Share this
Mister Wong
Digg
Del.icio.us
Slashdot
Furl
Yahoo
Technorati
Newsvine
Googlize this
Blinklist
Facebook
Wikio
Hear this text
Export PDF
Print
E-mail
Tags
Managing generational diversity on project teams
Even in a country as accustomed to diversity as South Africa, generational differences in the workplace may pose challenges for project teams. An understanding of the generational differences is one step towards working together effectively, but the strength of the team will depend on the extent to which each generation’s positive attributes are harnessed, appreciated and applied.
Traditional Generation Members
(born between 1922 and 1945)
Where they are not yet retired, members of this generation are the senior members of our workforce.
Skills shortages have resulted in more than one industry seeing the value of bringing skilled and experienced project professionals and technical experts out of retirement to assist companies as consultants, mentors and project managers. These ‘greybeards’ are the loyal, disciplined and principled stalwarts who believed that one’s entire career could be fulfilled at one company.
They were becoming economically active at the time when South Africa’s mining and manufacturing industries were booming, but saw first-hand the effects of the country’s exclusion from the international community during apartheid. Many of them were young children during World War 2 and saw their parents risk (even lose) their lives in support of the Western Allies.
It was this generation that produced many of our liberators and post-apartheid political leaders.
Baby Boomer Terence Downes remembers being managed by members of the traditional generation. “It was a ‘yes sir, no sir’ work environment where you were expected to keep the boss informed of every movement you made,” he says.
“Their strengths are their loyalty, logic and discipline and belief in authority and abiding by rules,” he adds.
On the negative side, Downes considers their dislike of conflict and preference for hierarchical organisational structures as an impediment in the project context.
Miroslav Tadej, a Generation X-er, sees this latter trait as a positive on projects, as well as the fact that traditionalists are often highly specialised and avoid unnecessary risks.
In his experience, challenges he has picked up on project teams led by traditionalists include delegation and taking the opinions of younger generations seriously. “They sometimes have a problem with different opinions, especially those of a younger person who they would perceive as not having the right experience or whom they consider to be reckless.
“Rather than delegating, they tend to prefer using a formal structure to get things done, which can lead to problems in decision-making, especially in today’s economic climate.”
Danny Marota believes they sometimes have difficulty performing optimally in an unstable environment where processes are not defined to their satisfaction, and this can hinder progress on a project.
“The emphasis on processes and authority often disturbs creativity and innovation. There is also sometimes a tendency to view disagreements or opposing views as conflict, which then prevents younger team members from raising their opinions and participating in a project.”
However, he adds, “Their ability to identify and define risks is significant.
“Traditional generation members are not the most optimistic people. They see problems in every change and we all know that often projects are aimed at implementing things that might change the way people have been doing things. Listening and noting these problems will help the PM in identifying possible risks to the project and plan the mitigation strategy.
“Having them act as quality agents on the project helps. Their process-driven attitude enables them to keep checks and balances on the project and ensure quality.”
Lunga Msengana believes the key to generationally diverse project teams is to try and understand where a person is coming from and what life experience has shaped a particular view or opinion.
In his career to date, he has found members of the traditional generation to add value by depending on analytical methods to solve problems.
“Their experience inspires confidence for other generations,” he adds.
Baby Boomers
(born between 1946 and 1964)
The majority of South Africa’s baby boomer generation were schooled, educated and entered the workforce prior to democracy and racial integration.
However, many of the emerging “Black Diamonds”, the original beneficiaries of affirmative action characterised by a certain level of wealth and education, and aged between 35 and 50, belong to this generation.
This generation is accustomed to long hours at the office, sacrificing personal and family time to build their careers, which they see as intrinsically linked to their identity.
Difficult economic times during their career have seen them toughing it out, surviving retrenchment, embracing entrepreneurism and otherwise finding solutions to problems.
With the first Boomers approaching retirement age in 2011, many are looking to defer ending their careers because they have made an effort to preserve both their health and their wealth, and want to continue to lend their skills and energy to the market.
Downes definitely sees Baby Boomer traits in himself and his outlook on life.
As a result, on his project teams, he expects an honest day’s work from everyone on the team. He admits, however, that this ‘day’ is frequently beyond merely 9 to 5.
GenX-er Marota has been managed by a Baby Boomer and experienced challenges consistent with Downe’s point.
“We’re talking of a person who would not mind scheduling a meeting at 16h00 on a Friday afternoon. Friday afternoon had no other meaning to him. It was the same as Wednesday afternoon, whereas to me it was not… I would be sitting in a meeting with my mind somewhere else.”
