers on the other hand tend to be change masters. Boomers are not satisfied unless they can constantly improve the process so for a boomer it's about changing to improve. Let's change this to improve it sometimes boomers change to make a mark but often times they're just interested in changing that whole process. I have found however that this can drive people crazy they're always changing it even drives other boomers crazy who like change but let's change this and let's change that can really drive someone crazy. They tend to be self centered they tend to be judgmental and they can be overly sensitive to feedback they like feedback but if it's negative they can be overly sensitive to that which is a direct contrast to the exers and millennials who said really want feedback and they want honest feedback there's a difference. Alright well you've given us a lot of information a lot to chew on with all these generations I'm wondering if you can summarize for us a little bit about each generation so before we move on. Yes I certainly can let's start with the millennials the millennials are new to the workplace they're just beginning to come into the workplace they respond well to innovation and change they thrive on innovation they want to add value and receive feedback and they want feedback from their peers as well as from their managers they enjoy using technology remember this is the first time in history that there are an authority on a topic that their parents aren't they seek learning and growth opportunities in other words they value training and they see the organization as being responsible for keeping their skill set current generation exers are similar in some ways they enjoy being challenged they seek challenge and responsibilities and they oftentimes are known as risk takers they are unimpressed with authority they interesting are the first to be graded on ability to challenge others thinking when they were in elementary school and they have taken that to the workplace they seek balance and flexibility they do not choose to live to work also they focus on results not on time it's about accomplishments not about the time involved and they seek learning opportunities in other words they value training also baby boomers are driven to succeed they have a self identity linked to their work they value success involvement in team they are masters of change they constantly are seeking improvement they led the way of people the wave of people back to graduate school they use meetings to discuss and assign work and they have a customer service orientation and that orientation is about putting the customer first traditionalist work hard and take pride in their work they are in fact thankful to have a job they respect authority they grew up showing respect by saying things such as yes ma'am and no sir they follow rules they are frustrated when others don't follow the rules they are formal in their dress and mannerisms they tend to be conservative and they tend to call people by their last names in the workplace until they are given permission not to do so and lastly they focus on the time spent working they focus on the number of hours worked in a day or on a project thanks patty it's a lot to take in and I want to give everyone viewing a chance to revisit your earlier answer to the question I asked which was what generation do you feel you identify with now that you've got some more data you may find that your answer changes so take a few minutes you can do this with a partner to think about do you still feel your earlier answer do you still feel that you identify with that generation so take a few minutes and we'll come back to talk about it welcome back so how many of you changed your answer I bet at least a few of you did we talked earlier and patty you mentioned that you straddle generations or transcend generations so how normal is it for someone to not necessarily have a hard and fast answer to the question of which generation they identify with but averages and trends we are all unique and the generational component is just one factor that really helps define us well let's switch gears here I want to talk about how we can work more effectively in the courts with generations other than our own so would you talk about that a little bit well I think there's some strategies that we can use to help us to be more effective now the key is we're not talking about changing who we are we're talking about changing how we relate to people or how we work with people but we're going to stay who we are and use some strategies to help us well let's first talk about the majority of the court family we mentioned earlier that baby boomers are 51% of all judiciary employees but if you add that number to the percentage of exers you come up with 89% are either exers or boomers so let's talk about those groups first since most of us are going to be working with either an exer or a boomer or both let's talk about boomers first what are some strategies to work more effectively with them well I think one of the most important strategies is to show respect to a boomer remember boomers tend to be idealistic and workaholics many of them take pride in their job title so respect the fact that they have seniority that they have experience and respect the contributions that they've made to the organization another strategy is to publicly thank them boomers are motivated by public recognition so you can do this whether it's sending them an email and forwarding that email on to colleagues that are on up the chain of command maybe you put their name in a newsletter or maybe you post your name on a bulletin board whether it's one that's in the hallway or whether it's an electronic one so a boomer you'd want to publicly thank but a traditionalist you might want to write a personal note to exactly there's a little difference another strategy for a boomer includes that we need to understand their need for meetings this is the way that they grew up with work this is the way they grew up assigning and assessing work they are comfortable with this now the key is for boomers to make sure that these meetings are productive and if exers and millennials who tend not to like a lot of meetings are really struggling with the meetings and sometimes other boomers struggle with a lot of meetings too then I think it's important that they speak up and see if there's another communication tool that they can use but do understand that boomers really have something inside of them that drives them they need to have a meeting and lastly provide flexibility for them the reason I say that is remember we talked about that they're becoming sandwiched between their children and their aging parents and many times they need flexibility to maybe it's to attend a ball game of a child it's to take care of a need for a parent they need flexibility cut them some slack understand that need and help them not to feel so guilty about