Results tagged “multigenerational” from KM Edge: Where the best in Knowledge Management come together

The first wave of baby boomers is beginning to retire, leaving a leadership void that many organizations are not prepared for. In addition, the next large demographic groups ready to assume leadership positions (particularly Generation Y, or the Millennials) are vastly different from their predecessors. It is vital that companies prepare future leaders with this changing generational paradigm in mind.

If these issues are something your organization is concerned about, join us this Thursday, April 16, at 10:30 a.m. central time for APQC's next knowledge management community call. During the one-hour call, guest facilitator Wendy Johnson will discuss the characteristics of Generation Y, strategies to help current leaders communicate with this unique group, and the best ways to prepare younger workers for their transition to the leadership ranks. Wendy is the CEO of Center for Courageous Enterprise, a nonprofit organization that provides leadership development coaching and consulting for individuals and organizations.

If you have long-time, successful employees, at some point along the way you will need them to train coworkers on the job.  Experienced workers transfer knowledge to ramp up new employees, to cross-train existing employees who are changing roles, and to prepare for their own departures when they retire.  This training must include more than the steps involved in doing the work.  It has to incorporate the "secret sauce" that makes the trains run on time. Wisdom.

Managers often lament that it's too hard for their veteran employees to share with others the wisdom they've accumulated. This type of tacit knowledge is too amorphous and too dependent on years of experience to be teachable.  After all, how can a veteran project manager say what he's looking for as he "takes care" of his team or a long-serving nurse explain how she just "knows" when a patient is in trouble?  How can the research scientist describe 35 years of testing methodology or the maintenance technician describe how he can "hear" a problem deep in the bowels of the plant?  How can anyone impart all those years of trial-and-error experience to someone else?  The answer is that it might not be easy--but we need to do better than simply wringing our hands and admitting defeat.

Returning from the funeral of a beloved--and elderly--great aunt has caused me to pause and reflect on how time flies. I started out my life as part of the fifth "living generation" of my family. All of a sudden, I'm second in line in a group of living generations. As I've gone through each passing of a generation, I've taken time to reflect on what I know about my family history. However, a lot of my realizations have related to what I don't know.

Looking back, my biggest regret is that I didn't ask the questions I should have--and now it's too late. I've come to realize that I didn't ask those questions primarily because of timing. (I'm reminded of the Leonard Martin quote, "Timing in life is everything.") Either I didn't know how to ask them, or what I want to know now wasn't as important to me earlier in my life when I could have asked, or I thought someone else in my family would know.

Over the past few months, a lot has been written about how the Internet and other technologies are affecting the way in which we read, think, and learn. One article that has generated particular attention is Nicholas Carr's "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" in the July/August issue of The Atlantic. Carr argues that, for most people, the Web is becoming the primary channel through which information is absorbed and processed. Although "having immediate access to such an incredibly rich store of information" provides many advantages, there is a tradeoff:

...what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.

I've talked with a lot of people recently about the KM opportunities and challenges facing their organizations. One theme that emerged from these conversations is the pervasive struggle to promote knowledge sharing among various generations of employees. Repeatedly, I heard how the "younger" professionals, especially Gen Y and the Millennials, are difficult to engage--they work and learn differently, they don't value what's come before them, and so on. (Note: These are blanket generalizations. I realize that not all young professionals behave this way.)

What I hope the junior officers get out of the internship week is:  a better understanding of the high level issues affecting the organization that junior officers rarely experience first hand (they typically just feel the after-effects), personal observation of the forums and interactions I use to help "steer" the organization, exposure to leadership styles and issues different from their own, and mentoring from a senior Navy officer. What I usually get out of the week is: exposure to a different point of view, some insight into what junior officers are thinking, and 360-degree feedback on my leadership style and effectiveness.

Dale Arseneault is manager of knowledge services at Bank of Canada and has been one of KM Edge's most active contributors. After returning from APQC's KM conference, Dale posted his thoughts about generational gaps in KM to his own blog, Reflections on Knowledge Management and Organizational Innovation. Here's an excerpt:

Since returning from the APQC KM Edge Conference in Chicago, I've been thinking about one of the themes that came out of some of the keynotes/presentations--differences between the "boomer"/older generations and the "younger generations"--such as millennials' ability to time-slice, their ease with technology, and focus on development rather than long relationships with a single employer ... There is no shortage of emerging research and commentary about differences between generations, and the challenges that could result. But, why not focus on the similarities?

As you can see, Dale's post is partially a reaction to Bob Wendover's keynote at the conference. In addition to Dale's blog, I encourage you to read  the KM Edge conversation on this keynote topic and add your own thoughts about how generational gaps affect today's workplace.

I guess one of my biggest takeaways from his talk is the notion that, to bridge these generational gaps, we all have to work at it--and we need to do it at home as well as at work. It's a two-way street. There are learning and knowledge transfer opportunities on both sides. Both sides of the divide need to reach out and work together to understand each other and work together more collaboratively and effectively. Both sides have knowledge and skills that could be of value to the other.

Visit the conference page for this keynote to read more from Darcy and others.