Answer: Today's tough economy has hit the Boomers hard and many are now realizing that they'll need to push retirement back a ways in order to be able to get there at all.  So the Boomers are likely to be around longer than all of us had expected.  If that is the case they are unlikely to let go of their leadership roles any time soon.  So we all need to prepare for the Boomers to remain the primary influencers for a while to come.   Eventually, though, they'll be replaced.  That is obvious.  But by whom?

The Gen X'ers are of the age to be the ones to replace the Boomers.  The problem is that the bias of Generation Xers in general is to lead from afar.  They are not the same managers as the Boomers. The X'ers like to tell people what to do and send them off to do it.  The Boomers, by contrast, are consensus builders.  The like bringing the team together to discuss the goals and the process.  The X'ers are not the same way.  So the Boomers, like all people, will want to find someone who is similar to them to replace themselves in the workplace and the X'ers are not similar.  The Millennials, however, are similar.  The Millennials and the Boomers are more face time and group oriented and the Boomers will feel more comfortable finding a Millennial to replace them.  For this reason the Boomers are likely to select the Millennials to take over in management.  Their leadership styles are similar:  consensus builders, group focused, facing the team.

There are, though, quite a few Gen X'ers out there who have come to understand that their success as managers is about getting the team to perform well.  And these X'ers have given up their behavior as the isolated manager and become more group and team focused.  They have proven to be superb managers thus far, but they have changed their behavior to make it happen.  

A challenge becoming apparent in the workplace is the lack of desire by the Millennials to manage, though.  They don't like the responsibilities of leadership and the additional work that is needed to lead and manage.  Or they don't like being separate from their team - they liked being in the "gang" but now, as manager, they're no longer in the gang and in some cases are turning down or getting out of their management roles to be back with their peers and not any different from them.  

Question: I've listened to your descriptions but I don't feel like I fit into my own generation. Why?

Answer: There are a number of reasons for that. I think about 80% of a generation fits their profile. But 20% is still a big number. Here are some of the reasons:

• Born in a non-Western nation. For people who are born in a non-Western nation, culture is often more dominant than generation.
• Oldest children. Oldest children typically fit their parents' generation around work rather than their peers. They tend to show the work ethic of their parents.
• Farmer's children. They seldom fit the profile. They are more like Boomers. They typically work sooner than their peers and I don't just mean ?pick up your room.? So they know how to work.
• People who got out of the military. They typically have a sense of discipline that is different from those who were not in the military.

Question: How many companies are giving Millennials the ultimate flexibility they want?

Answer: Very few. Most companies are still run by Boomers and it makes them a little nervous. The ones that are doing the best make the Millennials earn their flexibility. They say something like, "We're glad you're here but to get flexibility in the work environment, you've got to qualify for it. Here's a list of how you qualify that you must hit reliably, repeatedly over time and you're granted the flexibility. So you hit your goals, exceed your goals over a period a time, we're going to give you the flexible workplace you want, but we're going to limit it. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, you can work from home. However, if you fall behind in your goals, that flexibility option will be removed."

So flexibility is not a right. It's a reward for good work and must continue to be earned. Many companies are concerned about retention and flexibility is a big key to retention. My experience working with companies is productivity goes up once it is known you can earn flexibility and they work extra hard to keep it.

Question: Has this kind of generational change happened before?

Answer: It has happened before. Go back to the Renaissance and we see it happening consistently since then. It is a pendulum movement away from a group orientation to individuality and it reaches a crescendo or a peak of individuality, an apex, and then it begins to make its way back. And I think we are beginning to see the early signs of the pendulum beginning to shift its direction and go back but it is too early to tell. It's a matter of hindsight, of looking back to say the pendulum began to change here.