September-October 2008 Issue

Special Two-part Feature: Understanding and Dealing with Generational Differences:
Two Esteemed Chiefs Speak Out . . .

Captain Boomer and the Company of Y’s

I taught a fire officer class for some 25-year+ veterans a while back, and while discussing the generation gap between officers and junior firefighters, a 28-year veteran officer told me that it was my job as a fire administrator to hire Generation Y firefighters that think like Baby Boomers. I think this statement exemplifies how some Boomers are less willing to adapt or change in this stage of their life. Where on earth are we going to find 20-something-year-old people who think like Boomers? Our department is probably similar to most with only about the top 20 percent of staff that falls into the boomer category (born between 1943 and 1960). The rest are split about 60% generation X and the final 20% Y generation or Millenials, Nexters, the Internet generation or most appropriate… the Why generation. During this class discussion another officer with similar tenure went on to tell us how he had one of his younger guys help him out with an excel spread sheet that automatically filled in and cross referenced information for his shift’s vacation schedule but didn’t know how to start a chainsaw because he didn’t know what the choke was for. When Captain Boomer expressed his disbelief for his rookie’s inability to start the saw, I can only assume the rookie felt the same about his Captain when it came to set up his vacation schedule.

This is just a common stereotypical example of the difference between Captain Boomer and his 20 something firefighters. A paramedic friend of mine was telling me how his new 26-year-old partner was driving him nuts because he is always asking why they do things a certain way. I told both Boomers that I’ve experienced something along the same lines. I had Firefighter Y come to me asking for my car keys so he could do the vehicle check as they normally do on Tuesday afternoon. He was gone for about 10 minutes, and when he returned my keys he informed me, “Chief, just so you know, you’re almost out of washer fluid,” and with a smile on his face he turned and walked out of the office. I sat there sort of stunned, smiling back at him until it sank in — he was the same young guy that checked the SCBA bottles this morning during truck inventory checks. His job was to check my vehicle, and that is exactly what he did. I sat in this kid’s interview when he applied for the job, and he was great! I mean he was outstanding! He was one of those people who, when they leave the room, you know that they are one of the group to be hired. He isn’t a dumb person, but he is one of those Generation Y types; and this type of response may be more widespread than we think.

I asked a group of senior firefighters and officers (30+) lately, how they would describe the Generation Y firefighter. They responded with: “They’re lazy,” “they don’t know nothing” and “you have to tell them how to do everything and why.” So I asked them to compare the pros and cons of the veteran Boomer to the rookie Y, and this is some of what they came up with:

Veteran Boomer	Rookie Y
Pros:	Pros:
Experienced (job and life)	Enthusiastic
Team-oriented	Open book / blank page
Service-oriented	Techno-savvy

Cons:	Cons:
Set in their ways	Limited knowledge
Less willing to learn new methods	Assume they know more than they really do

We all understand and recognize that these are stereotypical comments and are not intended to insult anyone but simply ways to describe a generation.

So what is the fix to get Captain Boomer and Firefighter Y on the same page philosophically and operationally? Maybe there is no “fix,” but rather we can work toward better intergenerational relations by attempting to understand what it is that makes the other generation tick. Let’s look at some of the life influences that have helped to make what we are today:

Expectations: Boomers expect to work very hard to get ahead. They were new home buyers as young couples with 18 percent mortgage rates. They invented the 60-hour work week. Y’s expect to be rewarded. They expect to have a boss or employer that shows constant appreciation. They expect to be led well with little tolerance for incompetence and expect to be accurately informed at all times.
Influences: Boomers were primarily influenced in their limited exposure to the beliefs and opinions of their parents and co-workers whereas Generation Y has such a wide spectrum of influences beyond those of the Boomer. The Y’s watched MTV with young men who are very successful with money, girls and cars and who are praised for destroying hotel rooms. Boomers borrowed money to buy a home or the family car, as opposed to some Y’s who borrow their disposable income.
Heroes: When Boomers grew up, they had favorites like Keon and Cournoyer, and their team was the Maple Leafs or the Canadiens. Even on the West Coast in the early '70’s, we had the Canucks. Yes, they sucked, but they were our team. Remember when Bobby Orr went to Chicago in the mid '70’s? Boston fans were sick about it; or what about Gretzky being traded to L.A? Canada lost the best player to ever play the game … to an American team nonetheless! Professional sports heroes now seem to go where the money is. Now the admiration is less on “team” and more on the individuals and the personal records they hold.
U.S. Army recruiting: Back in the Boomer's day, the U.S. Army recruiting slogan was “Uncle Sam Wants You.” The single recruitment campaign was of one old white guy; a poster of Uncle Sam who was scarier than the enemy. What that really said was if you don’t volunteer, we may just draft you! The U.S. military has adapted their recruiting message over the years to “We do more before nine o’clock in the morning than most people do in a day” to “Be all you can be” to where they are today: they have realized that their recruiting has to target a number of demographic groups in the Y generation. They focus on the individual as the Y’s expect in the slogan: “Army of One.” The military’s tactical focus is now on “mission” rather than on “command,” which means that rather than the boss being the focus by giving orders that are followed out to the tee no matter what, today’s focus is on the mission, where the soldiers (individuals) are expected to offer input (observation, orientation, decision, action) and then the re-evaluation begins. The officer has the final decision, of course; but he is expecting to get intelligence from all members of the company. The Army has also realized that Y is less impressed with figures of authority such as officer ranks and regalia. The bars and bugles don’t mean as much to Y as they did to Boomer. Competency, strong leadership and being valued are what impresses Y to follow.
Education Styles: Captain Boomer was lectured to, and he was expected to memorize things like formulas and times tables. He may have received corporal punishment if he failed to do so or if he talked in class. Firefighter Y on the other hand has a variety of options for learning from public school, home school, Waldorf, Montessori, church-affiliated schooling or private schooling. Many of these were around when Boomer went to school, but Y has more exposure to the options. When Firefighter Y went to school, his teacher was more of a guiding facilitator than an authority figure, and his input was more expected to debate the subject rather than being told what to think.
Home Life: Boomer was expected “to be seen but not heard.” He listened to Dad simply because he was Dad, and if he didn’t, he was going to "get it.” Boomer’s Mom stayed home and maintained the house, and when Boomer and his siblings got home from school, Mom had extra labor; so Boomer did chores where he learned how to start the lawnmower or chainsaw, and he learned what the choke on the lawnmower actually did. Today, more mothers work outside the home, and the weekend is “family time.” We are more interested in entertaining ourselves as a family unit and less interested in maintaining our yards and homes when not at our jobs. We sometimes hire these jobs out, and maybe because of this, young people are less apt to learn a lot of the hands-on chores/skills that Boomer did as a youngster. Boomer was excited about his birthday because Mom made a special afternoon out of it with a cake and some backyard games for his friends. Y’s Mom might drop $100 for no special reason on laser tag for Y and his buddies. That’s why the Y generation is sometimes referred to as Pedestal children. We go into work late so we can drive our kids to school in $60,000 SUVs after we pick up a Starbucks coffee; we double park so that we can stand and chat with the other parents who are drinking Starbucks and watch our children play until the bell rings and we are absolutely certain that they are under the teacher's control when she meets them at the door to escort them in to class.
Career Advancement: Boomers are loyal to their department, and they accept the fact that they must put their time in before advancement in their department. My generation (the Xer’s) may feel they need to leave their fire department in order to pursue career advancement, and the Y’s may leave the fire service for other career challenges. Don’t be surprised when this happens.

So what’s the secret? Sorry to lead you through all this rambling only to find that I don’t have the magic formula. I’m thankful for Boomer and his generation because on our job, they’re the ones who get things done. They take on the extra projects that make the difference, whether it’s building a room to store old bunker gear or teach the newbie how to march. In a lot of ways, the new members of today are better, smarter, stronger and faster. They’re better prepared for the street out of boot camp because Boomers are usually the ones who train them, but they do lack one thing for sure; and its something unique to the emergency services. We exist in a paramilitary structure with rank and chain of command. Our duties are in some ways primitive. We put out fire and help people who are sick and injured, and we protect our neighbor’s homes and property from disaster. Boomer must teach Y about the paramilitary service we’re in, its history and how we rely on each other as a team and that the chain of command is how we must operate. The work can be tough, and great things are expected of Y, on and off duty. They represent us all in their actions. Captain Boomer has to come to grips with the fact that Y has different motivations, goals and expectations and that he actually works for Y as his officer. Captain Boomer needs to listen to the young person; they have good ideas. If Y asks why Boomer is so anal about how the pre-connects are loaded, he needs explain to him why, so that everyone on every shift in every fire station knows exactly how the hose will deploy in an emergency. If Y has a better idea for loading the hose, Boomer needs to get his crew to try it out, and if it works better, then he (as the officer) needs to talk to whomever to make it happen and improve the way business is done. Firefighter Y will respect Captain Boomer more for his willingness to listen to his opinion and spearhead a good idea up the chain.

Captain Boomer has his work cut out for him when trying to understand Firefighter Y at times, so communicating ideas and expectations is a good place to start. Firefighter Y will appreciate and want to follow an officer who takes time to explain what is expected, show how to do things, to be kept in the loop on what’s going on and for Boomer to give him feedback on how he’s doing once in a while.