by Carey Nieuwhof: As you may have noticed, there’s a bit of tension in the workplace and in the culture these days.

Younger leaders are complaining (a lot) about older leaders (who are often their bosses).

Older leaders are complaining (a lot) about younger leaders.

The ‘Okay, Boomer’ moment happening in our culture right now is just the tip of the iceberg but it crystallizes what young leaders are feeling about older leaders.

I’m one of those older leaders. As a Gen X myself, I’ve been at countless breakfasts and meetings with people my age or older who, about a decade ago, started complaining about younger leaders.

More recently, I’ve heard an equal number of younger leaders (the bulk of my readers are leaders under the age of 40) complain about their bosses and how frustrated they are with older leaders.

It shouldn’t be surprising then that, as revealed by a Gallup study, 70% of US employees are disengaged at work.

So, I decided to do a survey to get more feedback on what’s really going on.

According to the recent Gallup study, 70% of US employees are disengaged at work.Click To Tweet

I Surveyed Over 900 Leaders

I recently survey over 900 leaders about their experiences with the opposite generations at work. Rather than trying to get statistics, I solicited feedback. Attitudes. Stories. Perspectives.

And I did I get an earful from all sides.

I heard from CEOs, entrepreneurs, engineers, pastors, lawyers, office managers, teachers, accountants, project managers, church staff, EAs and many other kinds of leaders.

I asked younger leaders (Gen Z and Millennials) to tell me what frustrates them about older leaders (Gen X and Boomers), and older leaders to tell me what frustrates them about younger leaders (that post comes out next in this series).

To get us started, I asked Millennials and Gen Z respondents to complete this sentence:

My biggest complaint about older leaders at work is…

Well, they told me. Wow.

I mean I knew anecdotally from conversations with leaders that there were challenges. I just had no idea the animosity and frustration ran so deep.

So what’s going on?

Honestly, some of these criticisms hurt. But if you ignore feedback that hurts, you’ll stop growing. Leaders, being willing to hear what’s wrong is a first step toward making things right.

There’s a lot of misunderstanding, tension and miscommunication in the work place. I’ll share some strategies at the end of this post on how to handle that.

Ready to hear the complaints?

Brace yourself. Here we go…

Leaders, being willing to hear what’s wrong is a first step toward making things right. Click To Tweet

#1 They’re Not Open to Change 

When you read through the hundreds of responses I got from younger leaders about their bosses, the refrain was almost unanimous.

The #1 complaint about older leaders by younger leaders (by FAR) is that older leaders aren’t open to change.

Here are just a smattering of direct quotes from  young leaders about their bosses and older co-workers:

Stuck in their ways with tons of blind spots and no willingness to listen or learn. Which breeds no hope for change.

Not willing to let go of the way things were done 30 years ago, let alone 10.

Most of them what do to do it the way it always been done. I actually heard that from them.

They want everything done the way they did it in the 80’s and 90’s while saying they want innovation and freshness.

They have so much history behind them, they don’t want to try something because they did before and it didn’t work.

Living in the past, as if it were better than the future possibilities.

Change is a dirty word for older leaders.

The #1 complaint about older leaders by younger leaders is that older leaders aren’t open to change. Click To Tweet

To a certain extent, I get it. Older leaders bring a lot of experience and wisdom to the table.

At least I hope I do as a 50+ leader myself. So it’s easy to want to think we know what someone 20 or 30 years our junior doesn’t.

But, you have to admit leaders…things are changing quickly.

Two quick realities about change.

First realize the past has a nostalgia the future never does. You remember the good parts of the past, but tend to minimize the bad parts or how challenging it was.

Change takes as much courage now as it did then. Change may have been easier then because you were younger, but it’s just as important now as it was when you were 23. Maybe even more so. Why?

Because the gap between how quickly you change and you quickly things change is called irrelevance. And things just keep changing faster and faster every year.

Ignore that and you lose out on more than you think.

Guess what young leaders who see older leaders as irrelevant tend to do? They leave.

Which explains a lot of what’s happening these days. If you won’t change, young leaders will find someone who will.

If you won’t change, young leaders will find someone who will. Click To Tweet

#2 Older Leaders Are Inflexible

Again and again, young leaders complained about how inflexible their bosses and older colleagues were. Again, here are some direct quotes from young leaders:

Set in their methods, not flexible in how work gets done.

