Idaho Commission for Libraries

Attendees at this year’s Summer Institute track “Improving Library Service: Cooperation, Collaboration, Communication” are in for a real treat. While we were both in Chicago, I met with Pat Wagner (Pattern Research) who will be presenting a major portion of the content at the Summer Institute (August 1st - 5th).

Pat is sharp, experienced, and has the ability to relate the material right to the attendee. She shared some theories with me, and I just can’t wait for Summer Institute when the whole group will get to experience the entire program. Later in the conference, I had the opportunity to see one of the programs that Pat was presenting: “Generation Gap: Challengs and Benefits of a Mixed Generation Workforce.”

At the beginning of the program we did some easy exercises during which we identfied events and experiences that had a profound impact on our lives. The events mentioned by participants ranged from Watergate to the Challenger explosion to AIDS to the assassination of JFK, to the events of 9-11. We all have different life experiences and, based on those life experiences, we react to change differently.

We also made a list of our closest friends outside the workplace (excluding family) and noted if any were 20-30 years older or younger than we are. Then examined what it was that we have in common with them noting that there were many points of common ground with people from other generations.

We continued with a look at the tacit rules that exist in a culture, family or organization. These are rules that are not usually written down, but people seem to just know them. They often include things like “Always say hello to others in the morning,” “Everyone takes a turn at circulation,” “Only specific staff are allowed to answer customer questions.” Do we have some expectation that others operate within our unwritten rules?

The whole presentation used the theme of a river. “Some authoris liken life to a river filled with boats of all descriptions, where we journey together across a landscape with other travelers. The underlying premise of ‘generational sociology’ is that where we have entered the river can tell us a lot about what kind of journey we will have.”

We were provided a list of 5 thought-provoking questions:

1. How many of hte things that irritate us about the other generations are based on them breaking the tacit rules for questioning sacred cows?
2. How much of our irritation is based on the fact that we think our part of the river is being invaded? Are there more of them than there are of us? Are we uncomfortable with being the minority? Do they have more resources than we do?
3. How much of our irritation is based on the fact that the other generations want to steer the boat, and we are not willing to give up control? Status is a driving force in humans.
4. How much of our irritation is based on the fact that they have a different pace (speed) than we do?
5. How much of our irritation is based on teh fact that they are different in ways other than age?

Overall, it was a very interesting program that ended with positive examples from the audience about how they fight the mind-reading, sacred cows, tacit rules, and other bad habits in our organizations. In the end, the key seemed to be communication.