needing that flexibility and you can do that whether you are the person in charge of the boomer or whether you're just a peer absolutely you can do it with a peers or management it goes both ways let's talk about the exers now we talked about the boomers what about strategies for working more effectively with gen exers those tend to focus on results more than they focus on the time committed so the strategy here is to focus on results another strategy is to provide a fun flexible relaxed work environment we've heard that right that's what they want they want relaxed rules they want more autonomy and I have found in my experience that if they don't find that they're working in a fun flexible environment they will either leave physically or worse yet they will stay and check out mentally another strategy is to explain the reasons for the rules some rules cannot be changed some rules cannot be relaxed but it helps if an exer understands the reason behind the rule if the reason is reasonable and fair usually an exer will buy into it so explain the rules and the last strategy is to nourish their creative spirit and their love of technology understand this generation tends to want to think outside of the box they want to do work in a different way so let's allow them to do that and actually nourish and nurture that creative spirit and that's better for the organization anyway absolutely so now we've got 89% of the court family taking care we want to look at that other 11% so let's start with the traditionalist how can we work more effectively with them what are some strategies to work better with the traditionalist colleagues well I think again one of the important things that we need to do is to show them respect remember most traditionalists went to work for an organization and have stayed there so they have a lot of experience they have a lot of seniority and that's the case in the courts many people that I've worked with have then have kind of grown up in the courts exactly so what we want to do is to ask for their input and ask for their opinions that's giving them respect so let's try to tap into that secondly involve them in change initiatives remember for some of them change causes them stress so let's help them with that maybe it's that we tell them the hows and the whys why does this need to change how is it going to change and also you may want to even add some staggered implementation dates instead of saying okay this is going to change tomorrow or this is going to change next week let's have a staggered process to help them change third use them as mentors this generation as I said has a lot of history and a lot of information so let's let them share that we sure don't want to lose that organizational history so share that with members of other generation use them as mentors and lastly provide technological buddies or coaches for them so that they have a comfortable environment where they can help them ease that apprehension of technology so there's someone they can ask their questions to and it's a safe environment where they can do that it's almost a retention strategy for traditionalists in a way certainly can be a retention strategy for traditionalists yes well I know right now there's only 2% of court employees are millennials but that number as we know is only going to increase so let's talk about how to effectively work with that generation well I think using mental relationships is a big one we talked about that with traditionalists but you can also do that with millennials what we want to do is pair them with a boomer or with a traditionalist someone who understands the organization someone who they can ask questions to secondly expose them to opportunities this generation wants to be exposed they value opportunities so help them to get a broad perspective of the organization third provide honest frequent feedback this goes for peers as well as management this generation wants to know how they're doing and they want to know more than one time a year so they say tell me what am I doing well and where do I need to improve and lastly provide them with ongoing training we have learned that for this generation training is something that is a motivating factor for them in fact this generation believes that it's the organization's responsibility to keep their skill set current and they are looking for organizations that have strong training programs and I have found that they are actually staying with organizations that have that and some people say well Patty when you provide a strong training program aren't you just training them for their next job yes but we hope that job is going to be within your organization because we're seeing that it can actually be a retention strategy too to help them stay well thanks for providing those strategies you know it's interesting to know when these problems with generations come up and so I actually asked some court staff when they find tension around generational issues in other words when it seems like the things we've talked about today become a barrier to productivity I wanted to share with you some of the things they said when organizational changes take place another is when there's changes in work duties or promotions interactions with the public and customer service can often cause a generational rub and the next one we've talked about a lot technology respect this whole issue of respect and co-worker relationships tends to be an area of potential friction and perceptions of work ethic and the big one schedule work hours and leave dress codes is something we've alluded to but it also came up when we talked to court staff so patty would you say these are typical these are typical in the workplace most tension and stress in the workplace revolves around change technology policies and procedures and working relationships sometimes that's because of misperceptions miscommunication and even even organizational culture however I have found that sometimes this is because of true generational differences people just see things differently let me give you an example the dress code we understand that in many organizations the dress code is formal it's professional you wear a suit and members of the younger generations are saying what's the big deal about why can't I dress down why do I have to dress up however boomers and traditionalists see this issue as a sign of respect so we have two totally different perspectives on the same issue right so how do you resolve something like this well if it's established if it's a rule and it's established then by all means we want to follow that absolutely it's important that we follow that however it's important also for boomers and traditionalists to let the younger members know why is it important tell them why this is significant why is it that we need to wear a suit I know that for example probably you need to wear a suit in the courtroom I understand that respect absolutely we'll