They refuse to let go of their power/authority/decision-making rights.

On the occasion that they do give up their rights, they are quick to take them back when things don’t go exactly the way they wanted.

Not forward thinking, not engaging the next generation, not adventurous.

Inability to be flexible and understand that a flex schedule, working from home, having informal meetings to discuss ideas are all a benefit to productive work, and that doesn’t mean that I’m not a hard worker or slacking off.

While there’s a lot in these comments, read that last comment again.

There’s a rising tide of young leaders who want a flexible workplace.

For so many reasons, 8-4 doesn’t work anymore in an era of wifi, cloud-based computing and smart phones. In an age where you don’t have to go to the office because the office goes to you, way too many leaders are still living like it’s 1997.

Why do you need to be in at 8 when there’s no need to be?

Tomorrow on my leadership podcast, I’ll bring on two of my young team members and we’ll talk about how to lead a thriving team with no office, timesheets, or regular in-person meetings.  Believe it or not, it works. Amazingly well. (You can subscribe for free to my podcast here. Watch for Episode 306 when it goes live.)

A virtual office or team may not be right for you, but just know this: the future workplace is a flexible workplace.

If you don’t flex your methods, you’ll sacrifice your mission.

The future workplace is a flexible workplace. If you don’t flex your methods, you’ll sacrifice your mission. Click To Tweet

#3 They Think They Know Everything

This was a surprising finding on both sides. Young leaders think older leaders are arrogant. Older leaders think young leaders are full of themselves (more on that in the next post).

Here’s what young leaders wrote about older leaders:

Their way is the ONLY way.

They rarely understand what I’m saying.

A lack of curiosity — they’ve figured a lot out already.

They mention my age a ton. They’ll make off-handed comments about me being young. Though they have more experience than I do, they think they know more about social media than I do. There’s not an acknowledgment of areas where I have expertise where they don’t.

They don’t ask good questions or hear all the voices in the room.

Pride is a problem for so many of us in leadership.

Note to self: Older leaders, if you think you know all the answers, don’t be surprised if the next generation stops asking questions and simply leaves.

Older leaders, if you think you know all the answers, don’t be surprised if the next generation stops asking questions and simply leaves. Click To Tweet

#4. Too Many Rules

Ah rules. Chances are you didn’t like them when you were a young leader.

The next generation feels the same way.

Here’s what young leaders said about their bosses:

They’re more concerned with policy than people.

They are hesitant to make changes and try out new ideas. They are led more by policy and procedure than by passion.

Develops and mandates policy to manage exceptions.

Their rigidness on older rules . i.e. Tattoos in the work place.

I’m not against all rules or guidelines. You need to have a few parameters.

But here’s what’s true: Rules are often a substitute for real leadership and open conversations. They’re also a substitute for trust.

Rules are often a substitute for real leadership and open conversations. They’re also a substitute for trust. Click To Tweet

More and more organizations are moving to flex hours, flexible holidays (pick your own vacations), and outcomes-based leadership. In other words, they’re dropping old rules.

Regardless of where you land on that (I keep rules to an absolute minimum, or have none), just know that a high rules organization is usually a low trust organization.

And a high-trust workplace is a healthy workplace.

A high rules organization is usually a low trust organization. Click To Tweet

#5 Too Slow

A final complaint about older leaders is that older leaders are too slow. Again, some direct feedback from younger leaders:

They are slow.  Slow to change. Slow to adopt new technology.

They are slow to make decisions

Always feeling like older leaders are moving (not literally physically moving) too slow, and that younger leaders are expected to slow down to match them.

If you’re worried about being too slow as a leader, surround yourself with younger leaders and give them permission to lead and experiment.

The best older leaders don’t restrain the next generation, they release them.

The best older leaders don’t restrain the next generation, they release them.Click To Tweet

What Should You Do About This?

I am a fan of all four generations currently in the workplace, this is far more fixable than you think.

As you’ll see in the next post, older leaders complain that younger leaders are lazy, entitled and think they know everything.

Here’s what’s true: so much of the misunderstanding between the generations in the workplace is about how we work, not whether we work.  The solution is not to clear house and get rid of older leaders, or frustrate younger leaders so badly they leave or start their own thing (which more and more are doing, by the way).

