From BusinessWeek.com’s Ten Reasons Gen Xers Are Unhappy at Work (my editing):

Corporations really need Gen X—folks in their 30’s to early 40’s, who should begin to serve as our primary corporate leaders over the next couple years. But I fear many current corporate executives are taking this small and therefore precious group for granted.

Why are many X’ers uncomfortable in corporate life?

1. X’ers’ corporate careers got off to a slow start and many are still feeling the pain. You graduated when the economy was slow and the huge bulge of Boomers had already grabbed most of the key jobs. As an article in the May, 1985 issue of Fortune said: “[T]hese pioneers of the baby-bust generation are finding life on the career frontier harsher than ever…they’re snarled in a demographic traffic jam…stuck behind all those surplus graduates of the past decade.”

2. When you were teens, X’ers witnessed adults in your lives being laid off from large corporations, as re-engineering swept through the business lexicon. This engendered in most X’ers a lack of trust in large institutions and a strong desire for a life filled with back-up plans, just in case. Many of the adults you saw laid off and then struggling to reintegrate were in their 40’s—about the age X’ers are reaching today.

3. Most corporate career paths “narrow” at the top —the perceived range of options diminishes as individuals become increasingly specialized in specific functions or roles. X’ers crave options, which assuage your concerns about being backed into a corner, laid off from one path. The sense of narrowing career paths and increased vulnerability is often most palpable at the transition from middle to upper management—just where many of you are today. This step also often brings demands for relocation and separation from established social networks—an additional assault on your sense of self-reliance.

4. Just your luck—the economy was slow when you entered the workforce and now its slowing once again—just as you are standing at the threshold of senior management. Stepping into leadership roles right now looks more difficult and the roles themselves, more vulnerable than they have at any point in the past decade.

5. And then there are those pesky Gen Y’s. Many X’ers are charged with “managing” Y’s which—let’s face it—is an impossible task, at least if you define “manage” as controlling their channels of communication. While vying for promotions and trying to look good, many of you feel that Y’s are doing an end run around.

6. X’ers are, in fact, surrounded by a love fest—and not feeling the love. As I wrote in last week’s post, Boomers and Y’s are learning from each other—and enjoying their interactions. It’s easy to feel left out.

7. X’ers are the most conservative cohort in today’s workforce—and you’re surrounded by “shake ‘em up” types on both sides. In your personal lives, X’ers are not particularly keen on rules, but you had to follow them in the workplace—and you resent it when others now don’t. It seems unfair to be rewriting corporate etiquette when you’ve had to toe the line for so long.

8. Many X’ers’ are guarding a closely held secret: you’re not all as comfortable with the technology that is changing the way things are done as everyone seems to think you are. While it’s perfectly acceptable for Boomers to feign ignorance and ask for help, it’s embarrassing for X’ers to do so.

9. And if Boomer colleagues are annoying, the Boomer parents of your Y reports are down-right over-the-top. X’ers can’t believe the frequency of Y-parent interactions and are deeply turned off by parents who make their presence felt in the workplace.

10. Finally, your own parenting pressures are at a peak. You’re deeply committed to spending more time with your kids than your parents did or were able to spend with you, but juggling is getting more and more difficult.

Perfectly stated in my Gen X opinion.  I definitely feel like we are the forgotten generation stuck between two huge generations that suck all of the oxygen out of the room.

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Inc.com’s Boss School blog discusses a topic that seems like it might be a distinction without a difference – leadership vs. management.  However, I think the author hits a perfect chord right at the start:

Leadership isn’t the same thing as management. Leadership is about providing vision as to where the company is going. It’s about inspiring and motivating. It’s about instilling a certain amount of comfort that someone wiser than you is going to figure a way out of a mess.

I often think of managing as being somewhat akin to being a zookeeper.  You keep things in order and provide needed resources.  That’s not the greatest metaphor, but you get the idea.  Back to the blog post – here is the observation that caught me attention:

Don’t get me wrong. I think everyone wants a fearless leader. But I also think there’s a fine line between sounding positive and sounding delusional. You lose credibility. Done in the proper manner, an honest “negative” appraisal of a difficult situation can be positive if it leads to a good plan of action. It is an opportunity to show the staff that you are critical of yourself and take responsibility.

It is unnerving to work for a leader who seems out of touch with reality.  Leaders who refuse to address the realities of the situation are problematic.  They refuse to acknowledge the present realities which leads to a lack of corrective actions.  We’ve seen a handful of companies absolutely crater under this type of leadership.

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