#114 How Different Generations Influence One Another at Work with Porschia Parker
Porschia Parker is the founder and CEO of Fly High Coaching and the Millennial Performance Institute. She is a Certified Professional Coach, an Associate Certified Coach, and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Certified Practitioner. Porschia also has experience as a director and business consultant helping companies unlock millions of dollars in potential. Porschia has a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Georgia and she serves as a Career Contributor for BioSpace and has been featured in FlexJobs, Levo, iOFFICE, and the Rochester Business Journal.
In this episode, Porschia talks about the main differences between the different generations in the workplace today, what companies can do to help millennials stay longer than the average of three years, the importance understanding the backgrounds of the different generations you’re working with, why you need to listen more than you talk in order to get your ideas heard, what we can likely expect from generation Z employees once they enter the workforce, and so much more!
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Transcript
Hey, Hey! It’s Andrea and welcome to the voice of influence podcast, where we explore the intersection of human dynamics, communication, and service. If you’re interested in growing your own voice of influence or the influence of those on your team, check us out at voiceofinfluence.net and connect to us to talk. We love talking.
So, today, I have with me Porschia Parker. Porschia is the founder and CEO of Fly High Coaching and the Millennial Performance Institute. She is a Certified Professional Coach, an Associate Certified Coach, and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Certified Practitioner. Porschia also has experience as a director and business consultant helping companies unlock millions of dollars in potential. Porschia has a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Georgia and she serves as a Career Contributor for BioSpace and has been featured in FlexJobs, Levo, iOFFICE and the Rochester Business Journal.
Andrea: Porschia, welcome to the Voice of Influence podcast.
Porschia Parker: Thank you so much for having me, Andrea.
Andrea: All right, so a Porschia and I met each other at an event about a year and a half ago. When thinking about what kinds of things we wanted to tackle on the Voice of Influence podcast, we have certainly address this before, but generational communication and influence, I think it’s a really interesting thing for us to talk about intergenerational. And Porschia is particularly adept and experienced in helping companies really be able to understand the millennial generation and how to talk intergenerationally. So, Porschia, let’s talk just first what are some of the main differences that you see between the generations that are in the workplace today?
Porschia Parker: Yeah, great question, Andrea. So, I guess if we’ll start with millennials, because you know that’s what I am obviously, you probably picked that up from the millennial performance Institute. When it comes to illennials, talking about millennials is kind of become a hot topic within the last few years or so. And, you know, all of these buzzwords, Gen X or baby boomer really kind of commonplace now, but when we think about some of the differences, millennials really value authenticity and having a connection.
And I know you’re all about, you know, the voice and how different people influence each other throughout the organization. And this is really different when it comes to talking about authenticity and a connection, because in the past if we look at other generations, we’ll say baby boomers for example and authoritative management style is what, you know, was commonplace when they were, you know, first coming into the workforce. And that’s what they are more accustomed to. Meaning, “Hey, I’m the CEO, I’m the executive, I’m the manager. You listened to me. It’s very directive. I tell you what to do.”
Millennials are a little different. They feel like in general, and you know, we’re using generalities here. There are obviously exceptions to all of these rules, but in general, a lot of millennials aren’t as preoccupied with some of those established titles and structures. And they believe that they should have a voice like everyone else. And Gen-Xers that I didn’t touch on, they’re the sandwich generation in between millennials, but right after the baby boomers, they’re generally seen as more of the long ranger type, adaptable to different types of environments.
But when it comes to sheer number, a lot of times people kind of forget to talk about Gen-Xers because there’s a smaller population of Gen-Xers in the workforce. So that’s, I think, kind of just high level a little bit about the different generations and when it comes to communication, there might be some noticeable differences there.
Andrea: I found that that interesting when you mentioned baby boomers and talking about the authoritative management style. My interpretation of some of the conversation that I have heard around this intergenerational communication is that baby boomers tend to be almost a little afraid or maybe even Gen-Xers a little afraid of the millennial generation. Almost like they’re the crazy teenagers that adults are afraid they can’t control.
