GenXwords

Posts Tagged ‘non-profit’

, , , , ,

Retirement, welcome it.

In Work Values on October 13, 2011 at 8:46 pm

The wave has begun…and if you’re not with me here, I speak of the tsunami of  impending retirements in the nonprofit and government sectors that is headed toward us quickly.  Many studies have predicted this, but the economic down turn and drop in retirement accounts of our boomer friends delayed it briefly.   We are seeing the beginning of a mass exodus.  I’ve noticed the shift starting just in the last 9 months,  in my small community, with my clients and the organizations I work and volunteer with.  What is more concerning than the shift, is the response.  The shock, dismay and fear I’ve seen on faces when boomer executives give notice is quickly accompanied with “how are we going to replace you?”, “how can we find somebody to manage all that you do every day?” and most famously  ”there is nobody here that can do or is willing to do your job, what are we going to do?”

Did you hear that sound?  It was the collective sigh of frustration of my GenX colleagues.  For nearly two decades, my generation has been overlooked far more than our predecessors were when they were our age, and with bigger economic impact.  The majority of GenX’ers in public/government jobs and NPO’s are still in middle management, with huge student loan debt, little to no retirement savings and working under a “grey ceiling.” To top it off, we are the generation with a disproportionate percentage of mortgage crisis victims, we are the first generation in the history of our country to NOT do as well financially as our parents and we have workaholic boomers and traditionalists who just won’t retire.  Add to that, the prevailing GenX belief that there are many ways we could and should do business differently than our predecessors…if we only had a chance.  So yes, we have some anxious X’ers wanting to step into those executive jobs that boomers are vacating, and we welcome the tsunami.

The dichotomy between the anxious ready to change things up get out of my way X’ers and the fear of the unknown/there is nobody who will do it like me and with my experience attitude of the boomers is played out nearly every time I hear the word retirement.  Which is usually followed by a tense argument about the value of experience vs. the value of pragmatic results based leadership. Then it quickly degrades into dissent about who are we going to hire to fill this void?

The solution you ask?  Well for one, I’d suggest you approach the void by not looking at it as a void.  The tsunami of job title transitions is an opportunity for change and growth.   Both GenX and Millennials are already in the trenches and we surpass boomers and traditionalists in academic preparation, prior volunteer experience and innovative entrepreneurial ventures. Instead of looking for somebody to fill your shoes, look for somebody to provide a new direction and a breath of fresh air.  Approaching recruitment, even in this economic time, with an opportunity lens will likely get you the candidates you really want, not the warmed over mediocre version of what you already have.  Secondly, LISTEN.  The majority culture (boomers in this case) are classic for “knowing” what is right, but not always seeing alternatives that might also be reality.   Lastly, have a robust and diverse hiring committee, comprised of various generations, experience levels and expertise areas.  THIS will bring in your best candidates and your best match, regardless of generation.

As for retirement.  Welcome it, embrace it, it is not to be feared. Being a GenX ”slacker”, I look forward to the days that I get to retire and choose how I spend every moment of every day. Welcome it!

, ,

I haven’t posted because I’ve been “busy”…

In Uncategorized, Work Values on May 19, 2011 at 10:26 am

Who isn’t busy these days?   Take a moment to look around you now and you’ll see people living their busy lives.  Sure I’ve been busy, but should I blog about all the busy things I’ve been doing?  List out all the mundane tasks that seemed really important to accomplish at the time?… give you a bulleted array of items I’ve been doing since I last blogged?….drone on and on about all my important activities?  Yeah…no.  It would be against my GenXness (and yes, I just made up a new word).

So why do we do this in meetings?  Why do we spend hours of our lives in committee meetings (sitting in uncomfortable chairs in small stuffy rooms around tables) talking about how “busy” we’ve been?  Why are reports to board members (board packets) filled with lists of what we’ve been busy doing?   Sure it is important to know that we have done SOMETHING…but why not focus on the outcomes of our work, the results of being “busy” and the impact of our efforts.

