Baby Boomer Exit Creates Leadership Gap

The corporate world is about to be hit by a generational transition never before seen in history. The Baby Boomer generation — roughly 76 million strong — will start to retire from the workplace over the next five years. Taking their place at the helm of private and public organizations will be Gen X'ers, many of whom have not been equipped with the leadership skills needed to assume the responsibility being passed to them. This creates a critical issue that organizations will need to deal with. Deborah Gilburg, Principal at the Gilburg Leadership Institute, offers her perspective.

Q: What does a baby boomer executive/manager look like?

Gilburg: Baby boomers are in charge of most organizations today. They are roughly between the ages of 46 and 62¹. This group includes most top executives, leaders, and politicians, as well as the upper level management tier in most organizations.

Boomer leaders are vision, mission, principle and values focused — sometimes to the point of being unwilling to move ahead without a highly-principled course of action in place. They like networking and connections. As transformers, they seek to reorganize, redefine or overhaul their organizations.

In every sector, Boomers want to make their mark through an improvement, distinction, or change. Many lack the discipline, however, to see transitions through, or are intolerant to the resistance that comes with change. While some succeed in these grand transformations, many fail, and these failed attempts breed cynicism and distress in the workplace.

The Boomer executive tends toward either egalitarian consensus-seeking or authoritarian leadership styles. Leaders relying upon consensus problem-solving inevitably butt up against the deadlines and limitations of not being able to bring everyone into consensus. Confronted with these realities they often flip and become autocratic, making decisions in a vacuum and creating backlash and frustration for folks who've gone through a process only to have someone make a different decision in the end.

The more authoritative leaders position themselves as the deciders, but often have a thin-skinned authority when dealing with pushback. They can surround themselves with "yes men," which has the end result of stifling creativity and innovation. Oftentimes, when a poor decision is made, they disburse blame downwards, disclaiming their responsibility.

Then there are leaders who have mastered both styles. These stand out as excellent leaders who have the flexibility to use consensus where it works, be decisive when needed, and are accountable.

Boomer leaders also tend to be married to their work. They've bought into a 24/7, driven, competitive world and tend to have a short-term focus — whether it be the end of the quarter, the budget cycle, or their term. This pressure-driven mentality creates a reactive decision-making process which can trump a more strategic, long-term, approach.

Q: What does a Gen-X manager or executive look like?

Gilburg: Gen-X'ers range between 25-45. You don't see many at the executive/leadership level with the exception of the high-tech industry and entrepreneurial ventures. A typical Gen X'er in the private sector tends to be the start-up guy who gets funding, gets things rolling, and then moves on. X'ers tend to be highly pragmatic, no-nonsense, and action-oriented. High-tech is very attractive to the X'er mentality, as it allows for creativity, innovation, and practical problem solving.

X'ers are technologically savvy, self-reliant (they were the latch-key kids), competent, good at learning on the fly, and can be opportunistic (which can appear to Boomers as unprincipled). They can be good collaborators when not bogged down with idealistic debates. They have little patience for inaction, and tend to be good with deliverables and project management.

X'er's care strongly about family values — as a generation they have sought greater work/life balance. While not heavily institutionalized, you can see some progress toward this goal in high-tech where their influence is stronger.

As a workforce, X'ers are transient, having an average three-to-five year lifespan in one organization. They tend to have a low sense of loyalty to organizations that don't meet their needs and can be cynical and distrustful, having been the victims of downsizing, mergers and layoffs. They don't generally buy into the career-track mentality of Boomers and prefer shorter-term rewards like bonuses and vacation time.

X'er pragmatism leads them to measure their success on most recent accomplishments or acquired skills versus contributions to a greater vision. Lacking formal leadership training, X'ers can be rough around the edges and struggle with the subtle nuances of leadership.

As a generation, X'ers are modular, focused on their own sphere of influence — family and friends. They have little awareness of their greater collective force as a generation. As such, they often lack the networks and connections needed to influence institutions and the power to make beneficial changes.

Q: What is the issue with exiting Boomer leaders and incoming Gen-X leaders and why does it exist?

Gilburg: Organizationally, there is a huge demographic shift. The American Society for Training and Development says that over the next 20 years we will have 76 million people retiring and 46 million entering the workforce.

Because Boomers have such a short-term focus, many have neglected succession planning and are leaving Gen Xer's to fend for themselves. With all the downsizing that has dominated the workplace, training and development programs have been marginalized, leaving little focus on the transfer of hard knowledge, institutional knowledge, relationships and networks — all key for leaders.

X'ers are generally untrained and unmentored in leadership. Because they are self-reliant and quick, many have figured out how to maneuver and survive in the workplace. So it's not that they don't have successes, it's just that if they do, it has generally been done without the benefit of institutionalized grooming or mentoring. Many X'ers will say they prefer it this way.

The result is a lack of knowledge transfer. Boomers find it hard to delegate and X'ers don't ask for it. Two terms we hear a lot are RNA (Responsibility, no Authority) and ANR (Authority, no Responsibility). These are two common forms of delegation that show up in every sector. These undermine effective learning about power and influence.

The end result is a latent conflict between the two generations — biases that have resulted in two adult generations that aren't cooperating. Boomers say X'ers are a disappointment because they aren't embracing their visions. X'ers say Boomers are self-absorbed, arrogant sellouts that talk a big game but don't follow through or hold themselves accountable for their visions.

Q: So what it is to be done?

