Moderator Kim Pontius: Good afternoon, everyone. Up first, when it comes to workplace dynamics, what is it about your generation that you would like to impart to older or younger generations?
Leslie Frazier: Hey, everyone! Proud millennial here. I know a lot of older generations may feel like we come into an organization wanting to talk about every single problem that’s there and how to fix it. I think a lot of that has to do with our education. I have baby boomer parents, and a college education was constantly enforced in my household. As millennials have gotten a little older, we realize we now might need master’s degrees. I think the various things we’ve been exposed to in our education fuel a lot of our passion and desire to come in and make impactful changes.
Derek Sprague: I had the opportunity to work with my dad for 20 years, from his 60s to his 80s. And when I first started, it was a very difficult thing. Regardless of what I saw as inefficiency, that’s the way that it was going to get done. What I came to find out is that there are opportunities to play off each other’s strengths and weaknesses. That’s where we found we were able to really work well together throughout that whole process.
Amanda Creel: Sometimes I think the phase of life [causes] the disconnect. Because a new generation comes into the workforce, and we’re all of a sudden very negative about [that] generation. We have to remember what it was like to be at that [younger] phase of life and give that respect and professionalism and that grace to let them find their way.
Janet Kane: I think the most frequent points that become challenges between staff of different generations are one’s perception of the other’s work ethic. My advice is that no matter what your generation, professionalism is always expected. You get paid to come to work and be respectful, not to use your generation, wherever that may fall, as an excuse to be rude, abrupt or disagreeable. You can disagree without being disagreeable.
Pontius: The one thing that keeps coming up to me is the eye rolls, witty repartee, or thinly masked sarcasm. I agree and would like to train all the generations to have mutual respect.
Sprague: Different generations have their own ways of communicating, but it is important to lay it on the table and have a conversation. If folks are being told what to do without understanding why, it leads to a lot of miscommunication.
Frazier: I’m a millennial, but I’m also from the South, was raised in the church, and grew up in a military community. So, some of the reactions—eye-rolling or certain sarcastic things—I wouldn’t do because that would have been disrespectful in my house growing up. So, as you get to know people and understand where some of that [behavior] is coming from, it might be things outside of just the generational differences. And then, you can really work toward more common ground.
Pontius: Let’s talk about a scenario: You just hired a junior staff member, and they don’t hesitate to tell you what they think is wrong with the association. How do you respond?
Kane: I love to thank them for their insight, encourage them to continue to share their ideas for improvement with me, and sometimes I’ve asked them to assist with some idea that they’ve brought to me. No. 1, it helps them become accountable for implementing the idea. No. 2, they know that I’m taking their comments seriously. And No. 3, it helps them understand how difficult it is to actually implement a change. If you don’t [help someone learn by doing], you don’t know what fabulous idea you might be missing out on. And they will never come to you again if you shut them down from the start.
Frazier: I don’t have any staff at the moment, but I love talking to Gen Zers behind me. I’ve become the big sister to many of them. One thing I have found is if they feel like their voices aren’t being heard or they’re being mistreated at work, they will leave very quickly. I got this advice from my aunt: Let’s say a young staffer has an idea that you know won’t work, but it won’t be detrimental if they try it—let them try it. They can go through their idea and see, “Oops, that really didn’t work. I guess my boss was right,” or “I should have listened to their advice.” Let them fall a little bit and then help them up through the process.
Pontius: Let’s go to the flip side of this. If you’re Gen Z or a millennial, how do you address situations where you feel your voice or perspective hasn’t been heard?
Creel: I may be the CEO, but a lot of my leaders are senior to me. So, I just try to find a way to tell the same story that’s not so focused on me telling the story—data, statistics, video—to get them to see it from a different perspective.
Sprague: When I try to implement a plan, when I’m talking about it, I have tendency to jump to the punchline without telling the lead-up of the joke. Whereas when I write it out first, I can lay out a really good background for it and then can say, “Here are the key points,” and guide my thought process. Then, build a team around it. If there’s one sour apple in the mix, but everyone else on your staff is like, “Hey, this is a fantastic opportunity,” that’s sort of infectious.
Pontius: Let’s talk about work-life balance. If you’re sick, do you call in or push through it? (I push through it.) Do you block “me time”? (Never do.) Do you check work email while technically on paid time off? (Always.) I’m curious to hear from the rest of you.
Frazier: [Laughter] I do feel like there is a belief from older generations that exhaustion equals success. But a lot of us millennials might say, “Look, if you want me to continue to produce, I’m shutting it down at 5 or 5:30 p.m.” But generations aside, especially after COVID-19, everyone now is like, “If you’re sick, please don’t come to the office.” With the emergence of remote work, if I’m sick—and it doesn’t require leave—I’ll just work from home. When I’m on leave, I’ll check my email a bit just so it doesn’t get overwhelming. And if it’s an emergency, I’ll respond. But I believe in balance so that you can come back fresh and be productive. If you’re carrying work into your vacation, you’re never fully resting, and that will definitely catch up with you later.
Kane: I had great mentors, one of them being Steve Francks, who just retired as CEO from Washington REALTORS®. He just said—and he didn’t mean this in a bad way— “Everyone’s dispensable. You can take your time off.” Also, I had a great assistant who started timeblocking my lunches on my calendar and adding 15 minutes of meeting prep time before every meeting. Because if you don’t take charge of your time, somebody else will fill it. As far as vacation, I’ll put one person to be the contact for my auto out-of-office [message]. Everybody knows if it’s an emergency, they contact that one person, and that person is going to text me and say, “Hey, building’s on fire. We need you.”
Creel: When I’m on vacation, my team knows me; they know to put an emoji of a dumpster fire, and I’m there. I am definitely not the best example. I push my staff really hard to be the exact opposite of me: “You guys need to recharge. You need to take your time off.”
Sprague: One thing that’s different is the fact that a lot of us are taking care of elderly family. So, if you have someone who’s trying to push through and come in sick, it’s disrespectful to put co-workers in a position where they’re being compromised, which would compromise their family. On work-life balance, I’m the same way that everyone’s talking here [about struggling to detach from work]. Part of that is the fact that a lot of our members are small business owners, and their clock doesn’t stop. I’m sympathetic to that.
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