share the whys with members of the younger generation and then they may say yeah okay I get it in the courtroom but how about in the office well maybe then they can suggest in the office can we dress a different way keeping a suit in hand in case I'm called unexpectedly into the court then I will have it but again this is kind of a give and take on both ends so it's both sides understanding where the other one is coming from that's exactly right okay well let's give you a chance to think about at least one of these issues for your court unit and if you happen to be with others at your site like you to get a dialogue going about one of the issues you'll have the list in your participant guide talk about where the issue seems to be most I guess difficult for your group and talk about how you can use the strategies we've discussed to get beyond the generational differences so we'll give you a few minutes and then we'll come back welcome back I hope you had enough time and enjoyed the time you had talking about one of these issues from a generational perspective and we actually just got a fax from one of our colleagues out in the 10th circuit so I won't name you by name but I do want to have Patty answer this question for us all the question is you said that you should recognize traditionalist with a personal note and recognize lady boomers publicly how do you recognize Xers and Millennials well Xers and Millennials tend to focus more on the individuals so what you would do is you could just verbally thank them or you could do an email thank you to them too because they like that but make it an individual kind of a thing if it's a significant reward that you're trying to thank or whatever and you're in a management role the way to really show them that you are thankful and appreciative so to give them some time off remember they value balance in their lives and they are motivated by time off so even letting them leave early a little bit letting them leave early would be a motivating factor if it's a big thing if it's a big thing yes well I'm going to ask you a question that one of my colleagues raised with me and that is do generations carry their values and characteristics with them as they age or as they age do they tend to have different values and characteristics research tells us that for the most part our values are our values therefore my values today are going to be the values that I continue carrying on however there is a p.s. when you look at millennials and I think about some of the things that they are motivated by money for example you know when I was 18 or 20 years old I wanted money too money was certainly a motivating thing and I do think we're going to see that that changes also liabilities for our millennial because they're young tends to be that they're inexperienced they need structure and supervision that will change also as they learn and as they grow and as they mature but for the most part remember all kinds of things shape those value systems and those are that's the core of who we are and that's not going to change dramatically as we age okay one more question for you I'm wondering as you go to other organizations if you're finding that organizational leaders are really receptive to the whole notion of generational differences being one thing that can be a barrier to productivity is that something you're seeing? I am seeing that they find that but I also am seeing that organizations who truly embrace the fact that there are some differences here and let's try to work with those differences and make it a better working place those are the organizations in my opinion that are going to be successful so our court leaders should be taking this into consideration I sure hope they are well you know one of the things that I've noticed throughout this program is kind of an underlying thread through everything is this whole notion of respect it seems to be a continuing theme and so I actually asked some court staff about how they want to be respected at work so here's what they said I would like my coworkers to show respect for me by being polite and not ignoring me because of my age I want to be respected just as they are respected even though they are older and they have more knowledge and wisdom I too have knowledge to bring to the job I'm often parented rather than managed and I feel that sometimes I'm spook-fed more information because I am young I would like my coworkers to give me the courtesy to hear what I say to use their word to me and just to treat me as another colleague trusting in my abilities and maybe giving me more opportunities than what would be normal for my position a lot of times they shut you down because you were younger and because you don't have as much experience they think maybe your ideas aren't as good but I think it would be helpful to listen before you make a judgment just listen, hear me out and think that it won't work treat me as an individual, a grown adult you know what I heard were a few things were trust, honesty and listening Patty why is respect so important well I think no matter how we define respect we all want it and we want to add value to an organization we want our work to be respected and I think when we show respect to someone we're actually validating them as a person so the goal here is to get the job done respect one another but be sensitive to the generational differences as well well we're just about ready to wrap up and I wonder if you have any last final comments for us well I just want to make sure that we all understand that our values are shaped by the historical events and different influences that we've had growing up they're going to be different I think it's important for the courts to grasp again to be successful the differences and the assets and the liabilities in each of the generations and to really understand those I think it's important for the courts to employ members of all generations because there's a strength there you can have a diversified strength by having these different perspectives when you're putting together for example a committee or a task force make sure that you're putting together a committee or task force that represent all different generations again to bring those different strengths into the workplace and you don't want one just one generation represented because then you have all their liabilities there too so the goal here is to enable the courts to understand that we are unique and to tap into that and use it as a strength well thank you Patty you've been just a wonderful resource for us today okay well that's about it for us I want to thank the 10th circuit for sending in a question my colleague Michelle remain nameless for sending a question and thank all of you for participating in today's program we really would appreciate your feedback and so if you could fax us your evaluation the fax number is 202-502-4088 thanks so much and until next time take care