Today’s organizations are complex phenomena not easily understood and often misrepresented. This is due in part to the complex structures of most and their staffing with people of various educational levels, backgrounds, cultures, values, personalities, motivations and attitudes towards employment.
Never before has business seen such disparity — a gap, if you will — between generations in the workforce. The average employer potentially has four generations in the workplace, three of which predominate and exemplify the greatest disparity: baby boomers (born 1946-1964), Gen Xers (born 1965-1980) and Gen Y/millennials (born 1980-2000). Each has its own set of values, workplace styles, preferred method of communication and motivation. Each responds differently to authority, rules and workplace norms.
What does a leader do to find harmony in his or her organization?
First and foremost, bridging the generational gap requires an understanding and awareness of oneself and others. Get yourself and your key leaders some training on this subject so the organization is more sensitive to generational differences. This is most easily accomplished and effective through facilitated training in a non-threatening environment. It is more important that leadership changes vs. the workforce.
Embrace what is learned. Adapt your own management style and business culture to exemplify awareness and empathy the different generational preferences. Provide accommodations for the various work styles/preferences.
For example, Gen Xers, for the most part, grew up as “latchkey” kids. They are independent, resilient, adaptable and up for most any challenge. Given this, they work best alone and when empowered to make their own decisions. Baby boomers respond best to personal contact through face-to-face meetings. They do not require, and are somewhat insulted by, constant feedback and reinforcement.
Understand the expectations of work/life balance. “Boomers” think life revolves around work, and that the only way to the top is through hard work and dedication. Gen Xers enjoy flexible work schedules and seek recognition for accomplishments over an eight-hour day. Millennials are committed to their careers, believe opportunity for advancement is a right, not an earned response, and expect to use technology in lieu of time at the office.
Effective leading across generations is not a one-size-fits-all proposition.
Take advantage of generational differences. Realize and make known throughout your business that each generation brings to the workplace a certain set of values, strengths and motivations. Current research indicates most workplace conflicts arise from perceived differences in values. For example, older workers may see members of the younger generation as aloof, based on their work hours or perceived ethic. The younger generation, in turn, may see the older generation as workaholics, micro-managers and too structured.
Let people learn from each other. Facilitate mentoring between different generations to encourage more interaction. Younger generations can learn from the wisdom of senior employees, while older generations can gain fresh perspectives from young people. Focusing on individual strengths is important, but imagine how much more effective your organization could be if individuals shared and learned from each other.
The challenge for today’s leader is to accept what one cannot change, recognize and embrace different generational attributes, adapt his or her leadership style to engage employees, and get the generations to see past their biases and work together toward organizational goals. A leader’s success depends on the one person the leader has complete control over, the only person he or she can change; and by changing this one, the leader will change the masses.
Henry “Hank” Hobbs is engineering project manager II for the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