I’ll be sharing a lot of new content on how to lead and manager better in your company, church or organization over the next few weeks.

And I have a brand new course launching Wednesday called the High Impact Workplace: How to Lead and Motivate High Capacity Leaders in a Changing World.

Introducing The High Impact Workplace (and My Free Coaching Guide)

There’s a talent war going on for the best leaders, a generational divide at work, and, according to Gallup, 70% of all workers are disengaged at work (meaning that they show up and only do the bare minimum.)

The High Impact Workplace will give you the edge you need to create the best team you can moving forward in an age where 8-4 doesn’t work anymore (just ask any young leader about that).

You can join the waitlist here, and get my free Coaching Guide called The 5 Questions Every Great Manager Asks.

Enrolment opens Wednesday, December 4th. And in the course I’ll give you the exact strategies you need to:

Attract and keep high capacity leaders who would otherwise start their own businesses.
Identify and leverage the currency that motivates young leaders.
Navigate flexible work arrangements that result in deeper productivity.
Master the 5 questions every great manager asks their team for deeper engagement.
Discover how to create workplace environments that multiple generations can thrive in.
Learn how to keep your company or organization relevant to the next generation of leaders.

Sign up for the waitlist, get the free coaching guide, and you won’t miss a thing.

What Are You Seeing?

Well, I know this is a loaded post. The goal is to be helpful. If you don’t see the problem, you can’t fix the problem.

And remember, older leaders have just as many complaints about younger leaders, which we’ll get to in the next post. So play nice.

The goal is to get us all working together well to move the mission forward.

So with that in mind, anything else you see or want to add that can help us create workplaces that have a much higher impact?

Scroll down and leave a comment!

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Source: 5 Things Younger Leaders Can’t Stand About Older Leaders

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by Carey Nieuwhof: If you’ve tried to lead employees who are under the age of 40, you’ve probably noticed things aren’t as easy as they used to be. (And they were actually never that easy.)

If you’re under 40 and are working for an over-40 boss, you’re probably restraining your eye-rolls as you notice that people just don’t seem to understand you.

Younger leaders tend to love flexibility, the freedom to work remotely when they want,  the ability to call some shots and the ability to develop a side-hustle, all of which seems to either baffle or frustration older leaders.

Many (not all, but many) older leaders would rather see team members have one job (no side-hustle), do their work from the office, be available after hours just in case, and earn a seat at the table before they give much input. And they don’t get the lack of loyalty that they feel a lot of younger adults display.

All of which frustrates younger leaders.

I run into this tension every time I talk to leaders about how the workplace is changing.

Over-40 leaders are smart to study how things are changing so they stay relevant. After all, the gap between how quickly you change and how quickly things change is called irrelevance.

Younger leaders are smart to understand the tension because it will make for far less frustration on their part, and help them advance in the organizations they’re a part of.

I’m an over-fifty leader who’s worked in offices in business and church, in a hybrid environment where some work is remote and some is done in an office, and now run a 100% virtual company that handles my speaking, writing and podcasting. In addition, almost all of my team members these days are pretty much Millennials or Generation Z.

Here are five things I’ve noticed about a changing workplace, and how older and younger leaders can get along better at work.

Leaders, the gap between how quickly things change and how quickly you change is called irrelevance.Click To Tweet

1. The Idea of an Office Gets More Dated Every Year

Every once in awhile you have this moments when you realize how rapidly culture is changing.

A few years ago I was driving through Dallas and saw some office towers going up, and I thought to myself “I’ll bet one day our kids and grandkids drive by office towers and say ‘Did people actually used to have to go to a building to get their work done? Why?’ (Kind of like the Blockbuster days, when you had to go to a store to get a movie on a disk to watch it, and get hit with late fees if you failed to return it on time.)

One of the reasons offices used to make sense for everyone a generation ago is because the means of production were stored at the office. Your company held the typewriters, meeting spaces, computers, paper, pens, phones, copiers, fax machines and all the things private citizens didn’t usually have. There was a clear line between work life and home life.

Now there’s a very good chance you’re holding almost everything you need to do your job in your hand. Plus your phone, tablet and laptop travel with you everywhere. What about meeting spaces, you ask.  Well, between coffee shops, co-working spaces and restaurants, the need for offices has plummeted.

Older leaders still think about ‘going to work’ because that’s how they cut their teeth.