Porschia Parker: Yeah. I think that’s very accurate. And I have obviously worked with a lot of baby boomers and Gen-Xers around coming up with a strategy. For example, one of the most common ones is an employee engagement strategy to kind of curb some of the turnover that’s common with millennial employees. And yes, you’re right, the idea of, “Hey, let’s wrangle them in,” so to speak and kind of get them in line and in control so that, you know, business can go on as usual.
Andrea: OK, so is that effective? Is it effective to try to control them?
Porschia Parker: It depends on your definition of control.
Andrea: Sure.
Porschia Parker: But in short, I would say no. A lot of millennials like I mentioned that authenticity, they want to be a part of the conversation, they want transparency. It’s a very big thing that I know you cover some times. So, really the whole hard line and to try to control them usually does not work. Across the board, across generations, the tenure and, you know, time that people are employed has drastically reduced. Most people in general, newly hired employees are going to work for their organizations for about three years at this point. And so, a lot of times, you know, trying to control certain things only speed up that process in terms of employees exiting your organization.
Andrea: In your experience then is there a way or is there a successful sort of tactic or type of culture that tends to keep millennials longer than three years at a time?
Porschia Parker: Yeah, there are a few things that companies can do. So, really promoting collaboration and so working in small groups. A lot of millennials were used to working in teams and in groups, you know, from elementary school. So, having a more collaborative communication style, some companies, and you might see this, they have completely revamped their workspaces. There’s an organization that I’ve, you know, done some podcasts for and they’re all about kind of this actual physical space that you work in. So, more open environments, free flowing.
You probably have seen some of the offices now that don’t even have dedicated offices. It’s like you come in and you work from wherever. And all of that helps to kind of promote collaboration across different teams in different business functions. So that’s one thing. But also in general, a lot of millennials are looking for mentoring and coaching and when that professional development is provided by the employer that improves employee engagement and the length of time that a millennial employee will stay with their organization as well. Because they feel as though, you know, the company is really investing in them in their career growth and that’s important for most millennials as well.
And then also, the other main component to this is to have access to professional growth opportunities. And it’s funny, Andrea, I was actually reading a study last month and I wrote an actual newsletter article on it for our audience, and it was looking at the professional growth of millennials in terms of rates of promotion versus Gen-Xers. And what it showed was millennials have a really high, they place a high priority on being promoted and that we can talk a lot about, but student loan debt, coming of age in the recession, and all of these sorts of things have kind of driven millennials to focus on finances and getting promoted and making more money so to speak.
So, if you promote from within and have opportunities for that that’s going to be really appealing to millennials. But in the study I was telling you about, they were showing that now a lot of baby boomers actually are not retiring. A lot of them are continuing to work well into their 60s and beyond. And so what this has created is an environment where the baby boomers, a lot of them are still executives, they have not retired and don’t plan to retire. The millennials, because they’ve gotten a lot of, you know, some people think attention and focus, they’ve been promoted at rates faster than Gen-Xers.
And so a lot of Gen-Xers even in the last two to three years have not been promoted at the rates that millennials have. And so this study was really interesting because it was kind of looking at, you know, the interplay between all of the generations in the workforce, what’s going on and you know, just kind of really analyzing it.
Andrea: Hmm. That’s really interesting. Do you mind sharing with us the resource where you got that article?
Porschia Parker: I can, I don’t want to say the wrong thing. So can I…
Andrea: We will just include it in the show notes.
Porschia Parker: Exactly. I will definitely send it to you right after the call. I don’t want to quote the wrong thing.
Andrea: Perfect. No problem. So when it comes to baby boomers, Gen-Xers wanting to have influence on millennials, wanting to have them, you know, whether it be a stay in the environment or change the way that they’re handling things, how does somebody who comes from a different kind of really culture almost, it’s almost like a whole another culture that baby boomers grew up in versus the millennial generation. So when you’re coming from that so much of a difference there, be able to kind of like grapple with the fact that it’s not about what a millennial should be but about what they are and now I have to deal with that. It just seems like that might be part of the issue that people are kind of grappling with.
