Outside the Generational Box - Strategies for Transition

In my head, I've been re-playing our Mind the Gap:Connecting the Generations presentation in Minneapolis; let's continue the conversation about the 4 generations in the workforce. I'd like to propose a new approach to career transition, one that promotes strategies to understand and transcend generation, and accepts challenges toward achievement of career success in this multi-generational workplace. 

The first strategy:  A-b-C:  Accept but Challenge

• Accept differences - We cannot adopt homogeneous personal qualities or value propositions. It is important to identify and fine-tune the presentation of our brand or unique selling point in conversation, via resume, online, etc.  Accepting differences was one of the contributions of Generation X, e.g. those who now fall roughly between the ages of 30-45. Remember the rock musical, Hair, the first Broadway show that celebrated different thinking about politics, sexuality, and race?
  
• but - As interpersonally aware people, we prefer to use the connecting word, "and." I submit that the word "but" allows all those involved in career transition to engage in a process that may include discomfort and chaos, hopefully leading to equilibrium.  (More on this adaptation of Chaos Theory in another post...)
• Challenge - This is our raison d'etre: the challenge to "be all that we can be" is what makes life exciting.  To achieve our work/life goals and succeed in a work environment in which 4+ generations work side-by-side, we must challenge ourselves to transcend the limitations of our own generational box.  Ellen Sautter, whom I met at the Career Management Alliance Conference, suggested that she is the embodiment of the trans-generation: she is a Traditionalist by birth, who recently co-authored a book that is likely to appeal to all generations, Seven Days to Online Networking.
  

We can Accept differences and search for commonalities, but we must poke ourselves, our clients, and our colleagues to accept the Challenge of a trans-generational workforce - one that takes a "so what" approach to the issue of age. 

So with AbC in mind, here's a challenge for you to chew on; your comments are encouraged:

 

How should we distinguish between personal and professional networking? Is online networking similar to meeting associates and friends at the 9th Hole? Are these online networking tools superficial and self-promotional?

• Is LinkedIn an electronic Roladex? Can it promote real relationships?
  
• Is posting to Facebook superficial or does it promote connectedness? Should "friends" be expected to cleanse their page for evaluation by employers?

Please respond to this blog, or directly to my e-mail address:  Karen@CareerAcceleration.net

Comments

[Rob]

No offense, but Generation X (and Generation Y and the Millennials) DON'T remember Hair. Isn't that part of the point?

Some more thoughts:

- Personal vs. Professional networking: I find the line between the two of them to be very fine. I try to keep them separate, but it's harder and harder. I think this has something to do with my generation's desire to be friends with the people they work with and to enjoy the workplace (I'm 26) - if we want to be friends with our co-workers, it is hard to separate personal and professional networking.

- LinkedIn - it's achieved critical mass to be an effective online Rolodex, yes. And it's not as intrusive as others (like Plaxo) that spam your contact list on your behalf. Not cool.

- Facebook - the truth of Facebook, LinkedIn and the web in general is that we all have to be conscious that anything we say/do can be captured (photo/video/quote) and put online. If you aren't comfortable with that, then good luck - there's not much you can do other than have zero online presence (not a good self-marketing strategy). IMHO, the best defense is a good offense - in order to keep people seeing what you want them to see, do a lot of positive things and do them in the public sphere. There's a whole industry popping up now (you blogged about this before) of online identity fighters/cleaners. Waste of money...just be yourself online and publicly, and Google should reflect that.