On Bridging The Generation Gap

This Week’s Topic: Generational Divides

1 Strategy 🎯 

My grandma turns 90 this week. That's right, 90! And the family is headed to Florida to throw her a party.

As a birthday gift, I invited all her friends and family to upload a short video to a website that compiled the videos into a professional looking video montage.

Before inviting everyone to upload their personal videos, I tested the process to make sure it wasn't too difficult.  

The video recording and upload process was not very user friendly. 

So along with the upload link, I made sure to offers some tech support services if needed.

I then made an assumption that I'm not terribly proud of.

That if anyone called me needing technical issues, it would be the older folks because, you know, older people just aren't as good with technology.

And guess who called me for help.

No one.

Within a few days everyone had uploaded their videos with no issue.

It was a textbook example of age bias on my part, and it got me thinking about age-based bias in the context of team performance.

For the first time in history, there are five generations working alongside one another: 

The Silent Generation (born 1925-1945): Known for their self-sacrifice and respect for authority.

Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964): Characterized by a tireless work ethic, loyalty, and a competitive spirit.

Gen X (born 1965-1980): Known as the latchkey generation (see above - their parents worked a lot) and the first generation to talk about work-life balance.

Millennials (born 1981-2000): Known for being tech savvy and idealistic.

Gen Z (born 2001-2020): Known for being socially and environmentally conscious and having a strong preference for digital communication.

But it's not all positive.  Each generation also comes with a heaping helping of negative stereotypes. 

The Silent Generation: Out of touch and irrelevant.

Baby Boomers: Bitter, change resistant workaholics.

Gen X: Highly cynical (the “Slacker” generation).

Millennials: Entitled, job-hopping, avocado toast munchers.

Gen Z: Fragile TikTok addicts with no social skills.

These stereotypes get reinforced and amplified with articles like this:

When I reflect on the teams I've worked with over my career, these generational stereotypes don't hold water.

I've worked with 60 year olds who are far more tech savvy than me, and I know people in their 20s who aren't on TikTok.

In the context of team performance, diversity is an asset. 

But for some reason, age doesn’t get as much coverage in the diversity conversation.

Team members in different seasons of life bring unique perspectives and ideas, helping your team innovate faster and make better-informed decisions. 

But age bias can be insidious, and if left unchecked, can lead to a host of negative outcomes such as:

• Employee turnover

• Weak innovation

• Unhealthy conflict 

In her best seller “Gentelligence: The Revolutionary Approach to Leading an Intergenerational Workforce”, Dr. Megan Gerhardt suggests a simple technique to help intergenerational teams work more effectively.

The Assumption Audit.

Challenge team members to spend one week on high alert for age-based assumptions in their daily life. This includes keeping an eye out for their own thoughts and actions, as well as the actions of others.

The following week, invite the team to share their experience completing the Assumption Audit, and encourage an open dialogue on how age-based assumptions might be affecting team cohesion, engagement and performance.

In sum, we can all benefit from take a moment to appreciate the richness that age diversity brings to our professional and personal lives. Each generation has its own strengths and perspectives to offer, and when we come together, magic happens. We all have a responsibility to break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, and build a culture where everyone feels valued and empowered.

If this week’s newsletter resonated, let me know. I look forward to hearing from you.

See you next Wednesday,

Darin

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