Porschia Parker: Right, right, very good point. I think it comes down to understanding and understanding that others are coming from a different perspective, perhaps a different background, different environment. And when you understand the environment that, you know a potential employee or subordinate is coming from, it’s easier to be able to relate and find some common ground with them.
A lot of it I think is mindset, like you were saying before, if someone just comes at it from the perspective of, “Oh, this is a rowdy teenager or this person is like my kid,” because you know, a lot of millennials are actually the older ones are in their mid 30s at this point. And so, you know, we still have baby boomers that are, “Oh, that’s like my kid. That’s like my daughter’s age,” even though this person is, you know, 35. So, I think really understanding the environment.
One easy way to kind of do that at a high level is to think when they study generations, most generations are defined by some piece of technology. So for baby boomers, that piece of technology was the television. The television was new. People were, you know, exploring, you know, all of the shows and that was a new mode of disseminating information.
Gen-Xers were defined roughly by the computer. So, you know, Silicon Valley, the computer is the new thing, you know, understanding how computers can really help you throughout your life. Millennials, their piece of technology that they’re mostly defined is the internet. And so, you know, the speed of the internet, the connection so to speak virtually, those different aspects of the internet when we think about millennials and some of their preferences, it actually defines a lot of things about them.
So, for example, sometimes people say, “Oh my gosh, they want everything so fast.” I partnered with a lot of people in recruiting and one thing I hear a lot is of is, you know, in an interview, this millennial candidate that I put in front of a client said, “Well, hey, can I become a manager in two years?” You know, almost kind of expecting that speed of the internet, right, to kind of translate to other areas of their career and of their life. So, just at a high level, if we think about environmental changes being different, technology being different, I think that is one way to start framing the conversation of kind of understanding how people come from, you know, different backgrounds in what was influential to them and how that might affect their decision making moving forward.
Andrea: When you’re looking at how to help people from different generations communicate with one another. You know, let’s take the millennials perspective; you’re wanting to be promoted, you’re wanting to push an initiative through that you’ve see is really important. What kinds of things do you encourage them to do in order to speak to these other generations and potentially have influence?
Porschia Parker: Yeah, great question. So, this is actually the same thing that I encourage everyone to do, millennials included. I think listening more than you talk, especially in the workplace, is going to help you get so much more insight into other people. And I think, you know, you’re specialists in this, Andrea, but I think a lot of times people are so focused on getting their point across, you know, staying their piece, so to speak, that they aren’t really aware of the other perspectives and other, you know, differing points of view or ways of doing things.
So, the first thing that I recommend for millennials but also anyone is to listen more. If you have an idea that you think could improve efficiency or productivity in some way, listen. Ask some questions about why the current status quo is what it is and take some notes and be open, because sometimes people are also listening with the perspective of “Oh, this is dumb or this is stupid. I could do it better.” And after that, you know, introducing your new idea in a way that doesn’t necessarily kind of cut down or demean, you know, how the current process is.
So, a lot of times with millennials, they could sometimes, you know, not be as open to, you know, the previous way of doing things and just come in quickly and think that they know better. And so that’s I think one thing that could really be highlighted.
Andrea: But really it sounds like you’re talking about genuine curiosity.
Porschia Parker: Yeah, absolutely.
Andrea: Because if somebody is genuinely curious, they’re going to be open to having that conversation to, you know, listening and introducing an idea that is potentially disruptive, but in a way that will maybe be based on the listening that you have just encouraged them to do, maybe then they can frame it in a way that they look, I see where it, why you’ve done it like this in the past, but maybe in the future. This is another perspective. I love that. OK, so that’s from the millennial perspective. Let’s look at this from a Gen X or the baby boomer perspective, even if they’re the same two things that you would have them do, how does that look different for them?
