Clash of the Generations - by Valerie M Grubb (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Clash of the Generations explores this new and increasingly common workplace phenomenon, and provides strategies to help managers navigate this ever more complex maze. Traditionally, older workers would retire and make room for the next generation; instead, Baby Boomers are now prolonging their time in the workplace, yet the successive generations are still coming in. Senior leaders are now left to manage a blended workplace comprised of up to four generations--each with their own ideas of work ethic, work/life balance, long-term career goals, and much more. Management is challenging at the best of times, but the new prevalence of generation gaps--sometimes even layered--add an entirely new dimension to an already complex responsibility. This book presents case studies and interviews with representatives of companies with age-diverse workforces, detailing innovative strategies for smoothing out the bumps and helping everyone work together.

Managers have long wished that their positions came with an instruction manual, and this book delivers with a host of effective inter-generational management strategies illustrated by real-world companies.

• Manage the multi-generation workplace more effectively
• Navigate the generational culture clash
• Adopt proven strategies for helping everyone get along
• Promote a more positive culture amidst clashing expectations

Every generation in the workplace has value, each has their own strengths, their own weaknesses, and their own unique talents. Each is indispensable, and when they come together as a synergistic force, they can be unstoppable. Effective management means bringing out the best in your workforce, and the strategies presented in Clash of the Generations help you streamline your varied workforce into a team more valuable than the sum of its parts.

From the Back Cover

All managers must learn the science and art of getting work done through others, and the most successful leaders know they've never learned it all because our world keeps changing. Difficult economic times, longer life spans, and shifting demographics are just some of the factors altering the face of today's workforce, which now spans four generations. Clash of the Generations gives managers, senior leaders, and human resource professionals instructive insight and authoritative guidance for effectively meeting the needs and expectations of team members in every stage of their careers.

Whether you're preparing to lead your first team or have led an entire organization for decades, you'll benefit from this eye-opening examination of the working generations, which systematically defines each age group by the lifetime experiences shaping such core beliefs as work ethic, work-life balance, and long-term career goals. With clear caution against stereotyping people by age, this well-grounded work offers valuable insight on the dissimilarities and commonalities among workers of different ages. Through up-to-date research and illustrative, empirical examples from the author's own extensive experience, a clear picture emerges with such positive revelations as:

• Old habits--not old people--kill innovation, and pairing veteran workers with younger ones has proven to spur innovation at many companies.
• Learning is a lifelong pursuit, and motivating senior team members to develop their skillsets is just as important as mentoring new and mid-career members of the team.
• Employees and managers worry about job stability, and taking part in developing individualized career plans for your talent is a critical way to retain them.

Step by step, this everyday guide outlines how to create a workplace culture in which everyone can maximize his or her contributions to the organization. Keep it at your fingertips for when you need advice on best practices for keeping multigenerational cooperation in mind when setting goals, giving feedback, and distributing rewards; confidently allowing a flexible work schedule that maintains productivity; strategically using communication methods to build unity; and many more tasks and concerns. Finally, you get insiders' perspectives from a diverse cross section of leaders who successfully manage multigenerational workplaces in a variety of industries. Turn age difference into an asset with Clash of the Generations.

About the Author

VALERIE M. GRUBB is founder of the consulting firm Val Grubb & Associates Ltd. She is an innovative, visionary operations leader with an exceptional ability to zero in on the systems, processes, and human capital issues hampering a company's success. During her career, she served as vice president of strategic operations and initiatives at NBC Universal and played a key role in creating both Oxygen Media and IAC. She is the author of Planes, Canes, and Automobiles: Connecting with Your Aging Parents through Travel.