Entrepreneur to Employer - The Playbook for Scaling from Solopreneur to Employer

Bridging Generations in the Workplace: A Leadership Guide to Harmonizing a Multi-Generational Team

• Brian Montes • Season 3 • Episode 78

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In this episode, Brian Montes discusses the challenges of managing a multi-generational workforce. He emphasizes the need to challenge harmful stereotypes and appreciate the unique preferences, habits, and behaviors that each generation brings. 

Navigating the complexities of a multi-generational workforce can feel like walking a tightrope, but it's a challenge leaders can embrace head-on.  In this episode we will discuss - 

  • Why leaders need to challenge harmful stereotypes and appreciate the unique characteristics of each generation.
  • Why you need to establish communication preferences openly and find a balance in the communication flow.
  • Set the expectations for workplace boundaries and provide training on appropriate workplace topics.
  • Avoid playing favorites and create a culture where people of all ages can learn from each other.
  • Embrace diversity of thought to make better decisions and achieve success in the business. 

"Break through the stereotypes. Don't accept them, challenge them."




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Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Entrepreneur to Employer podcast. I'm your host, brian Montes, founder of Scalocity Works, and the Entrepreneur to Employer coaching and membership community. So congratulations is in order. If you've built a successful freelance business that has grown to the point where you need to hire, you have achieved a huge milestone. If you're already past the point of making need to hire and you have achieved a huge milestone If you're already past the point of making your first hire and your team is now growing well, congratulations is in order to you as well. So, regardless of where you are with scaling your team and your business, whether you're at employee number one or employee number 100, this podcast focuses on everything related to people operations. We'll cover best practices, strategies and solutions to help you build a sustainable and scalable business that is fueled by great people and a great culture. So if you're enjoying listening to this Entrepreneur to Employer podcast, please subscribe, give us a like and give us a review. Your feedback will help us grow this podcast and we'll be able to positively impact more employers to help them build better work environments environments.

Speaker 1:

Welcome back to another episode of the Entrepreneur to Employer podcast. I am your host, brian Montes, founder of Scalocity Works. All right. So this past week I was chatting with the CEO of a business and one of the questions that came up is we discussed the challenges that happen within a business when we have a, you know, multi-generation workforce. Right, we are at a time where we've got, I think, up to five generations in the workforce right now, and for some leaders that becomes a challenge because each generation brings its own life experiences and brings its own you know their way of life to what they do for a living, and sometimes that creates some challenges between the different generations. And so one of the questions that came up is you know, how can I better lead a multi-generational team? Because I've got these gaps in communication, gaps in technology skills, and so she's had a little bit of a hard time getting everybody rowing in the same direction, simply based on what's presumed to be some generational challenges. So today I want to talk about how to manage a multi-generational team, because we are in this phase in life where we have, like I said, I believe it's up to five different generations in the workforce right now. So that creates a general generalation, gen boy, I can't even say the word generalation, I'm not even going to try and say it, nevermind A generational diverse workforce, right? So we really do need to learn how to appreciate those unique preferences, habits and behaviors that each generation brings to the table, and how, you know, how do we, as leaders, make everything sync up and work together. So let's jump in and start having this conversation. So I'm going to give you probably three to four different actionable steps that you can utilize in the workplace so that you can, you know, get the benefits of cross-generational work and experience.

Speaker 1:

So the first is, as business leaders, as business owners, we need to challenge harmful stereotypes, right? Because, again, for the first time in modern history, there are five generations in the workforce. You know, and apparently you know, we all exhibit unique personality, traits and values that are tied to our generation and our experiences. So, you know, we've got the silent generation, which is born between 1925 and 1945. And, you know, supposedly some of those characteristics are loyal but traditional. Then you've got the baby boomers, right, 1946 to 1964. This group, you know, again, according to the stereotype, is considered to be collaborative but adverse to 1964. This group, again according to the stereotype, is considered to be collaborative but adverse to change. Then you've got Generation X, my generation right, the 1965 to 1980 group of us. According to the stereotypes that I read about with Generation X, we're independent but bleak. Not sure what bleak means, but that's what came up.