Porschia Parker: Yeah. So this, you know, actually I think is a good, I could incorporate a good story here, Andrea. So, when I originally started my business, I was working with mostly individuals and a company that I’d worked with previously for a consulting firm. They asked me, “Well, hey, do you do coaching and consulting for companies?” And I said, “Sure!” And jumped right in and did a time management workshop for them. But while I was in right after that workshop, I’d say, I started picking up on it during the workshop.
But after the workshop, one of the managing partners pulled me to the side and he was a Gen-Xer or is a Gen-Xer or I should say and he starts venting to me about a millennial employee. And this particular employee had gone on Glassdoor and had given the firm one of those average types of ratings on Glassdoor. He was able to figure out who it was and he was shocked because he said, “You know, Porschia, I see this employee multiple times a week. She’s never said any of this to me. She’s never said any of this to her direct manager. How does she feel comfortable just putting this online?”
This was probably in about 2014 so this was a while ago. Glassdoor wasn’t as, you know, big as it is now, but that was really kind of my light bulb moment, Andrea, when I noticed that one, you know, kind of these differences in opinion were really along generational lines but also how the communication was different. So this Gen-Xer, who was firm managing partner, he would’ve never gone online and communicated something to strangers right out on the internet and felt comfortable doing that. But the millennial employee did and had never discussed it.
And so he thought it was kind of like a violation of trust that instead of speaking with him and the rest of the management team, they would go and put this online. And so I think that’s a good example to kind of highlight preferences and communication, one, but also how different things can possibly be addressed. So when it came to that firm particularly, you know, it was kind of touchy because as with Glassdoor, a lot of it is anonymous. So, you know, confronting someone like, “Hey, I know you did this and I know you put this up there online about us,” could be really accusatory and come across, you know, pretty negative.
But in that case, and in most cases, I like to say that those types of instances let you know that people have opinions and they don’t feel comfortable sharing them in a public forum, so really looking at communication between management and their direct reports. Openness throughout the organization are really important, so maybe that’s an opportunity to change your performance review system or change the amount of communication that manage _____ with their team.
Maybe they should be having one on one meetings or phone calls with their team members just to kind of see how things are going. Or perhaps more company-wide meetings if it’s a smaller company to where it’s a literal open forum where people are encouraged to speak up in front of a group. You know, it could look different depending on the size of the organization and how it’s structured. But I think that that’s honestly kind of a cry for someone wanting to be heard, wanting to be listened to and just going in their preferred way of doing that, which can be different among generations.
Andrea: Hmm. It sounds a little bit like, you know, by providing those ways of coming to talk to the management or the leadership that it’s giving them permission. It’s saying, I really do want to hear from you and I’m not only going to say that I’m going to provide you the opportunity instead of expecting you to take the initiative to do it, which might be kind of difficult to do, but it sounds like it’s really, really helpful when it comes to some, a millennial deciding, “Well, am I just gonna post this on Glassdoor or am I going to go actually have a conversation with somebody who really seems like they care.”
Porschia Parker: Exactly.
Andrea: Have you in the course of all this work that you do with intergenerationally, and I know that even though you’ve focused on millennials, do you have any insights into the next generation that’s coming up, Gen Z?
Porschia Parker: Yes. So there’s a lot of study going on about Gen Z. The people who do a lot of the generational research, they tend to make a lot of observations until the generation kind of comes of age. And so prior to that, a lot of it is fluid. So we’re talking about a lot of, you know, preteens and younger and then some teenagers as well. So, there’s still kind of, you know, forming their opinions and their preferences. But yes, in general, they’ve done a lot of comparisons between Gen Z and the millennial generation and there are, you know, some similarities and some differences.
Obviously, the technology piece is that been even more I guess integrated into the lives of those individuals that are Gen-Zers in terms of, you know, the whole idea of having to wait for something is foreign. I saw something not too long ago, but even with Gen-Zers, those teenagers, you know, working to get their license, it’s a lot lower because some Gen-Zers say, “Well, why do I need a license? There’s Uber for that. There’s Lyft for that.” “Why do I need to drive a car?”
Andrea: There will be cars that will drive themselves here in two years.