Younger leaders realize you don’t go to work; the work goes to them because they are the work. As a result, they love to work remotely at least some of the time—from home, from a coffee shop.

Younger leaders realize you don’t go to work; the work goes to them because they are the work.Click To Tweet

Older leaders often see this as lazy. Younger leaders see this as normal.

As Bryan Miles has pointed out about virtual culture on my leadership podcast, remote workers aren’t lazy; lazy workers are lazy.

If you have a lazy worker…deal with it. But often remote work can be far more efficient. There are fewer water cooler conversations, fewer random and useless meetings, fewer interruptions and less distraction.

Remote workers aren’t lazy; lazy workers are lazy. @bryanmilesClick To Tweet

So does that means offices are gone forever?

No. In a hybrid company that allows some remote work, core hours are a great idea where everyone is in the office, say, on a set day or in a set window to improve team interaction or for meetings. But beyond that, an office isn’t nearly as necessary as it used to be.

An office isn’t nearly as necessary as it used to be.Click To Tweet

2. 8-4 Doesn’t Make Sense Anymore

One of the challenges is that office work took its early cues from manufacturing.

It make total sense if you have a car assembly plant (or a coffee shop, or a retail store) to have workers show up exactly on time for a shift. Because offices at one time owned the means of production (see above) it kind of made sense to the same thing.

But where most of the work is relational, informational and flexible (i.e. almost all white collar office jobs), 8-4 no longer makes sense. After all, unless you’re on the reception desk or doing some kind of work tied to fix hours, you can do most things any time.

Yet far too many older leaders are stuck in a mindset that people have to be in the building at set hours.

As a result, too many people show up at 8 (or 8:05 or 8:15) for no particular reason. It can create a clock-watching culture (is it 4:30 yet? Do I get paid for this lunch???) where your team is in a set place for no discernible rationale.

So here’s the question for leaders: are you paying your team to show up or are you paying your team to produce?

If you’re paying your team to show up, that’s one thing.

But if you pay them to produce, outside of fixed meetings and shared team time, why not let them choose how and when to produce?

Here’s what’s changed: The old economy paid people to show up. The new economy pays people to produce.

As I share in my productivity course,  The High Impact Leader, some of your team’s best productivity might happen when no one’s in the office or working. So why stifle that and make them show up because someone decided that’s when they should work?

The old economy paid people to show up. The new economy pays people to produce.Click To Tweet

3. Most Young Workers Work for Themselves

While they may not articulate it, most Millennials approach life as though they are working for themselves, not for you, whether you hire them as employees or on contract.  (We’ll see about Gen Z. I wonder if this trend will accelerate even more.)

Sure, that might sound strange, but hang on and try to get into their head space for a minute.

First, any younger leader realizes they will likely NOT work for the same organization for 40 years and retire. Not only are the pension plans of the 60s and 70s long gone, but the workforce changes so quickly that most younger leaders expect to have multiple careers throughout their life, not just multiple jobs in different organizations.

Second, thanks to technology, the start-up culture is huge. Many leaders realize they can start things far easier than people could a generation a year ago. You can influence the world through your keyboard, your phone or a microphone. It used to cost millions to launch something. Now you can launch something on a Saturday morning for the price of a phone.

Third, we live (rightly or wrongly) in an era of personal branding. Couples have logos and fonts. And almost everyone wants to express their style through fashion, design, photography or lifestyle

What this means is that most Millennials has subconsciously realized they have to create a life plan that’s independent of any employer or organization.

This isn’t fatal to any organization once you understand it.

What it means though, as a leader, manager or boss, is that you need to come alongside them and help them realize their objectives.

If you see those life objectives as competing with your objectives, you’ll lose them. If they see that you want them to win, they’ll hang around a long time.

Here’s the bottom line with young leaders: If you help Millennials win, you’ll both win. If you merely want them to help you win, you’ll lose.

If you help Millennials win, you’ll both win. If you merely want them to help you win, you’ll…Click To Tweet

4. The Side-Hustle and Gig Economy Are Here To Stay

So you hire a young worker only to find out he or she has a design business on the side, or that they’re writing a book or launching a podcast or starting a blog.

What do you do?

Are they being disloyal? Do you rope them in and tell them to give you 100% of their time?

Well, a few things.