I was just reading thru nearly a dozen board reports and I noticed that EVERY SINGLE report used the word “busy”.  Is it harsh to say that I don’t really want to know what you did last Tuesday or what meetings you’ve been to?  I trust that you are busy doing what you need to do to be successful at your job.  I would rather  know about what happened because you were at that meeting &  what you got out of it.  And if you can’t answer THAT question…maybe you should spend your time in a different way.  

If you want to engage X’ers in your work and meetings, focus on outcomes, results and impact and join me in putting a moratorium on the word “busy”.

, , , , , ,

Engaging multiple generations in your meetings

In Technology, Uncategorized, Work Values on August 12, 2010 at 3:07 pm

MEETINGS…in all their glory, are an obvious reoccurring theme in this blog.

I’ve gotten a lot of  feedback about my critique of meetings, largely from friends in the corporate or for-profit fields.  Often their comments sound  like this  “seriously?  I would walk out of a meeting that was that pointless, time is money” or “if somebody is multi-tasking in a meeting, either the meeting doesn’t have enough focus, or the people in your meeting are the wrong ones”.   Interesting points….which makes me ask if meetings in the non-profit and public sector are different from those in the for profit world.  The ultimate goal of the for profit industry is to make more money-so naturally meetings would be a strategy to make this happen.  The goal of organizations in the non-profit sector is varied and sometimes foggy. This reality can create a meeting monster that results in confusion of the meeting purpose and varying levels of disengagement from those in the meeting.  Engaging people in a meeting with a foggy goal or purpose is difficult at best.  Add generational differences in how we define the goals and purpose of organizations and it gets uglier.

One strategy for success in negotiating this mess is good meeting management & understanding how to engage people of all generations in meetings. I’ve discussed the purpose of meetings  in other posts but how we build our agendas, what we do in meetings and how we deal with the need to engage our volunteers and staff  is worth more discussion.

How to engage gen X you ask?  Well….here is an example of how not to engage younger generations….

I recently sat through a two-hour meeting where all we did was share information about what we were busy doing, tasks people planned to do and information on things we could do.  I think eating a dirt sandwich would be more enjoyable and worthwhile.  I would rather hear about what you accomplished and how it has resulted in change or allow me to chime in with my thoughts about a decision that needs to be made. Spending valuable face to face time just chatting about information I could spend 5 minutes reading in a written report is not a good use of my time.  I would prefer to come to a meeting to make a decision, share information you are not able to get elsewhere and capitalize on the group dynamic to get discussion and movement toward a common goal.

But that is just me.

I’ve observed that some people find great value in spending entire meetings sharing information and talking about activities, namely boomers and traditionalists.  The process of sharing information is a strategy left over from days where instant electronic messages, online information sharing and anytime/anyplace communication strategies were not so prevalent.  You had to wait until you saw a person face to face to get their report-or wait for snail mail to send it to you after somebody typed it out on a typewriter.  Meeting agenda’s are still built around “old business” and “new business”, committee reports etc. . It is an unusual meeting agenda that is built around what outcomes have resulted from activities or what decisions do we need to make today in this meeting.

The solution?….. having a meeting with a good healthy mix of strategy and creative management for the group you are leading.  First, be clear about why you are meeting.  Meeting for the sake of meeting is not quite at the level of Dante’s seven deadly sins…but seriously, be clear with your purpose of bringing people together.  Second, allow for sharing time for those that prefer that process.  Third, add in decisions that need to be made and outcomes that can be reported on from activity of the group.  If possible, ask the group what amount of each process they prefer.  If you have an entire group of GenX’ers I would guess you’d want to have written reports on progress/activity and spend more time on dialogue leading to decision-making.   Big group of boomers?….more time on sharing.

At the very least…consider your meeting management in the context of  generational difference.  Discuss what processes your group prefers and how to build your agenda around it.  I would bet the result would be more engagement and better  progress toward your goal.

, , , ,

Why I come to work….

In Work Values on July 16, 2010 at 12:28 pm

It is not a secret that in the for-profit sector, the purpose of the work is to make profit.  Thus the name “for” profit.  There are shades of qualifications behind this reality that people use to make it sound less greedy.  Such as “my work is important…. I do a good job… or my product will change lives”.   But the bottom line is…the bottom line.

