I've gotta say, I feel really good about being a Boomer, at this point in my life. I am enjoying a sense of opportunity and energy, as well as self-discovery, that is bringing me closer to values and goals that were important to me years ago. I can afford to make some work and lifestyle choices that would have been more difficult in the past, and I am better able to accept certain things and simply refuse to accept others.
As I wrote in my last post, I'm also enjoying the work and personal connections I have with younger people. Maybe it is drawing on the teacher in me, but I also feel as if I learn a lot from them, and as if we have considerable fun. I'm encouraged about the workplace of the future, because I see an interesting alignment of values that, if properly managed, should yield highly effective organizations.
I haven't yet figured out how to articulate the potential I see, but I can point to some elements of the opportunity. Younger generations seem to have a better sense of work-play balance than Boomers have had. Given that many Boomers now want to find a more flexible approach to work and life, perhaps we can see the wisdom of younger perspectives. Effective cross-generational work teams had better make time to laugh and play!
An interesting aspect of "flexibility" ties to work hours. Many Boomers want to work part time or seasonally. Project work may be attractive to some, but for me, I'm more interested in the social connection and the pleasure that comes with continuing work relationships. I want to be somewhere warm in the winter, and I want to take great vacations from time to time. I've never made a huge distinction between work and other interests, and that quality is serving me well. The opportunity to set my own hours, whether early in the morning (not likely) or late in the evening is very attractive, as is the idea of working like a demon for a few weeks, then heading off on some personal adventure for a few more.
Young people tend to share aspects of my attitude. The old "8-5" is tough on younger folks. It isn't that they are unwilling to work hard, but they want to have as much control as possible over exactly when, where and how they work. In fact, "control" is a big part of what both Boomers and Millenials are looking for, but it is control over their own choices about time and projects.
Millenials, especially, are motivated more by a sense of passion for whatever they are doing than by direction or instructions from higher up. I like that, and I've seen both Generation X-types and Millenials work with a level of commitment that I find impressive. Working with passion! That seems like an excellent way to live.
In the reading I've done, and the limited personal experience I've had, I'm struck by the notion that Millenials are looking for respect and for people to listen to their ideas. Sound like the 60's and 70's generation? Sharing ideas and building powerful group energy around important projects that people care about sounds terrific, as well.
Boomers can bring their stories and experience, but we also can lose our accumulated doubts and cynicism in the presence of young people who still believe they can change the world. Note that community is hugely important to young people, both their work "community" and the larger community within which they live. So that aspect for some Boomers, of wanting to change directions and become engaged in volunteer or part-time work connected to social service agencies and the like, is entirely consistent with how Millenials view community development. It is less about title, hierarchy, or even pay than about making a difference.
I wonder if this also connects to our expanded lifespans? A friend who just turned 60 talks about choosing direction for the "second half of her adult life." If we are going to be around for 100 years, then the sense of time urgency should change. Why retire at 60, or even 70, if you feel young and vital and expect to be around for awhile, yet? By the same token, if you are 25 or 30 and expect to have another 70 years or more to go, why be in a hurry about education, career, or relationships? Maybe we can all make better choices if we see our lives unfolding over longer periods of time.
So much of what is written about younger generations is negative. For example, just thinking about the previous paragraph, some are talking about "extended adolescence" in Millenials and the need to press them to "grow up." Really? Is it extended adolescence or simply an awareness of more time to live, allowing less urgency to "get on with it"? (I'm not sure on this one. There are times when I do feel as if young people are remarkably superficial, moments away from when they impress me with their knowledge and poise, when it matters.)
I haven't tried to tie this post specifically to branch campuses, but it is easy enough to see the implications, wherever you choose to look. Branches are historically very engaged in community, and there are opportunities here to help build community connections, effective cross-generational teams, and the like. There are possible implications for how we staff campuses and meet demand for instructors. Credit or noncredit certificate programs could be built around cross-generational opportunities, and so on.
