Drawing on the research in her book,
Navigating the
Badlands, Mary O'Hara-Devereaux explained
to a
group of female leaders at the
WOMEN-Unlimited national conference the vast
differences between the way Baby Boomers (now
42-60 yrs old) and Generation Y-ers (now 12 to 29
years old) prefer to communicate.
Let’s start with Grandma Moses, I mean, me. As a
Boomer, I grew up before: cell phones, caller-id,
email, instant and text messaging, LANS, WANS,
intranets, extranets, blogs, Facebook, MySpace or
YouTube.
Generation Y is growing up with technology sewn so
tightly into the fabric of their lives that they see it
and use it as a natural extension of who they are.
Choosing not to use technology is like choosing not
to use their arms or legs.
As a reality check, I asked my 24-year-old stepson
Will. He is as smart, educated and handsome as
they come. And I can say that because they aren’t
my genes. I asked Will if he would prefer a
co-worker stop by his cubicle to ask a question or
make a comment. He barely took a breath before he
said, “No.”
Horrified, I asked, “Why not?” Equally quickly, he
explained, “Because then I can’t do other things at
the same time.” Ah-hah. This crowd was born to
multi-task. The pros and cons of that fact must wait
for another debate.
Conversely, when colleagues sitting so close to me
that I could guess what they had for breakfast would
call me or email me rather than poke their head
around the corner, I found it insulting. Notice the
use of the past tense.
Imagine my surprise to realize just last week that my
habit of constantly popping up in their cubicles like a
Caddyshack gopher was equally annoying to them.
And so, my advice to Baby Boomers: don’t
be afraid to use technology to communicate.
Generation Y: try face to face interaction at
least several times a day (especially with those
Baby-Boomer bosses and colleagues). You don’t
want to lose your ability to look someone in the eye
or read the nuance of a wink, a knitted brow or a
slight nod. You’ll need all those skills when it comes
time to buy a house, negotiate a raise and save the
planet.
Generation X: (roughly 29-42 yr olds) – do
whatever you want. There just aren’t that many of
you.
I actually asked O’Hara-Devereaux about Generation
X. She admitted to less available research because
Gen X is so shrouded by these other two big groups.
So, let’s do our own research. Who knows?
Gen X may be the savviest communicators of all!
If you are in this 29-42 age group, will you please
email me and tell me how you prefer to
communicate? I want to know. Honestly I do. So
please, all six of you, write to me at:
janie.gabbett@marsteller.com.
My advice to savvy communicators of all ages is this:
- Just like a good speaker, consider your audience
before choosing your communication vehicle.
- Consider asking new colleagues, employees and
bosses how they prefer to communicate.
- Chose a communication mode appropriate to
content
For example:
- Quick questions and comments are fair game for
instant or text messaging
- Detailed information exchanges that are best
documented and/or sent simultaneously to many
lend themselves to email
- Discussions when the outcome is dependent on
consensus are better on the phone or in person
- Negotiations or emotionally-laden, life-changing
interactions are best in-person
Now for the real kicker. According to
O’Hara-Devereaux, the salvation of the planet may
very well depend on the ultra-experienced, wise,
leadership-savvy Baby Boomers teaming up with the
ultra-educated, smart, tech-savvy Generation Y-ers.
Now if that’s not enough incentive for all of us to
bend a little, I don’t know what is.
