There are 4 major generations of people in our world today.

The first group:

The Traditionalists are ages 65 and older (born between 1900-1945). This group is defined by their loyalty and the way they used the "chain of command" to accomplish their goals.

The Baby Boomers are ages 45 to 64 (born between 1946-1964) and are defined by optimistic attitudes. They used the "change of command" concept for more upward and mobile opportunities for success.

The Generation X, range from ages 29 to 44 (born between 1965-1980) and have been labeled "the group that questions everything" to see how realistic they are. They have seen their parents lose their retirement or job to outsourced positions. They have been taught that they need to position themselves to become successful no matter what company they are at. This is called "self-command".

4. The Generation Y, the Millennials, from ages 10 to 28 (born between 1981-1999). Your generation has the question of "what is ideal?" The answer is: a quality lifestyle of balance between work, school, and fun in yourpersonal life! This generation looks for collaboration. They try to work together to come up with the best plan possible for everyone to succeed!

What a great idea for a group of young thinkers! It's a great generation to be a part of, however there is a lot of criticism on the Gen Y group...

The Gen Y group has been labeled "lazy". Many businesses call them "uncaring". Mangers have referred to them as "unwilling".

I think it's time to bring out the best in the Y Generation. To do this, we need to make sure people understand your real focus: Teamwork. If you focus on teamwork and develop it, it is a win-win for everyone!

Here are 3 quick keys to establishing a good team and being a good team player!

Key# 1- Get a clear goal

Take the time to get everyone on your team together, and come up with the same goal. Have you ever been in a group where everyone wants to do something different? Nothing gets done at all! You find yourself sitting around trying to figure out what direction you are going in. If the team doesn't have a common goal then no one knows what the direction is, so it leads to many different people going their own way!

One of the best ways to do this is to elect one person to lead the goal discussion. Take a piece of paper and write TEAM

Together Everyone Achieves More!

down ideas from each person in the group. At this point, you can either select the one you think is best, or vote on the ideas as a group. The key is to agree on one common goal, a solid vision that most people can agree on.

Key #2 - Know your role

Now that you have a good team vision, it's time to decide who is going to do what. Look at all the things that need to be done. Pull out another piece of paper and brainstorm or map out all the different requirements it will take to get your goal accomplished.

"I'll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it's sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot." Kobe Bryant

Next, you will want to determine who is best suited to do each of the tasks.

Make sure that when roles are assigned, each person knows exactly what to do.

This is where a lot of problems occur! It is essential that you ask everyone, individually, to tell you what is required of them. This will prevent any possible confusion and assure you, the leader, that they know how to do their job.

When you are deciding who is going to do what, this should be a group effort.

Discuss the strengths of each teammate aloud, so that everyone gets to feel pride in what they do and how they contribute to the team! Getting people on board is easiest when you allow people to do the things they like best. So try to get input on what each team member would like to do.

Key #3 - Communicate

It's time to take action! Just before everyone goes their own direction, be sure you have given clear instructions.

üWhen is the project due?

üWhat daily or weekly communication do youhave in place to check the progress?

üIf there are any changes during the project, how will you communicate?

Should they call you? Is it better to email you? Should they just wait until the next meeting time?

One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is that they don't have a set way to communicate to everyone. So they just hope everybody does their job! If they don't do what is required, the leader gets blamed. So make sure you have a communication plan, and maybe even have a back-up plan!

Good leaders build a team around each other.

It's better to get 1% effort from 100 people, than 100% effort from just YOU.