Generation X – Bridging the Gap in Leadership

September 12, 2018 at 10:44 pm (communication, Comparison and contrast, Education, Uncategorized)
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There is no clear decision when “Generation X” begins or ends, it is typically said that is starts in the early 1960s and ends in the early 1980s. Generation X follows the baby boomer generation and are often referred to as “Gen Xers”. “Gen Xers have been called everything from slackers to disloyal, from dumb to just plain bad” (O’Bannon, 2001). It seems that this could not be any farther from the truth.

Gen Xers come from a time when the divorce rate in America was skyrocketing. “Between 1965 and 1977, the divorce rate in America doubled. Over 40% of Xers come from broken families, and 12% of elementary school children grew up as “latchkey kids,” responsible for their own welfare after school until their parents returned from work” (Zill & Robinson, 1995). Although no one realized it at the time, this taught the Gen Xers how to be self-sufficient. It also taught them how to handle difficult situations.

Gen Xers are looked at as being responsible for bridging the gap between the baby boomers and millennials. Carolyn Wiethoff states, “Gen Xers grew up in the information age, and they are quite comfortable with technology. Politically, they grew up as America’s global power was declining. In the business world, Generation X saw a record number of corporate bankruptcies, Wall Street scandals, and massive corporate downsizing.” They have shown they are capable of being tech savvy, such as millennials, and exhibit leadership skills shown by the baby boomers.

Gen Xers were forced to be responsible and handle adversity at a young age. This valuable skill translated to the workplace and created great leaders. In a study published by DDI, it looked at more than 25,000 leaders spanning 54 countries and 26 major industries. They found Generation X accounts for 51 percent of leadership roles globally (Neal & Wellins, 2018). Their ability to be responsible and handle adversity has showcased their leadership skills.

Gen Xers are viewed as loyal employees, but also value time spent with their families. This can be directly related to how Gen Xers were raised. They take pride in spending time with their families because it was something that was taken from them at a young age. They understand the value of family and what it can mean to their spouses and children.

Their life experiences have impacted the way they communicate, act, and react to the world around them. Their experiences have given them the tools to communicate to both younger and older generations. They have risen to leadership levels without sacrificing the value the of family. This can be directly related to their upbringing. They were shown family and financial instability. In turn, they have made it a priority not to repeat history.

Sources:

Neal, S., & Wellins, R. “Generation X-not millennials-is changing the nature of work.” 11 April 2018, https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/11/generation-x–not-millennials–is-changing-the-nature-of-work.html

O’Bannon, G. (2001). Managing our future: The Generation X factor. Public personnel Management, 30, 95-106.

Wiethoff, Carolyn. (2004). Management Basics: Managing Generation X . Indiana libraries, 23(2), 53-55. https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/bitstream/handle/1805/1343/Management%20Basics.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Zill, N., & Robinson, J. (1995). The Generation X difference. American Demographics, 17, 29-32.

By: Tyler Houchin, General Studies Major – IUPUC

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Lessons from “The Celebrity Apprentice”

November 20, 2014 at 5:30 pm (Uncategorized)
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The Celebrity Apprentice whether you love it or hate it, it is a great example of different style of leaderships. In watching a few episodes, you will see that like people leadership styles and their effects on their teams vary greatly.

In Season 13 Episode 7, Trace Adkins was one of the team leaders and they were tasked with making a commercial in the style of a silent movie. Trace did an overall good job in assigning the tasks to the member of his team based upon the individuals’ strengths and sometime the contacts that individuals may have had. Trace was a very strong leader who did well keeping his team on task as well as coming up with good original ideas in regards to the subject matter. But he was also very much “it was his way or the highway”. On some of the small minute things, he allowed his team members to have some leeway on their decisions with him having the final approval. I felt like at times it led to a lot of stress on his team members and may have caused his team members to have a little resentment towards him. I feel that because of the resentment and frustration that was on the team, they were less effective as a team and hindered their creative process that could have lead to a better overall finished product. Although Trace’s team won the challenge, it was more due to the poor performance of the other team, who was led by Gary Busey, than it was the successful performance of Trace’s team.

In Season 13 Episode 6, Dennis Rodman was one of the team leaders and they were tasked with coming up with an ad campaign for Donald’s wife, Melania Trumps’s make-up line. Dennis’s team was very confused and had zero direction from Dennis. It almost seemed as if he did not care about the task at hand. This led to overall chaos with everyone struggling with his or her role on the team and completing any tasks. It came across as if it were simply a free for all. They were so lacking in focus and attention to detail that they misspelled Melania’s name on the ad campaign samples that were in their final presentation. They did not notice it until after the presentation and Donald’s son, Donald Jr. who is one of his advisors on the show, pointed it out to them. Even after they lost the challenge and were sitting in the boardroom waiting to see who got fired, Dennis still refused to take responsibility. Because of this lack of responsibility Mr. Trump ultimately fired him.

There are many different styles of leadership that fall in between these two examples. While there is not a right or a wrong way to be a leader, there are some that are tailored to the members of the team, which can lead to a more successful result.

Guy Hendricks

History Major, IUPUC

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Conflict has “bad” Connotation

November 8, 2011 at 5:19 pm (Business Ethics, Conflict, Effective Communication)
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Webster’s Dictionary defines conflict as a “fight, battle or war.”  My initial reaction to this definition was, can conflict be a good thing?  Conflict generally has a bad connotation surrounding it. Not only is there bad conflict but there is also good conflict and we see examples of both in everyday life. 

Conflict arises from incompatible or opposing needs, drives, wishes or demands.  Conflict can be internal or external and all people deal with it in different ways, the most common form of resolving conflict is some form of confrontation.  I cannot go on without saying that there is another popular method for resolving conflict, which is ignoring the problem all together.  People who like to avoid conflict are often trying to keep the peace amongst people.  The problem with ignoring conflict is that the problem will still persist until it is dealt with or someone else handles it. 

In the 21st century change is continuous and always occurring.  The slogan leading Barack Obama’s presidential campaign “Change We Can Believe In” is one example of how the world is ready for change.  However, there is one setback; the more that change is added to an environment the higher the level of conflict there will be.  Conflict is often slower to arise between people and organizations in a normal environment without change.  Living a conflict-free life is all but impossible in a world full of change. 

How conflict is handled determines whether it is good or bad.  Many of us do not like conflict but it can really be a good thing, especially when it helps a team or employees identify the best possible ideas.  When emotional responses are set aside progress can really start.  A key for conflict to go well is to have good communication skills.  The tone of an employee’s voice alone can dictate how the conflict is dealt with.  There are always problems that have to be dealt with and if handled correctly they could make some good out of the bad.     

There are a number of reasons why conflict can go bad very quickly or even be doomed from the start.  The way that an individual decides to deal with an issue sets the scene for results.  The first attempt to deal with conflict should be non-confrontational and more of a relaxed approach to achieve the best results.  That method does not work with all conflicts and sometimes laying down the law is the only option.  Being knowledgeable of the situation and who you are dealing with is also very important.  When dealing with conflict avoid playing the blame game, not listening, being defensive and trying to win. 

Personally I like to think of conflict as either good or bad while some people see conflict as neither good nor bad and just something that happens in life that has to be dealt with for progress.  Both good and bad conflicts lead to progress, it just might not be the direction you had in mind.

By Gregory Kelley, Business Major- IUPUC

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