First, you don’t own 100% of anyone. Any leader who tries to micro-manage the entire lives of their employees won’t have employees for long. You’re really only managing 25% of any full time employee’s life anyway (40ish hours of 168 hours).

Controlling bosses in the future will have less and less to control all the time.

Controlling bosses in the future will have less and less to control all the time. Click To Tweet

Second, the side-hustle is here to stay because the gig economy (freelancing) is here to stay.

63% of free-lancers today say they started by choice, not by necessity.

By 2027, the gig economy will be over 50% of the economy.

The majority of Millennials are already freelancers. (Source: Forbes.)

So to think you’re going to have a work force that has one job and stays with you forever really puts you back in 1965.

Brian Houston, founder of Hillsong, has some incredible insights on how to keep young and talented leaders over the long haul. Hillsong has done an exceptional job of keeping great talent and giving them freedom to express themselves in their lives and in their leadership.

His advice? If you want eagles, raise the ceiling.

If you want eagles, raise the ceiling. @brianchoustonClick To Tweet

5. The Cause is More Compelling Than You Are

Older bosses need to realize that most young leaders really do want to work. They just want meaningful work.

You know the stereotype: Millennials want to change the world and believe they can do it.

Again, before you roll your eyes, remember (older leaders), you raised them to have values like these. And some of them are doing it. So cut the cynicism.

What this means though is that your mission is more important than ever.

Most young leaders really want to work. They just want meaningful work.Click To Tweet

Leaders who want to preserve the institution, pad the bottom line, or simply grow the organization will always struggle to attract and keep young leaders.

For the church, this should be easy. If you’re truly mission-driven (you want to reach people or impact your community), your ethos has an instant appeal to younger adults. Just keep the mission central.

If you’re in business, profit won’t be nearly the motivator that cause is. If you don’t know what your cause is, figure it out.

Similarly, you might think of yourself as a great leader people want to work with (actually, that’s usually a sign you’re not a great leader), but I promise you Millennials aren’t that impressed with you.

The best way to attract and keep young leaders is to work with them to accomplish a greater purpose.

Leaders, if the mission isn’t bigger than you, you need a new mission.

Leaders, if the mission isn’t bigger than you, you need a new mission.Click To Tweet

So…Older Leaders and Younger Leaders: Some Tips

This sounds like a bit of a show down but I promise you it doesn’t have to be.

For older leaders the most important shift to make is to manage outcomes, not process. Don’t value leaders for showing up. Value them for what they contribute.

Want a motivated young work force? Manage outcomes, not process.Click To Tweet

Don’t tell them how to get it done, just hold them accountable for getting it done.

Leaders who manage the what and why and flex on the how will have a bright future.

The old paradigm told people to be at their desks and sit up straight. The new paradigm says ‘value me for what I contribute.”

Leaders who manage outcomes and rally people toward a higher mission will always have a steady supply of young leaders lining up to work with them. I share some additional insights about working with Millennials in this post.

Leaders who manage the what and why and flex on the how will have a bright future.Click To Tweet

What about younger workers?

Well, first of all, flexibility by your boss is not permission to be lazy. Hustle hard, but produce.

Second, gain influence by being ridiculously great at what you do. If you want to know how to gain influence when you’re not in charge, check out this interview with Clay Scroggins.

Want to gain influence? Be ridiculously good at what you do.Click To Tweet

Want More?

If you want more, my personal productivity course, The High Impact Leader, is designed to help leaders figure out how to lead with their highest impact at work and at home in an increasingly flexible workplace.

It’s got everything you need to get your life and leadership back, including:

The surprising truth behind your 3 most important leadership assets
How to get hours of your time back with the fixed calendar
The simple key to aligning your calendar and energy
The real truth behind time management (and time management alone will always let you down)
How to decide what (and who) to spend your time on

You can learn more or get instant access here now.

What Do You See?

What are the frustrations you experience as a younger or older leader?

Scroll down and leave a comment!

Younger leaders: flexibility by your boss is not permission to be lazy.Click To Tweet

The post 5 Reasons Younger Leaders and Older Leaders Frustrate Each Other At Work appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: 5 Reasons Younger Leaders and Older Leaders Frustrate Each Other At Work

The post 5 Reasons Younger Leaders and Older Leaders Frustrate Each Other At Work appeared first on Passion for Planting.