Helping Multi-Generational Workplaces Thrive: The Snowflake Myth

Alex Atherton is a former educator, turned motivational speaker and author of The Snowflake Myth. The Snowflake Myth examines how Gen Z, shaped by economic uncertainty and digital transformation, are our most diligent, pragmatic and patient generation yet. It offers practical solutions, for both professional and personal settings, to enable multi-generational settings to thrive. 

Tell us a bit about yourself  
 

I’m Alex, a Yorkshireman exiled in London. A former educator and now an author! I’m also the ex-secondary school headteacher who heard the word ‘snowflake’ once too often to describe my former students.

You’re now a generations speaker and leadership coach, working with an array of very impressive companies. What led you to pursue these opportunities? 
 

I came out of running secondary schools not long before the pandemic. That gave me time to think about what I really wanted to do next and the inclination to follow my instincts. I looked at what I might be able to do, and threw myself into all of it. It turned out that all the talks I gave, and the one to one meetings I had, over time could be translated elsewhere. It also helped to have a topic that works in any industry.  

What motivated you to turn your experience as a headteacher into a book? 
 

The book has ended up being about a lot more than that

It started when I heard the generation of young people I’d been responsible for in schools described in ways I didn’t understand or appreciate. It was so different from how I remembered them. So I started digging. My peers either couldn’t find young staff, keep them when they could find them or understand them when they could keep them. The purpose of the book is to fill those gaps.

How did you find the process of writing your book? Did you have any writing routines? 
 

A steep learning curve, and I was very fortunate to find such a brilliant editor in Kris Emery. With everything I do it wasn’t possible to reserve the first two or three hours of each day to write, but it was a whole series of chunks of time at any point of the day or week. It was one mountain after another, but I got there eventually. Around 500 hours all in, if that helps anyone.

What made you choose self-publishing over traditional publishing? 
 

The main issue was wanting a particular publishing date. In an ideal world I would have got it out before September 2025, but the alternative was a traditional publisher 6 to 12 months later.

There’s many other advantages but that was the decider for me.

Do you have any advice for people thinking of self-publishing non-fiction? 
 

It’s an investment of time and money, as well as emotion and toil. The key for me is the indirect return on investment. I’m only ten days in but I can see the shift in how people see me already. I’ve just spent part of this afternoon signing books bought by conference attendees after a talk. I’m in the conversation for conference line ups which weren’t on the agenda before. In a world where short form video and bitesize quotes can dominate, there’s still a place for a substantial and detailed piece of work.

What has been the highlight of your self-publishing journey so far?
 

Opening the first box of books. That also showed me the true value of working with Troubador. A whole series of people have contributed to pulling what I see as a really beautiful product together, whatever anyone makes of the contents. Cover design, typesetting, proof reading, creating tables, choosing fonts and so on – all in a single package.

The Snowflake Myth can be bought on Troubador's bookshop here.