What happened to the X Generation? Maybe I should be asking Douglas Copeland this question? These days its all Boomers and Millennials. I attended a meeting of leaders from various organizations and heard the most disturbing comment. A woman was mentioning that she was heading an important summit for the government to discuss current/impending issues of environment, economics etc. She was very proudly stating that she planned to make sure to include good representation from Generation Y, but not Xer’s “who cares about them, okay well maybe I’ll include the Xer’s.” This brought an uncomfortable laugh from the group and the tag line probably was added as she realized her major faux pas. As an Xer, I was offended. Maybe because the marginalization of my generation has become the norm. I have seen countless articles on generational differences and every association has made this the topic of at least one gathering in the past year. In each of these the conversation is about dealing with Boomers and Millennials. An entire generation is being overlooked and I think it’s a mistake.
The X Generation is the group that will bridge the two larger generations and sure the bridge isn’t as exciting as what has happened on one side or might happen on the other but your Generation X employee’s will likely make or break your companies ability to transition. They have drive and independence. And they have a lot they can teach to both the Boomers and Millennials. They are now or will be soon running your company. If you jump too soon to the next generation you miss out on a lot of knowledge and a lot of great energy for organizational change. In these times we can’t afford to marginalize any particular group or we risk missing opportunities for positive change. Generation X will be your facilitators of change. Don’t forget to include us in the conversation.