Porschia Parker: Exactly. So that whole mindset is a little different, you know, having things on demand. Who needs to walk out and go get your own takeout, someone will bring that to you. So, a lot of things in terms of speed are actually seen as faster and more instant than millennials. And I’ve also read something more recently that said Gen-Zers tend to be even more financially conservative than millennials because they’ve seen the millennials to, you know, student loan debt is a huge issue and a driver for a lot of things.
So a lot of Gen-Zers are wondering, do I really even want to go and get saddled with all of this student loan debt from college in that traditional education model. So yeah, there are a lot of comparisons and contrast being made right now.
Andrea: It’s really fascinating. I mean, I have a couple of them in my house, so I understand. So I’m going to ask a couple more questions, but this is one of the last one I promise. I just feel like we could talk about this for a long time. Is there a forum, like an online forum in which you recommend that people communicate with millennials and even Gen-Zers, but in particular millennials, to kind of be able to close feedback loops quicker because it sounds like part of the problem could be, “I’m really busy.” “I’m an executive, I’m really busy.” Or “I’m a leader.” “I’m a team leader. My team is having a hard time hearing back from me.” They don’t like the fact that they have to wait for answers, but they also maybe need answers quickly. Do you have any practical tips on how to handle that?
Porschia Parker: Yeah, I think a lot of it also depends on the organization and kind of _____, you know, what that set up is like in general. And you made me think of another distinction that a lot of companies are having to make, but a lot of people have like, you know, instant messenger kind of chat options in their CRM systems, customer relationship management systems. There other kind of internal systems have some type of chat feature as opposed to email.
And so I’ve heard a lot of companies have, you know, conversations on what should be an email versus what should be a chat or casual communication avenue. But yeah, there are a lot of, you know, just for lack of better words say chat or instant messaging platforms that can help you kind of get answers quicker than an email or waiting for a meeting or things like that.
I would say though, I think if someone has a feeling or a suspicion that something is going on in person or having a virtual meeting where you’re using, you know, your camera through your computer, I think there’s still a lot of value in that just to see people and to get a feel for what’s not being said, right? And that made me think of something else. And another critique that I hear a lot of times from recruiters and managers is they sometimes feel like the millennials have trouble with the in person communication. They’d prefer to just chat or text or email because it might feel safer for some of them who haven’t done as much communicating in person.
And so when I work with millennials, specifically, sometimes we talk a bit about the in person communication and being more comfortable with having conversations that might be considered difficult in person. So I know I kind of added a little bit there, but it made me think of a few other things.
Andrea: Yeah, no, it’s very important. Thank you. What is one final sort of tip that you would like to offer for intergenerational communication influence in particular?
Porschia Parker: Yeah. I think starting with a level of respect and it sounds really basic and almost kind of like “Hey doesn’t everyone do that?” But they don’t. And similar to what I was mentioning about listening, coming from a perspective where you are respecting people, whether they be 30, 40 years older than you or 30, 40 years younger than you is really, I think, the place that everyone can start. And also knowing that, you know, yes, we’ve talked a bit about generations as a group and as a whole, but everyone’s not the same. Just because someone is, you know, 68 doesn’t mean that they can’t use technology. And you know, just because someone is 28, you know, doesn’t mean that they know everything about all social media channels. So, I’m not necessarily generalizing to the point where you think you’ve got it all figured out.
Andrea: Hmm. Very good Porschia, if somebody wanted to get in touch with you, how, how should they do that?
Porschia Parker: Yes. So, we’ve got actually two websites you can check us out if you want specifically to know more about the millennial aspect and focusing mostly on intergenerational communication. Our website is millennialpi.com. And also our other website is fly/highcoaching.com. You can find information about us on both of those platforms.
Andrea: Great. And we’ll make sure to link those websites into our show notes on our websites. So, Porschia, thank you so much for coming here today and sharing your voice of influence with our listeners.
Porschia Parker: Thank you so much for having me, Andrea. I really, really enjoyed chatting with you.