Gilburg: We like to examine the root of the conflict through the lens of a good model with the goal of finding some predictability. The generational model that we like is one developed by theorists William Strauss and Neil Howe, who have written extensively about generational archetypes that repeat every 80 years or so. While each generational cycle is slightly different, they share common characteristics with their generational archetypes of other cycles. In their view, this has become the baseline for social evolution. Applying this lens, history has a lot to say about our future, so we can look at the problem, consider the promise of past generational collaboration, understand the options, and seek to address it. (See "Characterizing Generations" for elaboration)

So the question is, how do we start living up to the potential of an alliance between Boomers and X'ers, since another transition is coming down the pike? How do we turn our conflicts into synergy in order to address the complex and compelling issues of our future?

Q: How do Millennials or Gen-Y'ers play into this dynamic?

Gilburg: These are the school kids — the oldest of which are coming out of grad school. The next "Hero" generation (see "Characterizing Generations") ranges between the ages of 6-24 and are just entering the workforce. They have a different set of childhood experiences than Boomers and X'ers had as kids. They were the special babies ("Baby on Board") and have grown up with fully-scheduled lives.

As the by-products of the self-esteem movement of the 90's that took over the school curriculum, they are accustomed to frequent, appreciative feedback and receiving 19th place awards. They are technologically superior to older generations, including the X'ers. Because of the on-demand information they've had access to, many have a global understanding of the world and value diverse cultures, experiences, and environments. They tend to be accepting of differences and measure people on the quality of their output, not their characteristics.

As they enter the workplace, they bring enthusiasm along with a sense of entitlement. Many expect career track provisioning, supervisory oversight, and regular appreciative acknowledgment. They tend to be civically minded and want to work toward purposes that matter.

The challenge of this generation is that they rely upon external stimuli and direction from above. They tend to lack the self-reliance skills of X'ers, which creates another generational conflict. Many have little internal capacity to deal with critical feedback and do not process failure well.

Entering a 24/7 competitive, driven workplace with minimal oversight, where learning on the job is the norm, they are going to struggle with environments that don't have structured mentoring or training. So while they are very technically sophisticated, they tend to lack some of the interpersonal self-awareness tools to help them be productive in an unstructured, multi-disciplinary, hectic, environment.

So the work environment is becoming a combination of self-immersed Boomers struggling to exercise authority, self-reliant X'ers who are doing things in their own sphere, and Millennials who are looking to someone to give them oversight. Leading these enthusiastic, entitled youths will be the task of X'ers and younger Boomer leaders. It will be a pivotal part of becoming an employer of choice in the future.

Q: What role does technology play in generational differences?

A: The increase in the pace of technology accelerates the pace of society and causes greater gaps in generational experiences. Technology also creates a more complex, fast-changing workplace. As leaders and employees struggle to keep up, they can be overwhelmed by stress and anxiety that can exacerbate some of that inter-generation conflict.

Q: Does this training and mentoring gap exist elsewhere in the world outside the U.S.?

A: The model we've discussed refers to American history; however there are similarities in other English-speaking countries such as the U.K., Canada, and Australia. However, what does apply across the world is the impact of technology and how it differentiates the experiences and thus the personas of younger generations. For nations that are experiencing a decreasing population demographic, recruitment becomes a competitive issue. It is advisable to understand what the younger generation wants and needs in order to become an employer of choice.

Q: What is the risk for organizations that don't address?

A: As an executive, you are leaving your organization's future up in the air and risk losing its competitive edge. The cost of making up for lost knowledge and mistakes made from learning on the fly could create serious setbacks.

There will be a loss of network connections if they aren't passed down to the next layer of leadership, requiring the redevelopment of key relationships that influence successful business outcomes. And there will be an inability to attract and retain younger workers in a shrinking workforce — workers who want an organization that will address their need for structure, work/life balance, up-to-date technology and a socially-conscious mission. While X'ers may want this, Millennials will have the demographic power to demand it.

Lastly, there is the risk of losing an opportunity to harness the best each generation has to offer in order to meet the challenges of a complex, chaotic and global workplace. Boomers risk failing at those ideals they've worked so hard to achieve if they don't engage younger generations and leave their legacy.

Q: What can today's executives do regardless of which generation they fit into?

A: Look vertically at your organization. Who is there, what do they care about? Run focus groups with younger Boomers, X'ers and incoming Millennials to determine what knowledge, skills, and support they need to take the helm in the coming years. Start training your people in a targeted, strategic manner.

Every executive should find someone to mentor. Take them under your wing, help them, share your contacts, your networks, your knowledge. Listen to and guide them to what they want to learn. It is the job of leaders to train leaders. Invest in the long-term future of your organization.

And most importantly, attend to the human capital in your organization. Figure out how to get them engaged and motivated around the things you want to accomplish. Without people, young or old, you have nothing.

About Deborah Gilburg
Deb Gilburg is a Principal with the Gilburg Leadership Institute, Inc. An experienced mediator and facilitator, she leads groups in addressing controversial organizational change issues. She has researched, written, and presented on the looming challenges of leadership succession in this country. She earned a J.D. at Suffolk University Law School and a B.A. in Psychology at Trinity College, Hartford, CT.

¹ There are differing opinions about Baby Boomer birth years. These ages reflect Baby Boomer birth years between 1943 and 1960, dates determined by Strauss and Howe from their more in depth research on generational personas (see side page). We find these birth years to be more in line with how people see themselves, however this version increases Boomer numbers to 79 million.