Marota adds, “Unlike the Generation X and Y, the Baby Boomers often want things well defined before delving into work. Those with that attitude find it difficult to operate in an agile environment.
“Sometimes they are judgmental on the younger generations and that can make them unwilling to be led by them. This results in issues, as certain activities on the project require the leadership of the younger person.”
Marota does appreciate the strengths of Baby Boomers on project teams. “Due to their emphasis on quality and the process, I find they excel in the planning stage of the project. Serving as mentors and assuming senior positions on projects is consistent with their desire to be in charge. In a process-driven and stable environment, Baby Boomers’ performance is excellent and the project management role is made easy in that regard. Thus they have the ability to self-manage towards delivery of tasks.
“Education and continuous development; this is where my feelings differ in a huge way to the Baby Boomers and in some ways the Generation X,” says Tyrone van Heerden, a proud member of Generation Y.
“I feel strongly about growing through practical experiences and work-based learning because I do not believe that you can get the exposure and understanding of what project management entails until you have experienced it. Studying information and the application thereof is completely different; you do not need an MBA to become a CEO. If business ethics and business principles are instilled and you have the experience to carry out your job, there is no need to have a couple of letters behind your name.
“Although this might be important when applying for a job in a majority Baby Boomer environment, it plays no role in your ability to carry out your daily functions. I insist on having a mentor to guide and mentor and coach me through my work-based learning.”
Van Heerden refers to a specific experience where generational differences threatened a project. “About two years ago, I worked on a mega project where the client was a stereotypical Baby Boomer/Traditional Generation Member, although a great leader, a real ‘old-school engineer’.
“As a Generation Y individual, I look for opportunities to streamline everything by making use of effective technology or ‘removing red tape’ that is not necessary.
“I found this an important part of project management – as times change, so should your management techniques as people make your project successful and not technology.
“Needless to say, this was not possible. The client’s management style was autocratic and veteran-like and we all had to respect his authority and follow orders, regardless of what we thought was right or wrong. I feel strongly about doing what is best for the project and team and not what I, as an individual, think is the best action to take,” he says.
“The majority of our project team was Y Generation, and this created resistance towards the client. The transparency of the communication that was being provided was also affected, as the client was difficult to please, hence he only got given the information he wanted but not what he needed.
“I introduced the Generational philosophy and personality profiling onto the project. Once I had restructured the team and ‘removed’ the client, within a four-month period the SPI on the project increased 18%.
“This was a great learning curve for myself and I now do not select my project resources without doing at least a high level personality profiling and knowing where their characteristics fall within the generations,” says Van Heerden.
Generation X
(born between 1965 and 1980)
This generation was the first to experience integrated public schooling post democracy and possibly as a result places a higher value on workplace diversity than earlier generations.
Generation X-ers remember a time before television in South Africa, yet were entering or fairly new to the workforce at the inception of the Internet, the personal computer and mobile phones.
Marota recognises the typical Generation X traits in himself, particularly the desire for work/life balance and flexible working hours. He loves independence and values ethnic diversity.
“Because most of us were born during the time of change – we adapt to change quickly, which is good for the project environment. Our understanding and appreciation of diversity at large makes it possible for us to fit in different team structures and perform well in projects.”
On the negative side, he admits, “Our love for independence, if not managed well, often results in a fragmented team structure and impacts on team collaboration. This is negative for projects that require tight team structure and collaboration.”
He adds, “You always carry the risk of people starting, but not finishing with the project where Generation X-ers are concerned. The fact that we are technically skilled can be a win for the project, but the fact that we often see ourselves as free agents can place the project at risk.”
As a project manager, Msengana tries not to be influenced by generational traits.
“One should be flexible and open to situations as they evolve. The greatest lesson for me is learning to listen empathetically.
“Sometimes as human beings we tend to have preconceived ideas about people.
“This can get in the way of understanding people better. So in order to achieve great things with people, one must be able to give up these preconceived ideas and have the ability to listen to different interpretations.”
Tadej overcomes generational challenges on his teams, such as initial resistance to authority, by active engagement in terms of work-related issues and striving to be the best at what he does. “This is a ‘leading by example’ attitude to foster professional respect. I also try to know the people in a personal capacity to understand where they are coming from with respect to their grievances or trying to understand their approach in doing things the way
they do.
“I tend to consult with other people who have the appropriate experience on how to handle these matters. This includes senior as well as junior colleagues.”
Having managed numerous Generation X-ers, Downes finds that they tend to have a more care-free attitude to life than earlier generations. “The job gets done, but possibly only tomorrow.”
Their love of independence and preference for quality over quantity strike him as negative, while Downes values their productivity and ability to set and
meet goals.
