Dealing with the Generations: What Do Good Managers Understand?

12/17/19 • 37 min

Managing the multigenerational workplace is more demanding today than ever before. Why is it now such a challenge? One reason: we are living and working longer. If you were born today, you could expect to live 79 years, that is 18 years longer than if you were born in 1935. Another reason: technology is changing our lives and the rate of that change is increasing. Once, just being a 30-year veteran of an organization made you a valued expert. Today, we are valued for our technical expertise in mastering artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and social media. Does assigning traits to the different generations help or hurt when managing the workplace? What insights do we have for today’s managers dealing with up to four generations working side-by-side? Zenell Brown, Alisa Shannon, Rene Armenta, and Kelly Hutton discuss what it means to oversee a court with so many different age groups working together.

This is an absorbing podcast episode for listeners curious about generational differences, managing the generations, courts, and court administration.

Leave a comment or question about the episode at [email protected].

Guest Speakers

As a Court Administrator, Zenell Brown has garnered respect for her ethical leadership and innovation. She has built her approach on three pillars: communication, leadership responsibility and accountability, and diversity and inclusion. She has shared her “Justice for All” leadership and organizational wisdom at local, state, and national level conferences for court managers and teams. Zenell continues to add to her current credentials of Juris Doctor (Wayne State University Law School), Public Service Administration Graduate Certificate (Central Michigan University), Court Administration Certificate (Michigan State University), and Certified Diversity Professional (National Diversity Council-DiversityFirst).

Rene Armenta was born and raised in Tucson, AZ, He graduated from Rincon High School and started his career with the courts in early February of 2019 at the Pima County Juvenile Courthouse, assisting both clients and court staff, directing them to their appointment, and providing assistance on court date information. Recently transitioning to the downtown Superior Courthouse as a Case Management Specialist assisting on the Family Law Bench, he assists in the efficiency of caseflow by processing court documents, ensuring court dates and times are correctly scheduled, assisting in scheduling Pro Tems and so much more.

Alisa Shannon has served as a civil servant for the past twenty plus years. She is the Deputy Court Administrator of the Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan - Criminal Division. In this role, Alisa oversees the management of the criminal case processing departments and works tirelessly to build strong relationships and help to administer criminal justice in a fair, professional, and efficient manner.

In addition to overseeing the operations of the Criminal Division, Alisa has led many court-wide leadership committees. As a trusted leader, she directed the state’s largest trial court through the Strategic Planning process. Much of her career success can be attributed to her ability to build relationships, create supportive environments, and advocate on behalf of others.

Alisa has earned a Master Certification in Business Leadership and Management, with a specific focus on Strategic Decision-making, Strategic Leadership, and Strategic Management from Michigan State University. She is a certified trainer in Restorative Practices and in the art of having Crucial Conversations. She served on several committees with the National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies, and most recently represents the court on the Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board of the Michigan Diversity and Inclusion Council.

This is an absorbing podcast episode for listeners curious about generational differences, managing the generations, courts, and court administration.

Leave a comment or question about the episode at [email protected].

Guest Speakers

Previous Episode

Social Media and the Courts: How Do We Deal with This Growing Reality?

Blogs and podcasts are a growing fixture on our social landscape. There are now more than 750,000 podcasts produced and over 48 million people a week listen to a podcast. Estimates are that billions of people worldwide read one or more blogs on the internet. This is a fact that courts face along with all government institutions. When grappling with the media, courts can no longer deal simply with the city newspaper and local television reporters. Bloggers and podcasters demand equal treatment with traditional media outlets. What advice do we have for courts that are facing the challenge of social media’s blogs and podcasts? Darren Toms and Stephen Thompson talk about how courts can deal with the growing phenomenon of social media’s focus on the justice system.

This is a fascinating podcast episode for listeners interested in courts, court administration, social media, blogs, and podcasts.

Leave a comment or question about the episode at [email protected].

Guest Speakers

A child of the northeast, Stephen Thompson earned a bachelor’s degree from Boston University, served a tour in the Peace Corps teaching English as a foreign language in West Africa, and earned a master’s degree from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. He worked for more than twenty years as a newspaper reporter and editor, most of it at the now-defunct Tampa Tribune, before he was hired by the Sixth Judicial Circuit to be its public information officer in 2014.

Darren Toms is the public information officer and community outreach coordinator for the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in Cleveland, Ohio, where he works with the media and community groups on a regular basis. Darren is the president-elect of the Conference of Court Public Information Officers (CCPIO) and recently hosted the organization’s annual meeting in Cleveland. Prior to joining the Court in 2013, Darren spent 16 years at Newsradio WTAM 1100, the news-talk station in Cleveland, as news director, anchor and reporter. Darren also spent seven years in television news. A graduate of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, Darren is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Do You Want to Learn More?

Access to link to these articles to learn about blogs and podcasts.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-poll-the-jump-in-popularity-in-podcasts/

https://www.podcastinsights.com/podcast-statistics/

https://discoverpods.com/why-are-podcasts-popular/

Next Episode

Is Bail Reform Working? Charlotte’s Revealing Story

It has been estimated that nationally, more than 60 percent of people in jail have not been convicted of a crime, they are awaiting trial. Almost 500,000 defendants are in jail pretrial because they cannot afford to post bail. Three-quarters of pretrial detainees have been charged with a drug or property crime. They could remain incarcerated for days, months, and sometimes even years. They could lose their jobs, lose contact with loved ones, and lose the ability to care for their families. Many courts across the country are implementing bail reform. Bail reform allows more defendants charged with lower-level crimes to stay out of jail before trial, stay on their jobs, and stay in the community. What has been the experience of those courts that have implemented bail reform? Judge Roy Wiggins and Judge Elizabeth Trosch, from North Carolina’s 26thJudicial District in the City of Charlotte, discuss their Court’s experience implementing bail reform. How is it working and what we can expect?

This is an intriguing podcast episode for listeners curious about bail, bail reform, managing pretrial defendants, courts, and court administration.

Leave a comment or question about the episode at [email protected].

About the Guest Speakers

Judge Elizabeth Trosch has presided over both Civil and Criminal District Courtrooms, with an emphasis on Juvenile Law, Domestic Violence, Drug Treatment Court and Child Support Enforcement. In her capacity as a District Court Judge, Judge Trosch has also presided over the Mecklenburg County Youth Treatment Court and consistently volunteers to hold truancy court at a local elementary school. She is State Certified Juvenile Court Judge and has earned Domestic Child Sex Trafficking Judicial Institute Certificate.

Judge Trosch is a graduate of Hollins College, where she earned a B.A. in Philosophy and Social Psychology. She earned her law degree at Wake Forest University School of Law where she was a recipient of the North Carolina State Bar Pro Bono Service Award.

Judge Roy H. Wiggins received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, in 1984 (Deans List, Honor Roll) from East Carolina University. He received his Juris Doctor (Cum Laude) from the Campbell University School of Law in 1990. He was with the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office (Assistant District Attorney) from 1991 to 1995. He was in private practice from 1995 to 2018. In 2018 he was appointed by North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper to serve as a District Court Judge.

Sonya L. Harper has been Director of Mecklenburg County's Criminal Justice Services Department since June 2016. She came to the County from The National Association of Drug Court Professionals, where she worked as project director and point of contact for the National Drug Court Resource Center. In that role, she provided instruction and technical assistance on program development and program improvement processes to more than 2,800 drug courts throughout the United States and its territories.

Sonya earned a bachelor of arts degree in criminal justice from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and a master of public administration degree from Appalachian State University.