We actually have very little choice but to find ways to work together. Boomers aren't ready to leave the stage, but we need the Millenials and Xers to make things run. I've got a feeling that some organizations and communities will figure out how to make it soar and others won't. Just as occurs in disruptive environments, there will be winners and those who don't know what hit them. I've got to admit, I like that idea. I plan to be one of the people having a great time and contributing what I can.
Showing posts with label Cross-generational teams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cross-generational teams. Show all posts
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Encore Careers May Provide Excellent Opportunities for Branch Campuses
I think it is time to change directions. In the disruptive environment that I believe higher education faces, an important question goes to how we can best position our institutions for success. The good news is that there are relatively new ways of thinking about organizations and organizational change that may be entirely consistent with the impact of technology, a higher proportion of adult learners, and concerns about the cost of traditional education.
These new ways of thinking emerge from positive psychology, an approach that focuses on individual and organizational strengths, rather than deficits, with the goal of thriving or flourishing, not simply surviving or enduring. There are a number of topics I can explore here, but I want to start with something that is close to my own heart: The implication of the Baby Boomer Generation, as it moves past 60 and toward what we think of as "traditional" retirement age. Some of what I will share can be explored in greater detail in an excellent book, by Marc Freedman (2007), called Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life.
A key point is that the idea of "retiring to leisure" is a relatively new notion, tied to the creation of Social Security and corporate pensions. Before, say, the 1930's, most people simply worked until they died, and they tended to die at a younger age than most of us, today. Bluntly, many Boomers can't afford to retire, and many of us who can, don't want to. It is important for us to feel productive, although how we want to approach work may change.
I won't go into more detail on the attitudes and needs of Boomers, when it comes to work, but I do want to share some potentially good news: Employers need us to stay engaged. The immediately following generation is too small to adequately fill employment needs, and the generation after that, although large, is not yet experienced enough for some roles.
Boomers looking at so-called encore careers may want to work in roles similar to the ones they've filled in the past, or they may want to change directions. Almost certainly, they will put a premium on flexibility, working part-time, seasonally, as consultants or project specialists, etc. Consider, for example, a professor, who may not want to teach full-time or serve on deadening committees, but would love to teach part-time and, perhaps, do some writing.
Boomers bring experience, wisdom (one hopes), and love to tell their stories. It turns out that the generation just entering the workplace, often called Generation Y or Millenials, enjoy hearing our stories, value flexibility, and share many of the social values of the Boomer generation. (Not really a huge surprise. Millenials are our kids!)
How might an appreication of generations impact an institution of higher education, and most especially, a branch campus that excels at serving adult learners or provides a wide range of certifications, online and blended courses, and highly competitive tuition?
First of all, there are "business" opportunities here. Many Boomers will seek education and training to develop skills or pursue long-delayed interests in learning. Because they value flexibility, they will be attracted to blended or hybrid programs that allow them to travel, be somewhere warm in the winter, or whatever suits their lifestyle. How we package courses and use technology for delivery will be important. (Note that the Millenials are digital natives and this is their natural environment, already.)
Although the personnel office might classify a retired professor, teaching part-time as an adjunct, it isn't quite what we usually think of as an adjunct. Their experience and approach to the classroom may be quite different, and we have found that many of these faculty members also embrace technology in their teaching, for the flexibility it provides. Retirees from other fields may enjoy teaching, as well. So staffing scalable types of courses that reach out to new audiences may be less difficult than a lot of people imagine.
Retired administrators and faculty members may be very interested in working on special projects or returning to work at especially busy times of the year, reducing cost to the institution, while retaining needed expertise. Mentoring programs with younger colleagues may pay huge dividends, as well.
My point here is that there is still a lot of juice in Baby Boomers. Most of us have far too many years yet to live to retire to leisure. Designing jobs or roles and providing appropriate educational preparation may be a wonderfully welcome opportunity.