The purpose of a non-profit’s existence is not the bottom line and it is varied from one organization to another. It may be to advocate the change of a social ill, sometimes it exists to give individuals skills,  other times it is just to provide a service that is needed because nobody else  is addressing that need or it is not cost-effective to provide it from a for-profit point of view.

The motivation behind why somebody works in or volunteers for a non-profit are also not as clear-cut as in the for-profit world.  Some will say that they work in non-profits because they want to “help” as they are altruistic in nature.  Some want to “give back”, some want to do it because it makes them feel better.

Assuming that all volunteers, board members or staff are motivated to work there for the same reason and believe in the same purpose of the organization is a dangerous assumption.   I have seen many varied responses when asked why do you do this work or what is the purpose of your organization and of course….there are generational trends to the answers I have heard.

It is well established that baby boomers are “doers.”  Their overachieving, competitive, performance based attitude has served them well in life.  This value has shaped the non-profit industry for 30 years.   This is where the “I am here to do xyz” or “our organization does xyz” statements come from.   Examples would be:  I am here to provide shelter, I train people,  I advocate for environmental health, I help victims.  The basis being “I find value in what I do” .

Generation X  has as decidedly different approach.  I won’t comment if it comes from the slacker days of our teens and 20′s, where we gained the reputation for not doing (up to boomer or traditionalist expectations that is).  But I will say that our response to the why am I here question is most often surrounded around the idea of outcome or change. If there isn’t a clear link to what will change, the slacker in most of us Gen X’ers are not going to engage.  Call us lazy but we’re not into doing something just for the sake of doing it.  The value for us and for our agencies is to change an outcome, hopefully for the better. I find value in the result of what I do.

A common place that I see this divide in the non-profit sector is in the creation of mission statements & strategic plans.  Boomers like to talk about what they are doing, X’ers most often focus on why are we doing it, what is going to change because I am here.   Millenials sit back and watch the tennis match back and forth.

This divide is virtually non-existent in the for-profit world.  There are no gray areas of purpose or motivation, you are there to make money…end of story.  No sitting in small rooms in uncomfortable chairs for hours upon hours, negotiating what will change because we exist or what need do we fill or mapping out the details of how we do it.

So why do you go to work?  And what is the point or purpose of your organization?  How do you communicate or verbalize the answers to these questions?  Is it different from your fellow staff, volunteers or board members?

, , , , ,

Connectivity & GenX. Gift, curse or just annoying?

In Technology on June 10, 2010 at 9:06 am

A typical day in my life consists of sitting in an uncomfortable chair around a conference room table, discussing problems and solutions.  To make such meetings more bearable and interesting, I like to challenge my mind to listen (and even participate from time to time) while multi-tasking in my mind.  Such multi-tasking elicits blog post ideas, grocery store lists, emails I have to construct later, vacation plans etc.

Just yesterday, while in a board meeting, I was deep in my typical multi-task meeting mode (otherwise known as MTMM) and looked up to see the three other GenX’ers in the meeting doing the very same thing.  One was texting the other who was sitting down the table, another looking at his calendar on his iPhone, another googling a topic we were discussing in the meeting. Before you lambast us for using our smart phones while in a meeting take note of this…of the 25+ people in this meeting, 70% of those participating in the meeting were the very same GenX’ers.  We were engaged, we were participating, we were focused, we were all in MTMM.

GenerationX is the first generation to have grown up adapting to rapid changes in technology and connectivity.  Unlike the millenials who were born into a world where electronic multi-tasking (such as emails, texting, SMS, IM) is the norm, or the boomers who have had to make an extra effort as adults to adapt to using technology…generation X was the first to put connectivity to work, professionally and personally.

Paving the electronic connectivity road for younger generations while acting as a model for older generations may have a cost.  As discussed in a recent New York Times article titled “Your Brain on Computers: Hooked on Gadgets and Paying the Mental Price“, the curse of electronic multi-tasking can be high.

However, the skeptical and analytical X’er in me points out that all multi-taskers, electronic or otherwise, must always weigh costs and benefits.  Electronic connectivity has not changed the necessity for balance.  The appeal of the anytime anywhere multi-tasking that connectivity allows only amplifies what we’ve known for ages-we must weigh the benefit of being connected with the cost to authentic human connection. A topic worthy of its own blog post.