Generation Y
(born between 1981 and 1994)
Locally, much of Generation Y was schooled in, if not born into, a democratic South Africa. It is the generation most comfortable with social technology, which gives the impression of constant multitasking and massive social networks.
Worldwide, it seems that Generation Y is delaying typical rights of passage into adulthood (such as leaving the parental home, entering careers and purchasing assets) longer than generations that came before.
Generation Y-ers are for the most part the offspring of the Baby Boomers.
Despite their social networks, or perhaps because of them, Generation Y-ers sometimes lack interpersonal skills, which Tadej observes in their handling of conflict resolution. “They also have a lack of patience and seek immediate gratification for their efforts, which can lead to a loss of focus on what needs to be done.”
In the beginning, Marota found it challenging to manage Generation Y-ers on his project teams. “They tended to be over-optimistic. Because of their fast-paced lifestyle, everything seems very easy in their eyes and they think they can do everything or find answers to all questions very easily (the Google mentality). As a result, using their estimates during a scoping and scheduling exercise might result in grossly underestimating the project.”
Their propensity for multitasking sometimes sees them losing focus and direction. The easy way to manage these challenges is to approach them using risk management principles.
Marota explains, “I found myself often asking this question: ‘What’s the risk of assigning this task to these guys?’ Asking this question allowed me to assign them tasks with the risk mitigation plan already in mind. Part of my mitigation strategy was to create several review sessions with them during the performance of their tasks to ensure that direction is not lost and to keep them interested – often review sessions were hosted outside the office.
“Using a formal project methodology assisted me in that every deliverable had a quality criteria well defined and I was left with a challenge of ensuring that they stick to the criteria. Knowing and understanding this diversity in terms of age/generations made me appreciate it as well.”
Van Heerden speaks up for Generation Y, “I feel flexitime and virtual workplaces play a major role in achieving work/life balance.
With the development of better, faster and cheaper technology, project communication and information distribution becomes more cost-effective to have these virtual workplaces and flexitime.
“As an example, I am at my most productive between 03h00 and 06h00 in the morning, hence will not be possible to fully utilise this time at a normal 08h00 to 17h00 job. Allowing this provides a deliverable-based job, which is what the Generation Y measures our performance on. I believe you do not need to be in the office to ‘show your worth’; your work and deliverables will ‘prove your worth’.
He adds, “I believe that due to the Generation Y’s ability to be flexible, it is much easier for me to be able to adapt my management style so that is as effective for each individual as possible.
“As a 23-year old, I have been challenged on numerous occasions, especially in the mining environment. It is important to create the impressions that I’m here to support you as your manager and assist in any way possible, this is important as many people refuse to take instructions from a ‘youngster’ regardless of the consequences, especially the Traditional and Baby Boomer Generation.
“This has been extremely effective in my management and decision-making thought process. It has assisted me in winning over the team members’ trust and support. It is important that I am seen as assisting all team members by leading them in the correct direction rather than managing them; it is all about the approach that is used and how the relationship is maintained,” he says.
“Regardless of what generation you represent, and whether we are comfortable with the concept or not, there will come a time when all of us will hand over to the next generation (or the one after that) in the workplace.
“As many Baby Boomers plan to leave the workforce in the next few years, Generations X and Y may not carry on the same legacy, but their strengths and outlook will certainly forge their own.
“Project management is required to evolve as the generations evolve, which will create a more dynamic and competitive industry where knowledge is better shared, action can be taken quickly and new avenues can be opened,” adds Van Heerden.
Msengana sums up the generational diversity issue well: “Much has been said about the four different generations working together in projects. Yet, we still see many organisations struggling to maintain cohesion amongst these generations. The impact can even be worse in projects where often synergy is needed to accomplish what is sometimes nearly impossible.
“Too often project managers have the knowledge about the behaviours and characteristics of each generation, but still experience difficulty in translating this in order to achieve excellence in projects.
“It is said that no two people can see a problem the same way. This also holds true in project management. Listening to people’s interpretations on how they perceive challenges always transforms relationships in projects,” he says.
“When we listen empathetically, we begin to notice that we need each other. Soon the stereotypes about the different generations that have alienated us disappear, and we discover ways of making valuable contributions in projects and organisations together.”
“A different kind of leadership is required to produce and sustain such results. This is not the kind that just scratches the surface. This seeks for deeper issues so as to inspire people to function better and achieve the impossible.
“The differences within the generations will always be there; this is because of a combination of many things like upbringing, environment, background and such. However, it often takes excellent leadership in projects which inspires people to embrace these and move forward in unity beyond the differences,” adds Msengana.