There is one more point I'd like to make: I have found working with younger staff to be energizing and fun, for me. If we think of generational differences as another example of diversity, there is much for all of us to learn and to celebrate. There is a compatibility that suggests building cross-generational work teams may be a powerful way to engage faculty and staff, yielding a dynamic, enthusiastic, creative force that will powerfully affect an institution's competitiveness in a disruptive, rapidly changing environment.
These new ways of thinking emerge from positive psychology, an approach that focuses on individual and organizational strengths, rather than deficits, with the goal of thriving or flourishing, not simply surviving or enduring. There are a number of topics I can explore here, but I want to start with something that is close to my own heart: The implication of the Baby Boomer Generation, as it moves past 60 and toward what we think of as "traditional" retirement age. Some of what I will share can be explored in greater detail in an excellent book, by Marc Freedman (2007), called Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life.
A key point is that the idea of "retiring to leisure" is a relatively new notion, tied to the creation of Social Security and corporate pensions. Before, say, the 1930's, most people simply worked until they died, and they tended to die at a younger age than most of us, today. Bluntly, many Boomers can't afford to retire, and many of us who can, don't want to. It is important for us to feel productive, although how we want to approach work may change.
I won't go into more detail on the attitudes and needs of Boomers, when it comes to work, but I do want to share some potentially good news: Employers need us to stay engaged. The immediately following generation is too small to adequately fill employment needs, and the generation after that, although large, is not yet experienced enough for some roles.
Boomers looking at so-called encore careers may want to work in roles similar to the ones they've filled in the past, or they may want to change directions. Almost certainly, they will put a premium on flexibility, working part-time, seasonally, as consultants or project specialists, etc. Consider, for example, a professor, who may not want to teach full-time or serve on deadening committees, but would love to teach part-time and, perhaps, do some writing.
Boomers bring experience, wisdom (one hopes), and love to tell their stories. It turns out that the generation just entering the workplace, often called Generation Y or Millenials, enjoy hearing our stories, value flexibility, and share many of the social values of the Boomer generation. (Not really a huge surprise. Millenials are our kids!)
How might an appreication of generations impact an institution of higher education, and most especially, a branch campus that excels at serving adult learners or provides a wide range of certifications, online and blended courses, and highly competitive tuition?
First of all, there are "business" opportunities here. Many Boomers will seek education and training to develop skills or pursue long-delayed interests in learning. Because they value flexibility, they will be attracted to blended or hybrid programs that allow them to travel, be somewhere warm in the winter, or whatever suits their lifestyle. How we package courses and use technology for delivery will be important. (Note that the Millenials are digital natives and this is their natural environment, already.)
Although the personnel office might classify a retired professor, teaching part-time as an adjunct, it isn't quite what we usually think of as an adjunct. Their experience and approach to the classroom may be quite different, and we have found that many of these faculty members also embrace technology in their teaching, for the flexibility it provides. Retirees from other fields may enjoy teaching, as well. So staffing scalable types of courses that reach out to new audiences may be less difficult than a lot of people imagine.
Retired administrators and faculty members may be very interested in working on special projects or returning to work at especially busy times of the year, reducing cost to the institution, while retaining needed expertise. Mentoring programs with younger colleagues may pay huge dividends, as well.
My point here is that there is still a lot of juice in Baby Boomers. Most of us have far too many years yet to live to retire to leisure. Designing jobs or roles and providing appropriate educational preparation may be a wonderfully welcome opportunity.
There is one more point I'd like to make: I have found working with younger staff to be energizing and fun, for me. If we think of generational differences as another example of diversity, there is much for all of us to learn and to celebrate. There is a compatibility that suggests building cross-generational work teams may be a powerful way to engage faculty and staff, yielding a dynamic, enthusiastic, creative force that will powerfully affect an institution's competitiveness in a disruptive, rapidly changing environment.
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