So my answer to the title of this post is…connectivity is a gift with strings. I’m proud to be a part of a generation and time that has made technological connectivity work.  If you don’t share my love for MTMM, I challenge you to consider the benefit  next time you see an X’er or Millenial electronic multi-tasking.  Ask them how they balance the benefits with the costs.  You might just learn something.

For those of you who do enjoy a little electronic multi-tasking, test your ability to focus with this distractibility test created at Stanford.  I bet you can’t beat my score.

, , , , , ,

Generational differences….real or just a marketing & advertising strategy?

In Defining Events, Generation demographics, Uncategorized, Work Values on May 27, 2010 at 5:44 pm

Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millenials, Traditionalists….all terms derived originally for the purpose of marketing and advertising to different demographic groups.  Labels used to define similar values, life experiences and defining events that will guide consumer buying patterns.

I ask you…are differences between generations enough to move beyond mere consumer habits and ultimately define a cultural group?  Will discussion of difference produce more than buying patterns?  Is there enough difference that studying or discussing such difference will lend insight into improved leadership,  management and outcomes of the organizations we pour our life’s work into?

Yes.

It is obvious that the world around us is changing and it is happening fast.  The challenges that non-profits face are increasing while the demographic group that has traditionally provided staff and board leadership in such organizations is in flux. The non-profit and public sectors are undergoing an evolution themselves, negotiating new funding demands, changing needs of the populations they are serving and a public that is increasingly savvy about where their dollar is spent.  Providing for and supporting leadership transition has never been more important.

What are these substantial differences you ask?  Check out this chart. It is one of the most complete looks at differences in values, communication strategies, influences, preferred work environment, attributes and skills that I’ve seen.  It focuses on significant differences while suggesting similarities.

Back to the title of this post…recognizing real difference is just as imperative to understanding one another as recognizing our similarities. Such understanding and recognition will allow for deeper interpersonal connection while helping to negotiate the demographic shift that is upon us in our organizations and communities.

Now go study that chart, I will be quizing you on it later.

, ,

This program is nothing without me…

In Work Values on April 28, 2010 at 10:21 am

Think about a time before today. Information was controlled by those in the know and programs, services and projects in the non-profit and public sector were largely dependent upon specific people to deliver them.  People built programs, they developed services and interventions that were based on their ideas, experience and their  access to information.  Focus was on building and doing programs, creating and owning models of service delivery.  This was especially relevant at the birth of many non-profits 30-40 years ago.  The success of such programs and services were dependent on the architect being integral to the delivery and thus…the age of “this is program is nothing without me” was born.

Come back to today. Information is far more accessible to the masses, many programs and services have a long history and it is uncommon to create a truly new and revolutionary service delivery model.

I was recently talking with a genX colleague of mine, who had just had an altercation with one of his staff.  This staff person had stormed into his office threatening that if he didn’t get what he wanted he would resign and “his” programs would fail without him.  He stated “this program is nothing without me, I have spent 30 years  making it what it is, you could never have the information I have.”

Interesting comment.  Is it correct that someone could “never have the information” that 30 years has created?   In a day and age where 4 hours of online research on best practice will elicit dozens of models, pilots, outcomes, and research studies that 30 years have created,  I doubt the  information is unattainable.  So what does that mean for ownership of programs and the “this program is nothing without me” mentality?   I propose that it is not the program that one owns  in today’s workforce, but the results.

My friend’s response….”I hate to break it to you, but you don’t own the program, you own the results.  The program is replicable.  Instead of focusing all this energy on owning your program start considering making better results.”

Results…a concept readily embraced by GenX’ers.  We know we are not indispensible in the work place, we know what we create can be taken, changed, moved or adapted.  We are not necessarily loyal to a program or agency, but invested in the results and outcome it could create.  We grew up at the beginning of the information age and we learned how to adapt.  We don’t own programs or services.  In fact, we often consider ourselves successful when somebody uses our “model” program.  It is not the doing part of the program or service that we focus on, it is the results that it creates that are important to us.  We don’t think we are unique in our creation of a program but  in the  outcome.

