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Do you ever feel as if you're speaking Sanskrit to a work force that only understands text messaging?
"What we have in American organizations today is a diverse group of workers with differences in attitude affecting everything from recruiting, building teams, dealing with change, motivating, managing, maintaining, and increasing productivity. The differences in attitudes are primarily caused by the difference in their respective generations," writes Sativa Ross.1
We all are aware that the different generations in the workplace have different values and mind-sets. We also know that this generational mix is making leadership more complex. What seems less understood is how to lead these different generations in a way that promotes harmony, productivity, and mutual respect.
According to Renee Taylor, chief of staff at AT&T, Millennials currently make up 11 percent of the company's workforce. The remainder is 39 percent Gen X and 50 percent Baby Boomers. She believes that "understanding the different values between the generations helps (leaders) to adapt the way they work with others and create a more cohesive team environment."
Arguably, the most challenging age group for current leaders is the Millennials, who also are referred to as "Gen Y" because of how often they want to know, "Why?" They differ from the other three generations in such profound ways that using tried and true approaches to leading them are not successful.
Successfully Leading Different Generations
Current leaders would be wise to assess their leadership style, knowledge of the different generations, and personal attitudes toward the different members of their work force. The following questions can serve as a basis for evaluating personal perspectives and approaches:
* What differentiates each generation?
* Which generations are you responsible for leading?
* How do generational differences impact your perceptions and leadership style?
* How do those differences manifest themselves in the organization?
* How can you lead intra-generational and intergenerational groups?
* What can you do as a leader to foster mixedgenerational dialogue and problem solving?
* Which generation has the strongest impact on your organization? Is your organization more like General Motors or Google?
* How do the major aspects of your organization's culture ("generation-bias") align more with one generation than the others? How does that generation-bias impact inclusion, recruitment, retention,...