A committee I sit on is reaching out to a younger generation of business professionals by holding a high-level speaker series that features some of the region’s foremost business leaders. Our aim is to provide Generation Xers (those born between 1960 and 1980), such as myself, an opportunity to gain valuable knowledge and leadership skills as we advance into management and executive positions.
Recently, I spent hours encouraging some of my Gen X peers to attend one of these presentations. It was being given by the CEO of one of Baltimore’s most successful companies — an individual whose influence has been felt, not just in business, but in the community at large. Attendees found the presentation engaging and the takeaways invaluable.
It was the perfect professional development opportunity for any Gen-Xer who holds leadership responsibilities now, or who plans to in the future. Unfortunately, only eight of my peers agreed to attend — an ominous sign if it’s any indication of what can be expected from the generation that will ultimately replace Baby Boomers in vital leadership roles.
This isn’t the first time I’ve wondered if we are squandering our chance to become inspirational leaders. With the country’s largest and most influential generation on the brink of retirement, the need for capable, inspiring leadership is about to be greater than ever.
And we are the ones who should fulfill that need, because — despite the popular perception that us professionals in Generation X are lazy, cynical and apathetic — I can attest that a great many of us are, in fact, hardworking, motivated and possessing of the qualities that make strong leaders.
Scores of us have already taken the reins at our companies. Countless others are accomplished entrepreneurs who have found success in small business and are carving our own career paths. We are the first generation to utilize technology and the Internet as a business tool, with Google, Yahoo! and Amazon just a few examples of our widespread business success.
It’s obviously not a lack of ability that prevents many of our generation x from pursuing leadership roles or diving confidently into the ones presented to us.
Then why, if we are a bunch of tech-savvy, motivated and capable professionals, are we not more focused on leading outside of our own spheres?
While there isn’t one simple answer, there’s no question that the following three circumstances play heavily in many Gen-X professionals disinterest in leadership:
- The leadership skills and knowledge that Baby Boomers have acquired over the years has not necessarily been passed on to our generation. If Boomers aren’t proactively sharing the secrets of their success, how many individuals of Generation X are actually approaching them with questions, looking for a chance to learn from their experiences? While we as a generation tend to want to pave our own way in the workforce, we need to accept the fact that Boomers have a lifetime of knowledge to share — and embrace the idea that we may need to ask them to share it.
- Our companies don’t always offer leadership training. According to Deborah Gilburg, a principal at the Gilburg Leadership Institute, Gen-Xers are facing a lack of leadership training programs in the workplace. A slowing economy is forcing many companies to cut corners wherever they can, and educational programs are often the first benefit to go. This means that without enforced leadership training, we need to seek out any opportunity to enhance our skills and learn from our superiors.
- Our work priorities differ from those of our predecessors. Multiple articles have been published about the dichotomy between Baby Boomers and Generation X. The qualities that our generation values in an organization are vastly different from those that Boomers once looked for in their places of work. We thrive on flexibility, technology and a work/life balance. We are skilled at juggling multiple tasks and taking care of ourselves. We tend to dislike a hierarchical structure, and instead prefer open communication in a competitive working environment. With this change in work culture, leaders can come from anywhere, not just from the top rung of the ladder. While organizations do need to do their part to adapt, Generation X must find fresh new ways to stand out.
What can Gen-Xers do to prepare ourselves for the leadership challenge?
Generally speaking, we have to be proactive. Specifically, we must:
- Establish a presence in the business world by actively networking and joining professional development and civic groups.
- Find mentors whose goals mirror our own, and ask them to impart their knowledge and experiences.
- Participate in company training programs. If they don’t exist, we must find our own. We can learn a lot from professional organizations, public-speaking engagements, classes and books.
- Seek out ways to shine, even in nontraditional work environments. Present an innovative solution to a company problem, take on extracurricular responsibilities or ask for a new challenge.
Gen X-ers are in a unique and precarious position. We are wedged between the enormous and influential Baby Boomers, and their confident and connected offspring (known variously as Generation Y, the Internet Generation, Millennials and Echo Boomers). We can either choose to distinguish ourselves as leaders or continue exemplifying the stereotypes that have defined us for decades.
If we do accept the leadership challenge, we must establish ourselves as motivated professionals who are primed to fill the shoes of our predecessors and who want to take our organizations to the next level. And we must ensure that our current leaders take notice.
One way of doing that? The next time someone like me invites you to a leadership presentation, consider going — you might just learn something.
(Bill Pisano is director of branch operations for Stephen James Associates, a national executive recruiting firm headquartered in Baltimore.)