I am finishing my
dinner one evening and my 17 year old daughter starts to
clear the table. My son says,, “If
you don’t rinse the plate the spaghetti sauce will bake on...” my
daughter says, “My bad… and proceeds to rinse the dish before
putting it in the dish washer. Another time my son is blabbing about
a classmate’s "killer" test score and as I listen I hear a language,
albeit, very clear and direct, still one unlike my generation.
I correct my son's grammar during this monologue and he quips, “My
bad” and proceeds to correct his grammar and carry on.
OK, I
realize this may not sound like a big deal but...in essence these
two kids have learned to say in their 2010 slang... “sorry,
I’m wrong”, take the useful feedback, correct the situation and carry on. Without
pause. I don’t
think I learned to openly admit that I was wrong until I was in my
mid 20's and they at 17 and 20 are right comfortable taking feedback
and moving on.
These two little words
"My Bad" have allowed a
generation to be ok with doing something slightly incorrect, make an
adjustment and keep going. Oddly I have watched many fellow parents
quiver at the ‘slag’ get stuck on it and remain stuck. I guess what I am trying to say is that every
single generation has a language unique to them, as does an industry
or level of leadership or area of any country for that matter. Does
anyone remember “Hey man”, “Eh?”, “Where’s the beef?”, “How’s it hang’in?, “What’s up?”, “I need to burn that” (referring to a CD—not
matches) or what have you and this conversation is really about more
than language.
Younger
generations move faster, think faster and learn really, really
quick. They don't get caught up in the "being wrong" and they are
little sponges that take what anyone has to teach and they store it
in their portable hard drive ( other wise known as brains) and carry
on. Now think, what does than mean for me in my management and
leadership role... how are you embracing this or are you stifling
this?
Over the years
I have been amazed at just how easy it is to give feedback to both my
kids. What I learned... TEACH.... don't criticize... there is a
huge difference. Teaching respects the fact that the other person
wants to learn. I hope my efforts will translate into them being good employees
one day and someone’s great boss the next day… Remember… “my bad” is
kind of like saying— “oops...sorry”. Sheesh...my dad would call
it...uhm... what was that phrase... something about a horse ,a gift
and a mouth...?
Using this
little ah-ha...Ask yourself how do you relate to people at work, at
home? Do you
expect
others to speak the way you do or are you open minded and willing to
have some fun with communication. Most conflicts in the workplace
start with misunderstandings or poor communication. If we all expect
everyone else to communicate the way WE need them to we haven’t got
a hope. Tomorrow choose to listen to a different age group – hear
what they say and how they say it. If you don’t grasp what the
other person is trying to communicate...simply say “my bad” and
start over!
Generational
Differences are everywhere in the workplace, however Generational
Strengths are abundant if you can see the "MY BADs" for what they
really are you've got it made!
for more
on Generational Differences check out Olivia McIvor's newest
release:
Four
Generations One Workplace: sharing in the information age -
FairWinds Press
