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July 18th, 2023

READ TIME: 2 minutes & 55 seconds

There was a time early in my career when I was given the responsibility to lead a team of fifteen individuals.

This was my not my first time leading a team this large, but it was my first time leading a team that had a combination of so many different generations.

Usually when you’re starting off your career, especially as a young leader, you are surrounded by people similar or close to age in you.

This team had millennials, Generation Xers, and baby boomers — all working together.

I quickly learned that I couldn’t lead all of them from the same place. It didn’t really matter to me that everybody was a from a different generation, but I couldn’t ignore it and act like everybody approached their work the same way.

With each generation, there are a general set of values, beliefs and ways of doing things that come with them. This team was a hard working team that worked well together.

When it came to praise, each generational group had a diff erent preference.

One group preferred and enjoyed public recognition.

Another group truly appreciated a handwritten note.

While others were truly thankful to be noticed and given more responsibility.

And the only way that I got this point with my team was by asking and going out of my way to understand that while we all had differences, we had a lot more in common than we thought.

But this isn’t the case for every team.

And today I want to talk about the importance of working through these differences and equipping you with the tools to help you lead any team from any background.

Acknowledge, don’t ignore.

Leading with the, “We’re all the same.” mindset simply isn’t going to get it done.

I’ve seen to many leaders try to apply the same leadership style to everyone on their team only to burnout wondering why they can’t get them to buy in.

As a leader, you must take note of the diff erences in employees. By acknowledging the differences that make each person unique, you do many great things.

Here’s just a few benefits of doing so:

#1
You influence your employees to develop and accept their own version of self-awareness and encourage autonomy in the workplace.

#2
You dismantle the hierarchy. When you take the time to learn about everyone’s individual strengths and weaknesses, you show you aren’t above paying specific attention to them as they pay attention to you. By having this less hierarchical system, you open the company up to collaboration. The sharing of ideas is enforced.

#3
You create a stronger team. People will begin to collaborate more and use their strengths to the best of their ability in conjunction with the team. This crafts a stronger workplace.

Where to start?

If you truly want to acknowledge and work through cultural and generational differences with your teams, you have to go beyond:

- One time exercise
- Gimmicky trainings
- Inclusive decision making

What it really takes is building it into the fabric of your organization through consistent culture and showing up.

Here’s some things that have helped me throughout the last 16 years.

1. Reverse Mentoring:
   Establish a reverse mentoring program where younger employees mentor senior employees.
   
   This allows for knowledge sharing and cross-generational understanding. Younger employees can share their perspectives on technology, social trends, and cultural shifts, while senior employees can provide guidance based on their experience.
   

2. Customized Recognition Programs:
   Tailor recognition programs to acknowledge and celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of individuals from different cultures and generations.
   
   This can include acknowledging traditional holidays, recognizing diverse leadership styles, or highlighting achievements that promote cultural and generational understanding.
   

3. Cross-Generational Team Projects:
   Foster collaboration and learning across generations by forming diverse teams to work on projects.
   
   By encouraging different perspectives, skills, and experiences, teams can leverage the strengths of each generation and build stronger relationships within the organization.
   
   Make it a practice, don’t always just include your best people on projects.
   

4. Mentoring Circles:
   Implement mentoring circles that bring together employees from different cultural backgrounds and generations.
   
   This creates a space for open dialogue, where individuals can learn from each other's experiences, discuss challenges, and develop strategies to bridge cultural and generational gaps.

Hope this helps!

Go Deeper on This Topic

📰 Better Up’s, “ How to turn Generational differences into employee retention.”

📚 Jean M Twenge’s, “Generations: The real differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen-X, Baby Boomers and silents — and what they mean for America’s future. “

🎙️ The Psychology Podcast, “The real differences between Generations.”

I hope this helps you or a leader in your circle.

Until next time,

Pierre Inspires

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I hope this helps you or a leader in your circle.

Until next time, PierreInspires

P.S. If you have any questions, thoughts, or additional stories to share, please don't hesitate to reach out. Let's support and learn from each other as we strive to become the best leaders we can be.