Speaker 1:

Millennials 1981 to 2000,. Driven but entitled Again, that's a stereotype. And then there's Generation Z 2001 to 2020. Progressive but disloyal that's the stereotype information that came back when I researched Generation Z. So these generalizations are, for the most part, problematic.

Speaker 1:

Right, we've got to overcome these stereotypes and look past them, because if we don't, we are going to classify anybody that's in a specific generation with these stereotypes and we're going to make assumptions about that person and about how they, you know, will work or won't work or anything like that. So the first thing you need to do as a leader is really start to challenge the harmful stereotypes and look past them, and don't put everybody in a bucket. That's the same. Right, because many of the generational conversations today, especially what we hear in the news, rely on false stereotypes and clickbait headlines. Right, we need to take the time to understand the important differences that are part of our generational identities. Right, because when we assign negative or overarching characteristics to each and every group, we simply are implying that their values, beliefs and goals are fundamentally flawed and if we are going to have these type of stereotypes, you will never be able to move past that to get your workforce aligned and working together.

Speaker 1:

So there truly is value in educating ourselves on the realities about different generations, what they have faced throughout their careers, and getting in their shoes and understanding what's going on, because we, as individuals, we value what we learn through life right, and our experience is often influenced by events, sometimes things that are within our control, some things that are out of our control. Each generation has entered the workforce under certain conditions which ultimately help to shape their sense of purpose, their preferences and their own drivers for success, so it's important to understand all of that. Now I'll give you a great example. A recent college graduate that I know just started their first job and they got hired during the pandemic, so they were accustomed to a remote setup. They got hired as a remote employee due to the pandemic. Is that remote setups are normal and this is going to put a high value to them on flexible work, how they prefer to communicate digitally and having that remote opportunity. But, on the other hand, someone who's entered the workforce in 2008, during the Great Recession well, they might value job security and a regular, steady routine, and they might prefer a predictable 9-to-five schedule, five days a week. So things shape. You know, environmental events and things that happen will shape how we perceive and how we want to work. Now.

Speaker 1:

The problem is that age stereotypes go a step too far in assuming that every person has reacted to the milestones of their generation in the same ways. These assumptions, while most of the time are false, can make workers feel siloed and judged even before they step in the office. This, in turn, will affect performance. A 2017 study published by the NIH found that employees threatened by age-based stereotypes concerning work performance are less able to commit to their current job, less oriented toward long-term professional goals and, ultimately, they become less adjusted in the workplace. So they come into the environment feeling those stereotypes and it impacts some of their abilities.

Speaker 1:

So the first thing you, as a leader, need to do are break through the stereotypes. Don't accept them. Challenge them and be willing and ready to take every person as they are and deal with them as the individual human being, not based on the generation they're coming out of. Number two, communicate your preferences openly, just as we wouldn't expect our actions to accurately be understood or universally agreed with. When we travel to other countries, we shouldn't expect our reasons for approaching our work in a particular way to be clear to people who have grown up and started their professional lives at different points in time. It just doesn't make sense to do that. So instead, right, we need to be talking openly to one another about our preferences, especially when it comes to methods of communication.

Speaker 1:

Communication is where things often break down. A lot of workplace problems get tied back to failures in communication, right? So managers and leaders of multiple generations can set an example by helping their team members find ways to clearly communicate with each other. Right, if you have direct reports who are both older and younger than you, ask your employees what kind of interactions they feel most comfortable with. How do they want to be communicated with, what works for them, so that you can find a balance in the communication flow. Now, just you know, like there's no right or wrong work style, there is no right or wrong method of communication, right? So show your employees, show your direct reports you're willing to step out of your own comfort zone and meet them halfway. Compromise is key to finding a non-judgmental middle ground, so try to think of your differences as learning opportunities, and the reality is this we have so many communication methods available to us that we should be able to find communication methods that work. Now, with that being said, again, as a business owner, as a CEO, as a leader, you still need to make sure that those communication channels and preferences are how do I say this that they work for the business.

