Richard Grimes, MPA, C.P.T.

Course Overview

Participants compare and contrast significant facts and traits about the four generations and the four different working styles of people that are present regardless of when they were born. Then, using discussion questions provided as a stimulant to communications within and among the work team, leaders could devise strategies to apply this information to their workplace.

Once participants discover how to view the workplace through the eyes of their employees, they learn how to meet the needs of those employees regarding motivation, measurable performance expectations, productivity, communications techniques, and mentoring relationships.

This course includes a multiple choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the participant will learn:

• The distinguishing traits of each generation;
• To identify their values and general work characteristics;
• To capitalize on their work assets and help them overcome their liabilities;
• What their leadership style may be considering generational and working style characteristics;
• What differences there may be between knowledge, experience, and competency;
• How each generation is perceived by their coworkers;
• How to view the employer's benefits and programs from their perspective as an aid in recruiting and retention;
• Five differences between generations about issues involving: career, speed, loyalty, balance, and heroes;
• How to view their daily work from a leader's perspective;
• How to analyze their daily interactions for potential opportunities for change;
• The choices of reaction you have when working under stress;
• The messages we send to our coworkers before we say a single word;
• How to deal effectively with unhappy employees of every generation and working style and still retain good will;
• How to identify your individual working style and those of others;
• How to deal effectively with working styles other than your own;
• How to identify your "back up" working style and use it effectively;
• Tips on saying "No" and retaining good will;
• Discover what motivates your employees individually;
• Apply those motivational discoveries to get increased morale and productivity;
• Improve your interaction with employees who are your minimal performers;
• Identify reasons why those employees are minimal performers and develop strategies to remedy them;
• Channel employee motivation into improved departmental morale and performance;
• Develop measurements for objective and subjective behaviors for effective performance management; and
• Work with employees to identify measurable work performance goals for them.
  
  

Intended Audience

The intended audience is anyone who leads a workforce on a temporary or permanent basis. It is also useful for HR professionals working with management to improve internal communications.

Benefit to Attendees

This course will help leaders and HR professionals who want to understand more about how their employees view the world so they can become more effective in defining work expectations and selecting appropriate motivational techniques to sustain high levels of productivity.

Course Introduction

Recorded history shows us there has always been concern about generational differences. Excavations of Roman ruins dated hundreds of years B.C. provided translated statements of alarmed city officials talking about their problems with the younger generation and wondering what will become of their society when the "stabilizing influence" of their elders passes away.

Technological advances in medicine, nutrition, exercise, and communication have given us increased life expectancies while social and economic changes mean people may be working longer instead of retiring or coming back into the workforce after retiring.

The workforce is becoming more diverse in terms of generational makeup. Since each generation, the Builders (born 1925-1945), Boomers (1946-1960), Generation X (1961-1980 the first wave of Boomer children), and Generation Y^[1] (1981-present the second wave of Boomer children), was formed during different social climates, their values and beliefs do not automatically mirror those of their parents.

In addition, we encounter people in the workplace with whom we work very easily regardless of generation while there are others with whom we have difficulty working. This is because of our 'working styles' and that has nothing to do with age.

This course will help participants identify the reasons why the generations and individual working styles are different, give them insight into seeing the workplace from a new perspective, and provide guidelines on what a leader can do to help members of each become as productive as possible within the multigenerational mix of today's workforce.

^[1] The generational literature contains many different terms for these distinct groups and these were chosen for no particular reason. The important aspect is their timeline, not their names.

Course Content

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Nature of the Challenge
Analyzing the Generations
Generational Influence on Leadership
Applying This to your Workplace
Some Leadership Questions
Working Styles & Communication
Self-Assessment Survey
Demonstrating Our Working Style
The Working Styles Grid
The Analytical Style
The Amiable Style
The Driver Style
The Expressive Style
Working Style Flexibility
Say "No" and Preserve Good Will
Avoiding a "Hard No"
Using the Working Styles Knowledge
Motivational Overview
The Five Components of Employee Motivation
#1 Tell Me What You Expect of me
#2 Give me a Chance to Perform (and learn)
#3 Let Me Know How I Am Doing As I Go Along
#4 Give Me Help and Guidance When I Need It
#5 Reward Me with Pay or Praise When I Succeed
Measuring Performance
Are these situations productive or busy?
Establishing Effective Performance Goals
Measuring "Hard Skills"
Section Review
Measuring "Soft Skills"
Section Review
Employees Rating Each Other: Good or Bad Idea?
Performance Assessment Sample Using a Likert Scale
Applying This to Your Organization

Course Summary

Participants that complete this course will be more confident about their skills for:

• Determining their personal working style and the styles of others;
• Adapting their interactions with others for the most effective outcomes;
• Seeing their daily interactions as 'customer service' and analyzing their behavior as they seek opportunities for improvement; and
• Learning to say "no" while retaining the good will of others.
  
  

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.