Experiencing problems with generational communication challenges in your organization? You are not alone! Sherri Petro of VPI Strategies shows how you can increase your generational quotient and reduce the misunderstandings that abound with four generations in the workplace together. Learn solutions other organizations are implementing by leveraging their knowledge of generational thinking with colleagues, clients, volunteers, donors and board members.

1. Work With Me!
Leveraging Generational Knowledge to Accomplish Your Mission
Sherri Petro
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3. Today’s Speaker
Sherri Petro
President and CSO,
VPI Strategies
Hosting: Sam Frank, Synthesis Partnership
Assisting with chat questions: April Hunt, Nonprofit Webinars

4. A better way of seeing things
Work With Me! Leveraging Generational
Knowledge to Accomplish Your Mission
With Sherri Petro
March 2011

5. The Objectives
♦ Define the generational mix
♦ Discuss and why we think the way we do and the
consequences of four generations in the workplace
♦ Share best practices to decrease generational
misunderstandings
♦ Share verbiage we can use to insure the people
around us hear and understand our message
5

6. The Generation Mix In 2011
♦ Traditionalists ♦ Generation X
– Born 1925-45 – Born 1965-80
– 66-86 years – 31-46 years
♦ Baby Boomers ♦ Generation Y
– Born 1946-64 – Born 1981-?
– 47-65 years – Under 31
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7. National Working Landscape 2006
6.5%
22.5%
Traditionalists
Baby Boomers
41% Generation X
Generation Y
30%
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8. Boards According to BoardSource’s
Nonprofit Governance Index 2010
Gen Y Age
Under 30
0%
30-39
65+ 7% Gen X (sort of)
Traditionalists 23%
40-49
20%
50-64
50%
Baby Boomers
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9. Clarifying Question
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10. Affects in the Workplace
♦ Work ethic ♦ Work priorities
♦ Time sensitivities ♦ Company loyalty
♦ Retention ♦ Meeting
♦ Subscription to management
technology ♦ Change
♦ Entitlement ♦ Level of respect
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11. Generational “Fun” for Managers
♦ Delegation
♦ Communication vehicle preferences
♦ Conflict resolution styles
♦ Career development discussions
♦ Handling performance appraisals
♦ Rewards and recognition
♦ Learning styles
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12. The Shadow
The ED/Board generational challenge
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13. Generational Group Exercise
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14. Generational Group Discussion
1. What motivates your generation?
2. What are you most proud of about your
generation?
3. What do you wish the other generations
appreciated about yours?
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16. And The
Research Says
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17. Traditionalist Motivations
♦ Think “S”
– Safety
– Security
– Stability
– Structure
17

18. Traditionalist Work Style
♦ Command and control
♦ Can be tough for them to use
their own judgment
♦ Why customize?
♦ Believe in the value of work
more than finding personal
meaning
♦ Separation of work and home
♦ Acknowledged for what they
know as well as what they do
18

19. Baby Boomer Motivations
♦Think “P”
–Prestige
–Power
–Perks
–Process
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20. Baby Boomer Work Style
♦ All about respect
♦ Self-improvement
♦ Strong work ethic
♦ Desire flexibility
♦ Optimistic and idealistic
♦ Struggle with work/life balance
♦ Into symbols of recognition as rewards
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21. Gen X Motivations
♦ Think “F”
– Flexibility
– Freedom
– Family
– Fun, their way
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22. Generation X Work Style
♦ Job movement ♦ Informal
♦ Money-motivated ♦ Results-oriented
♦ Like to solve their ♦ Quick study
own problems ♦ Sound byte
♦ Multi-taskers processing
♦ Fiercely independent ♦ Work solo and yet on
♦ Direct communicators teams
versus reading in ♦ Need for external
between the lines recognition as reward
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23. Gen Y Motivations
♦ Think “C”
– Cause
– Community
– Creativity
– Connection
23

24. Generation Y Work Style
♦ Digital natives ♦ Multi-taskers
♦ Work on their own ♦ Desire mutual respect
terms ♦ Ready for
collaboration
♦ Think globally
♦ Want to make a
♦ Have positive difference
expectations
♦ Celebrate diversity
♦ Want customization ♦ Acknowledgement for
♦ Desire interactivity being here
♦ Express to express -- ♦ Looking for an
not impress experience
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25. Start with Similarities*
♦ We receive great reward
– For the work we do
– From the people we work with
– And the belief that we are contributing to
society and our current jobs
♦ We receive great satisfaction from our
accomplishments at work
• CCL Emerging Leaders Research by Ross DePinto, 2003
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26. Generational Similarities
♦ We have
– A desire to learn
– A desire to be acknowledged
– A desire to be rewarded
♦ We want
– To be trusted, valued and respected
– To succeed
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27. Solutions: Mind Set
♦ Expand your mental model. Value and leverage
those that think and act differently than you and
have diverse experiences.
♦ Recognize there may be conflicts due to
differences in generational motivation
– Traditionalists - legacy
– BB – process
– Gen X – results
– Gen Y – experience
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28. Solutions: Actions
♦ Make a commitment to age diversity
♦ Concentrate on similarities as a start
♦ Employ a student and teacher mindset
♦ Match generational motivation to your messaging,
use the language each generation resonates with
♦ Create multi-generational teams
♦ Enlarge ideas instead of taking sides
♦ Do NOT diminish an opinion based on age
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29. Solutions: Actions
♦ Conduct a temperature check survey on being valued,
trusted and respected
♦ Have informal & scheduled times to brainstorm,
update and coach
♦ Create healthy conflict resolution guidelines
♦ Honor energy, intuition and instincts
♦ Agree that getting to the objective is the most
important and not necessarily HOW – unless unethical
29

30. Hmmm…
30

31. Boards According to BoardSource’s
Nonprofit Governance Index 2010
Gen Y Age
Under 30
0%
30-39
65+ 7% Gen X (sort of)
Traditionalists 23%
40-49
20%
50-64
50%
Baby Boomers
31

32. Why You Might Want Multiple
Generations on Your Board
♦ Energy - They can assist you in becoming the “anti-
bored board”
♦ New perspective and ideas - Questioning the value of
the old way of doing things
♦ You create the opportunity for more voices to be heard
and develop a lively dialogue
♦ They can teach you how to value and be more efficient
with technology like BoardEffect®
♦ Your board may be the only one they are on!
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33. What We Can Expect From
Younger Board Members
♦ More movement in and out of boards by
younger board members
♦ More questions that we need to take
seriously
♦ More efficient meetings
♦ More evidence of good work
♦ More requests for hands-on work
33

34. Thank You!
Sherri Petro
VPI Strategies
sherri@vpistrategies.com
www.vpistrategies.com
858-583-3097
34

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Chris Dumas
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707-812-1234
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