Lisa’s Generation Relations Blog

Hi All,

I recently received a copy of Tamara Erickson’s new book: “What’s Next, Gen X? Keeping Up, Moving Ahead, and Getting the Career You Want”. It’s really an interesting read (especially if your a member of Gen X), where she accurately (I think) discusses the issues Xer’s face being the “stuck in the middle” generation, but follows that up with a framework Gen X can follow for shaping and creating a meaningful career. I also totally agree with her overview of “who” Gen X is as it’s completely inline with how I describe them in the books I’ve written and in the seminars I conduct.

Below is a clip from a Press Release about her book that will explain it far better than I. But, after that, I’ve also included a terrific interview with Tamara for more insights. You’ll also see  her complete bio and contact info at the very bottom of this post.

Here’s a clip from the Press Release about the book that can explain it a bit better than I:

MEMBERS OF GENERATION X—the 30-to-44 age cohort—have drawn the short stick when it comes to work. The economy has been stacked against them from the beginning. Worse, they’re sandwiched between Boomers (with their constant back-patting blather and refusal to retire) and Gen Y’s (with their relentless confidence and demands for attention).

Gen X’s are stuck in the middle—of their lives and between two huge generations that dote on each other and that are taking up a little too much of X’ers’ room.

But they can move forward in their career. In What’s Next, Gen X? Tamara Erickson shows how. She explains the forces affecting attitudes and behaviors in other generations—Traditionalists (born 1928-1945), Boomers (born 1946-1964), X’ers, and Y’ers (born 1980-1995)—so X’ers can start relating more productively with bosses, peers, and employees.

Erickson then assesses Gen X’ers progress in life so far and analyzes the implications of organizational and technological changes for their professional future. She lays out a powerful framework for shaping a satisfying, meaningful career, revealing how X’ers can:

• Use their unique capabilities to become effective leaders
• Identify work that matches what they care most about
• Succeed in a corporate career or an entrepreneurial venture
• Spot and seize newly emerging professional opportunities

For example, she explains how X’ers can find a type of work and a place of work that suits them—by identifying work activities that engage them, that feel effortless and energizing, and that activate “life lures” such as the opportunity to create something of lasting value, to be part of a winning team, or to take on interesting challenges.

Provocative and engaging, What’s Next, Gen X? helps the 30-to-44 set break free from the middle—and chart a fulfilling course for the years ahead.

AN INTERVIEW WITH TAMARA ERICKSON:

You wrote a book for Boomers and one for members of Generation Y. Why a book for Gen X?

Each of these generations faces unique challenges and brings specific strengths to today’s workplace. For organizations to succeed in the challenging years ahead, they need a combination of the best from each generation. In Retire Retirement: Career Strategies for the Boomer Generation, my message to Boomers was to find ways to remain productive contributors. And in Plugged In: The Generation Y Guide to Thriving at Work, my message to Y’s was to blend their strengths with the realities of the corporate world.

For Gen X, the challenge is that they’re wedged between two huge generations competing for the same opportunities. X’ers need to maximize their peak career years to their full advantage, given today’s turbulent economy. And the steps they take over the next decade will shape their long-term financial stability and achievement of other goals. I wrote this book for them—to invite them to reflect on what they’ll do next and to offer ideas for exploring new possibilities.

In one of your new book’s chapters, you explain how X’ers can “make the organization you work for work for you.” Can you provide an example of how to do this?

Almost 95 percent of X’ers work in organizations that are owned or managed by others. To get whatever they want in those organizations, they need to be perceived as valuable contributors and work effectively with others. This is especially critical during economic downturns. Probably the most important thing they can do is play to their strengths. They need to cash in on the returns they acquired from the time and energy they spent during their twenties and zero in on what they’re really good at and what they’re not. I present a list of questions that can help them identify how they can stand out from others, communicate their “brand,” and cut out the things that aren’t their strong suit.

In what respects can X’ers provide needed leadership in the coming years?

Future leaders in all spheres will have to contend with a world characterized by finite limits, no easy answers, complex problems on multiple fronts, and an increasingly diverse range of viewpoints. I’m convinced that X’ers will bring important leadership qualities to that world. They’re richly multicultural, as their awareness of global issues was shaped in their youth. They bring a more unconscious acceptance of diversity than any preceding generation. And they’re incredibly pragmatic. They’re the ones who’ll manage crises by applying toughness and resolution; questioning long-held truths; and breaking the destructive norms of corporate life, such as long hours, narrow-minded perspectives, and a language of combat. Their unique strengths will enable them to foster adaptability in organizations facing ambiguity and to spur the innovation needed for organizations to survive.

TAMARA ERICKSON’S BIO:

TAMARA ERICKSON is President of The nGenera Innovation Network (ngenera.com). She is both a respected McKinsey Award-winning author and popular and engaging storyteller. Her compelling views of the future are based on extensive research on changing demographics and employee values and, most recently, on how successful organizations work. Her work discerns and describes interesting and important trends in our future and provides actionable counsel to help organizations and individuals prepare today. Tammy (TammyErickson.com) has coauthored five Harvard Business Review articles (including McKinsey Award winner “It’s Time to Retire Retirement”), the book Workforce Crisis: How to Beat the Coming Shortage of Skills and Talent, and an MIT Sloan Management Review article. Visit her blog, “Across the Ages” on hbr.org.