It today’s non-profit workforce, it is time to move from “this program is nothing without me” to…”I can give you results that others can not”.  It will make your GenerationX managers happier and your value as an employee higher.

, , , ,

Utopia and GenerationX

In GenX Literature, Work Values on April 10, 2010 at 12:39 pm

Utopia: a society where beauty reigns, poverty and misery are absent.

It is a beautiful spring day.  Flowers are blooming, birds are singing and the prospect of summer approaching warms the heart of this generation X’er. Appreciation for winter being over is not unique to specific generations.  We are all thankful for those moments of bliss and feeling that everything in the world is right.   I emphasize the word moment. I treasure those utopia like moments.  Where the strife of human kind and the poverty and misery I witness daily in my non-profit work are quiet in my head.  But then…I come back to reality, the moment is appreciated and noticed but quick and fleeting.

Where am I going with this you ask? Well…I recently landed on an advertisement for homes in “The Villages,”  a utopian retirement community catering to boomers  in Florida-it is currently 80,000 people strong.  I watched the advertising video’s with perverse interest.  However,  I haven’t been able to shake the creepy feeling I was left with after watching clips about “cowboy hat Friday’s” and “we are living a permanent vacation!”   The community is entirely self-sustaining,  privately owned and operated-from utilities to law enforcement.  There are strict guidelines to how long grandchildren can stay, almost no crime and there are 9,000 golf tee times a day. And apparently, it is such popular place that residents have signed up in droves to live on vacation daily.

So I ask myself, why the weird feeling?  Does the idea of some people getting to live on a permanent vacation bother me? Is it the gross emphasis on a monoculture that bugs me? Was it the resemblance to the Stepford Wives that got under my skin? I’m not a golf fan so maybe it was all the golf that pushed me over the edge.

No, it is the philosophy that utopia is attainable and if it isn’t present, we’ll just create it.  A mindset that I believe is far more prevalent in the generations before me.  An inclination that has served the non-profit advocacy movement well for many years.  Why work the long hours for little pay if you don’t believe that at the end, there IS utopia?  An end to poverty, an end to racism, domestic violence and child hunger.

I believe Utopia is a good read and fabulous place to visit for a spell, but it is purely fiction.

X’ers are typed as being pessimistic by nature.  We hope for change, we just don’t expect it.  We aren’t surprised by failed systems, failed people or leaders.  So the idea of utopia for us, really is fiction.  We aim for impact, we plan for change, we work for outcome.  But the outcome is rarely the end of some social ill, it is rather a change in the way to prevent or respond to it.

Meanwhile, boomers are on the linear plane.  Thinking of how to get from here to there-”there” being utopia.  The ideal.  We must create the ideal.  We CAN create the ideal.

You can imagine there may be a bit of a conflict when it comes to administration and leadership of non profits that are founded on “curing” human misery.   I see it in board strategic planning sessions, executive evaluations, outreach events and discussions about “the movement”. While the conflict is frequent, the root of it generally goes unnoticed while we get stuck throwing labels around like “naïve idealist” and “cold-hearted cynic”.

In typical X fashion, I bring attention to the conflict yet I am without concrete answers to resolve it.  I’m interested in your thoughts about utopia and the ideal.  Meanwhile,  I’m going back outside to enjoy the short-lived spring weather.

, , ,

Why are we meeting-take two. Engaging Generation X in your coalition or group.

In Work Values on March 25, 2010 at 9:34 am

It is no secret that I spend much of my life in meetings, which means I spend a great deal of time asking myself why am I here.   I am not the lone GenX’er with this sentiment.

It is well established that GenerationX values results. The words why, purpose, meaning, end result and outcome often float around in my head, especially when I find myself (once again) sitting in an uncomfortable chair in a small hot room surrounded by people who seem to have only shown up for free lunch and to chat about American Idol.

Just yesterday I found myself there-with my familiar inside voice asking myself “why am I here?” and “what outcome does this group serve?”.   As I contemplated the answers, I notice two things happening….1) two participants of my generation jumping in to ask the questions “what does this group want to accomplish, what outcome does it serve” and 2) push back from boomers stating that the value of the group was just meeting like we always have, having a defined purpose, outcome or result wasn’t entirely necessary.  One well-meaning and passionate boomer is quoted saying “I don’t feel like we’re spinning our wheels by just meeting like we always have, I get a lot out of just showing up.”

