Megan Seibel, PhD VALOR Director and Extension Specialist Virginia Tech Brad Burbaugh Graduate Research Assistant Virginia Tech

 A defining moment for my generation was?  My generation’s most used means of communication is?  I learned to drive behind the wheel of?  The voice of my generation was/is? (Wyatt, 1993)

 4 generations are working side by side  By the year 2014, 70 million Baby Boomers will be eligible for retirement  Generation X will quickly assume positions of leadership in our society (Wey Smola & Sutton, 2002)

 Value logic and discipline  Don’t like change  Want to build a legacy  Feedback  “No news is good news”  Keyword: LOYAL (Arsenault, 2004; Jopling, 2004)

 “Me” generation  Money, title, recognition  Want to build a stellar career  Feedback  “Once a year”  Keyword: Optimist (Arsenault, 2004; Jopling, 2004)

 Need work-life balance  Flexible and motivated  Want to build a portable career  Feedback  “So, how am I doing”  Keyword: Skepticism (Arsenault, 2004; Jopling, 2004)

 Value diversity and change  Want work to meaningful  Want to build parallel careers  Keyword: Realistic (Arsenault, 2004; Jopling, 2004)

 Traditionalists ◦ Enjoy be engaged as teachers, mentors, can coaches  Baby Boomers ◦ Offer flexibility, authority, and respect ◦ Challenge them to keep growing  Gen Xers ◦ Enjoy learning new things ◦ Coached with fast feedback and credit for results  Millennials ◦ Be fair and direct ◦ Highly engaged in their personal development

“[volunteers]..will be more likely to serve a cause, fulfill a need, or execute a specific task, based upon their individual interests and skill set” (Culp, 2009)

 Guess Who? ◦ Likes concise action words ◦ Humor can be used with this group to get a message across ◦ Likes all senses to be stimulated ◦ They want to respond quickly ◦ Instant messages on computers ◦ Many in this group have never used a postage stamp (Jopling, 2004) Traditionalists - Baby Boomers - Gen Xers - Millennials

 Guess Who? ◦ Explain clearly what is happening ◦ They like to be invited to share ◦ Want questions answered without too many conclusive answers ◦ They respect letters, but better ◦ They like phones and answering machines. (Jopling, 2004) Traditionalists - Baby Boomers - Gen Xers - Millennials

 Guess who? ◦ Messages in short, understandable bites ◦ is perfect ◦ Informal communication style is preferred ◦ They use cell phones and depend on voic ◦ They may not read mailed newsletters, but they may scan electronic ones Traditionalists - Baby Boomers - Gen Xers - Millennials (Jopling, 2004)

 Guess Who? ◦ Formal communication and tradition. ◦ Clear, concise messages. ◦ Mailed letters, phone calls, and face-to-face works well Traditionalists - Baby Boomers - Gen Xers - Millennials (Jopling, 2004)

“Life is a continuing journey with never-ending opportunities to learn, give and grow.” “Everyone has something to offer. How can you put your skills to work?” “Everyone needs to be needed. We need you.” (Culp, 2009)

“Your experience, wisdom and talent are needed and valued.” “We can help you find an outlet for your skills and experiences.” (Culp, 2009)

 Like the “traditional” classroom structure  Will not generally contradict or disagree with instructor in front of others  Does not enjoy being singled out in group discussions or for questions  Likes to practice alone, not in groups  Not likely to ask questions during discussions (Teaching across generations, 2004)

 Enjoy working in creative and independent manners  Often posses significant professional experience  Require lots of interaction and “talk” time  Enjoy icebreaker and introduction activities  Prefer a spirit of collegiality in classroom (Teaching across generations, 2004)

 Self-reliant  Require regular, if not constant, feedback  May lack interpersonal skills  Can be cynical  Require relevance in assignments and courses  Often impatient  Consider themselves to be technologically capable  Are adaptable and informal (Teaching across generations, 2004)

 Accustomed to group work  Comfortable with active learning  Multi-task with ease  Technological experts  Goal and achievement oriented  Require more structure and mentoring  Learn from failure  Motivated by money and earning potential (Teaching across generations, 2004)

 A difference in how leaders are viewed, and how leadership is manifested (Sessa, Kabacoff, Deal & Brown, 2007).  There are differences in the leadership attributes valued by each generation, but these differences may not be as great as is indicated by the popular press.

 Matures: publicly impressive and dedicated; experience; global view; shared-decision making and delegating  Early Boomers: politically astute; farsighted; trustworthy; shared decision-making  Late Boomers: global leadership and dedication; trustworthiness; experience; global view with clear focus; listening; want feedback (Sessa, Kabacoff, Deal & Brown, 2007)

 Early Gen-Xers: optimistic and persuasive; trustworthiness; big picture with clear focus; listening; prefer perceptive leaders that value talent and give feedback  Late Gen-Xers: optimistic and experienced; trustworthiness; short term leadership activities  Millennials: dedicated and creative who cares about them personally; focus; dedication; optimism (over credibility and farsightedness ) (Sessa, Kabacoff, Deal & Brown, 2007)

Average Across Generations Ranking 1Credible 2Trusted 3Listens well 4Farsighted 5Encouraging 6Experienced 7Dependable 8Focused 9Dedicated 10Optimistic (Sessa, Kabacoff, Deal & Brown, 2007)

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