The feature story in the March 2007 edition of PMI’s PM Network, titled “Bridging the Gap”, is a look at some of the differences in style and communication that newer professionals and project managers have compared to veterans. I enjoyed the article and found some points to agree with 
and some in conflict with my personal experiences.
In the article there is a quote from Dave Davis, PMP, asserting that “the younger generation doesn’t grasp the value of face time and the importance of building a team identity…They avoid social time and group meetings and end up identifying more with the tasks than the team.”
Ouch. I can see how he might be right though. It wasn’t long after I entered the professional world that I realized how important relationships are to getting things done, mostly because I had a mentor who cared enough to kick me in the teeth when I needed it:
If you are within walking distance, get off your butt and go talk to them. If that’s not feasible, pick up the phone and call them. Email should only be used for following up, giving technical details, or links and attached files.
That made a lot of sense to me. I’ve tried to live this, although I will admit that sometimes I catch myself after having sent an email, saying “why didn’t I just pick up the phone and call?” I’ve seen this with colleagues too, and I’ll admit that it seems the younger people tend to almost seem afraid to pick up the phone and call, or walk over and talk something out. There have been a few times recently where people have come over to my desk and asked what to do with something that came through email. When I look at it I can predict with fair accuracy that it’s an email chain at least 3-4 responses long, and no one understands each other. At that point I usually say, “It looks like this email is done. Give them a call.” On the email chain question, personally I have a rule that if it’s more than 2 replies and still needs clarification, it’s time to walk over or pick up the phone.
New communication channels have come about since that sage advice mentioned earlier. Now there are chat, video conferencing, and screen sharing/online collaboration tools to manage. Chat is definitely an area were younger professionals get benefit if it’s used properly, and older people do not. Most people 30 and under grew up with computers and lots of typing, and we can communicate via chat without much effort. Video conferencing doesn’t seem to be too widely used yet, and if so it’s usually for more formal meetings and not daily/weekly ones. Screen sharing and online collaboration tools are wonderful, especially if you are on the phone too. It can be a great way to present a tool, train, or collaborate on building project plans.
I personally see the opposite trend when it comes to following up on verbal communications with a written summary and/or action plan. I find the more experienced people seem to have a meeting and not send out meeting minutes, action items, etc. Younger and more inexperienced people like myself I would probably give a 50% hit rate on following up properly on meetings. It may be because when I send out status reports or meeting summaries, I use a set of form templates I created myself, and they are not company standard. There are no company templates for status reports or meeting summaries (that I know of). I think younger people are a little more willing to ‘rock the boat’ like that and create their own processes based on the conditions at hand.
In summary, I believe everyone has something to learn and improvements to make, myself included. So if you’re a new professional, go find a geriatric mentor and really listen to what they have to say. Veterans with the scars of battle, go find a young whipper-snapper and show them the ropes, but listen and learn from them too.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Josh,
Dave Davis here, glad to see your comments and as I told the author I didn’t want generalizations as there are exceptions to every rule. But I stand by what I said.
I do believe there is a different relationship between the “younger” generation and the “older” generation in their approach to work teams. And its not really only to the team, but to the company in general. An individual’s identity with an employer is much less important than 30 years ago. As it should be, the days of cradle to grave employment are history and companies pick up and dispose of employees quickly. There is also a trend to pick up short term contractors so the relationship building is more difficult. It makes it hard for team identity if you are treated as a disposable employee.
I do want to mention that us older guys have been using PCs for over 25 years and some of us were emailing and even IM’ing before many young professionals were in school. I cut my teeth on Unix where you could send messages to another users tty port real time.
And yes – there are many vintage project managers who are pathetic at doing follow up and meeting minutes. There are also some email slugs who spend all day looking at email and not really reading any of it.
I didn’t want to get into a generation thing, but I won’t back off from a good discussion. I think I learn things from younger professionals every day and I hope they learn from me. As you stated, there is a lot to be said for mentoring for both the mentor and the apprentice.
Dave Davis, PMP
dldavispmp@gmail.com
IT Toolbox Blog: http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/pm/dldavis/
Josh,Dave Davis here, glad to see your comments and as I told the author I didn’t want generalizations as there are exceptions to every rule. But I stand by what I said.I do believe there is a different relationship between the “younger” generation and the “older” generation in their approach to work teams. And its not really only to the team, but to the company in general. An individual’s identity with an employer is much less important than 30 years ago. As it should be, the days of cradle to grave employment are history and companies pick up and dispose of employees quickly. There is also a trend to pick up short term contractors so the relationship building is more difficult. It makes it hard for team identity if you are treated as a disposable employee.I do want to mention that us older guys have been using PCs for over 25 years and some of us were emailing and even IM’ing before many young professionals were in school. I cut my teeth on Unix where you could send messages to another users tty port real time.And yes – there are many vintage project managers who are pathetic at doing follow up and meeting minutes. There are also some email slugs who spend all day looking at email and not really reading any of it.I didn’t want to get into a generation thing, but I won’t back off from a good discussion. I think I learn things from younger professionals every day and I hope they learn from me. As you stated, there is a lot to be said for mentoring for both the mentor and the apprentice. Dave Davis, PMPdldavispmp@gmail.comIT Toolbox Blog: http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/pm/dldavis/
Thank you for the comments Dave!
Your point is well taken on generalization, Pareto’s Law is alive and well.
I completely agree regarding the employee/employer relationships and how they’ve changed. I’ve worked for 2 conglomerates, 1 mid sized company, and 1 startup in 8 short years, and have held a total of 10 positions in those companies. That probably ties or beats the number of positions and companies my parents have worked for. I’m fairly typical in that respect for my age. In my case ‘workforce reductions’ were the sole cause of my leaving any companies, and in today’s world many times it’s either that or the perception of a better opportunity elsewhere.
I also know older people who are great with technology, but I think going back to Pareto it’s more like the 20% who are really immersed in it.
There’s the skinny from a 20 something college guy’s perspective. Thanks again for the comments Dave!
Thank you for the comments Dave!Your point is well taken on generalization, Pareto’s Law is alive and well.
I completely agree regarding the employee/employer relationships and how they’ve changed. I’ve worked for 2 conglomerates, 1 mid sized company, and 1 startup in 8 short years, and have held a total of 10 positions in those companies. That probably ties or beats the number of positions and companies my parents have worked for. I’m fairly typical in that respect for my age. In my case ‘workforce reductions’ were the sole cause of my leaving any companies, and in today’s world many times it’s either that or the perception of a better opportunity elsewhere.I also know older people who are great with technology, but I think going back to Pareto it’s more like the 20% who are really immersed in it.There’s the skinny from a 20 something college guy’s perspective. Thanks again for the comments Dave!