Comments like this,  although well-intentioned and honest, are the kiss of death to my commitment to a group. Meeting just for the sake of meeting is squandering valuable human resources.  A group or coalition without a clear purpose is unlikely to yield valuable end results.  Where there is no purpose, there is no team, no group, no true coalition ready to change the community. It turns into a meeting that is merely a social hour with free food.

Does this mean I’m not a team player? No.  To engage me in a group or coalition, there must be clarity with purpose and discussion of end results.  Better yet, involve me (and other X’ers) in the development of that mission, purpose and end product.  Better still, understand that my desire for results doesn’t equate to me not wanting to be part of process.  I want to be part of change.  I believe group process (and coalitions in this instance) provide opportunity for positive change in my community and a chance for me to learn and grow professionally.

And for the record, free lunch at meetings is good, but not enough to draw me to a meeting just for the sake of meeting.  I chose the non-profit field because I want positive change, not just be social.  Want a formula for engagement?  Food AND purpose, I’ll be there ready to jump right in.

, , , ,

Headline: GenX breaks out of the 9 to 5 box

In GenX Pop Culture, Technology, Uncategorized, Work Values on March 18, 2010 at 9:29 am

Remember the Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda movie from 1980 ” 9 to 5″…I can still hear Dolly blasting out the chorus….

Workin 9 to 5
What a way to make a livin
Barely gettin by
Its all takin
And no givin
They just use your mind
And they never give you credit
Its enough to drive you
Crazy if you let it

I will certainly not admit in public that Dolly Parton has had any influence on my work life but the idea of questioning the traditional 9 to 5 work schedule certainly started in my little kid brain when I saw this movie years ago.  Even then, I asked myself from where did this idea of working in a confined space for a specified time of day come?  Whose idea was this anyhow? And why do I have to do it this way?

Well..in post WWII where typical office work consisted of controlling and manipulating information to the masses (like a Mad Men episode) and meetings required face to face contact, having a specified time of day and place to do it made sense.  Naturally, boomers being the competitive lot that they are, upped the ante in the seventies and eighties by supporting and practicing the value that the longer you work, the more dedicated and better work you were doing.  Work was life, work defined you.  The “so what do you do?” party conversation opener was born.

Enter Generation X…add in a healthy mix of telecommuting options, video & online conferencing, email, smart phones, personal computers, social networking and voilà, the 9 to 5 idea just doesn’t seem as hot as it used to.  Many industries have caught on and adapted, offering flextime, telecommuting and utilizing internet based programs like wiki to create work spaces that are not dependent on a specific time or place to participate.

The non-profit and public sectors, not so much. Some are still working from the perspective that more time spent IN your office means you are more dedicated, more loyal, a better public worker, a better non-profit executive.   The perspective breeds the idea that NFP Executives must be on beck and call 24/7, because if you aren’t, you somehow aren’t dedicated to your cause. You are a slacker, you are apathetic, you are not “dedicated to the work”.

As a GenXer who appreciates her freedom to set her own schedule, juggle more than one career at a time AND have a life outside of my work, this aggravates me.   I join my GenX colleagues in their desire to balance work with many other roles & responsibilities and the idea of utilizing technology to make me more efficient and produce higher quality work doesn’t intimidate me.  If I want to answer work emails in my robe at my kitchen counter at 5 am, go to the gym between meetings in the middle of the day or blog in the middle of the night-it’s my prerogative (and no, I’m not quoting Bobby Brown), it doesn’t equate to being a slacker, apathetic or any less dedicated.

Before this turns into a giant vent, I will wrap it up with a challenge.  It is up to GenerationX leaders to continue to challenge the old school ways of confining work and placing value on time instead of the quality of our work.  Meanwhile, I challenge the boomers out there to take a day off, go take your shoes off and walk in the grass, find something that has meaning in your life other than the time you work and…next time somebody asks you what you do make up something crazy.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.