Speaker 1:

I'm going to give you another example here. I was working with a big marketing agency a few years ago and they were having a problem with one of their employees. I'm not going to tell you what generation they were in, but this employee had a very, very, very hard time picking up the phone and calling an existing customer and there was a major problem with the account. There was a problem with the delivery of some work product, and the customer was upset naturally so, and so, instead of picking up the phone to resolve the situation or to deescalate it, this particular person decided to continue emailing the customer and, through five or six emails later, the relationship really degraded. The customer got more frustrated. They weren't getting the answers they needed, things weren't getting de-escalated. The emails made the whole situation worse and, on the after action and the review of the situation, we found out that this employee was, in essence, afraid to pick up the phone and call the customer. They wanted to stay behind the safety of the email, when really all that needed to happen was they needed to pick the phone up, have a conversation, and they could have deescalated the situation. So that's a training issue. But the key is this is make sure that, while you do work towards having communication styles and preferences mapped out throughout your team, it's also important that you set the expectation that you know, even if they don't like you know, picking up the phone and calling if that's part of their job, they're going to have to work towards that, otherwise they may be in the wrong job. So, again, I'll always look for that balance. All right.

Speaker 1:

Number three respect boundaries. A wider representation of age groups at work have introduced new beliefs and values into the office. The office is totally different than it was even 10 years ago, right? So these taboo topics of the past like diversity and inclusion, mental health and gender roles they're becoming widely discussed in professional settings. So, just like an individual's race, ethnicity, gender, sex all that stuff, right can create uncomfortable settings in the workplace. So you know, you get an older generation. To them, that is taboo, that is not something we discuss in the workplace. To the younger generation, to them, it might be the norm. So it's going to be very important that you provide some training to your team about respecting boundaries, right? If the older? You know, if a certain worker, certain employee, doesn't want to have a conversation about gender roles, they shouldn't have to be subject to it. Employees need to respect the boundaries of their coworkers. So make sure that you're running some training and you're discussing, you know, boundaries, why they're important, and make sure that the topics that your employees have at work are related to work, related to things that are moving things forward, right? So, because it's not necessary for every person to agree on everything you know, but it is important for them to understand why the organization places a high value on issues that are being discussed and places a high value on boundaries and what's appropriate for the workplace and what's not appropriate for the workplace.

Speaker 1:

What else can you do as a leader to help lead a multi-generational team? Well, number four don't play favorites, right? Finally, you know, if you want to create a culture in which people of all ages can be vulnerable and learn from each other, that's the type of culture you want to create, right? You want to create a culture where people, regardless of age, regardless of their background, where they can learn from each other, right? So in order to do that, you know, one example or one idea is during meetings, you can go the extra mile to make sure that every voice is heard and considered.

Speaker 1:

Now, while this typically is a good practice those that are leading multi-generational teams you are going to definitely face some unique challenges when doing this, and I'll give you some data here. You know, one study of more than 6,000 millennials revealed that 50% of participants questioned their capacity for success in the workplace, and it makes them boy, I'm having a hard time with some of my thoughts today and it makes them twice as worried about their skill sets than the older generation. So, you know, these fears drive a desire to prove themselves, especially in group settings. So that does you know, that can create some challenges when you are running a multi-generational team. So, instead of perpetuating an you know us versus them dynamic right, we have to change the narrative to the entire team moving forward. Now, if you notice that these patterns are unfolding in your own meeting or you notice that you're yourself. You know you have your own biases. You've got to take a step back and change your approach.

Speaker 1:

The next time you become frustrated with younger employees for being outspoken, catch yourself Rather than shutting them down. Give them space to respectfully demonstrate their abilities by asking questions and engaging them to weigh in. Likewise, if an older employee is quick to dismiss a young team member, address it by suggesting the older team member speak up. At that moment, for example, you might say hey, michelle, did you have an idea that you wanted to add? You, as the leader, are going to have to facilitate these multi-generations and their communication and eventually, over time, they will be able to start communicating with each other and find their own way. After you've laid the groundwork and kind of set up the landscape, if you will, right, what are some other things you can do as a leader, especially if you have some older team members? Well, with an older team member, you can follow up privately and remind them that, even if someone has less experience, their insights are still welcome and valuable. And this advice does go both ways. If you see a younger team member making assumptions about their more seasoned colleague, ask them to change their behavior. Remind your team that you know the diversity of the team and the diversity of thought helps increase the scale of new insights and it's going to allow the organization as a whole to make better decisions and complete tasks more successfully.

Speaker 1:

When we move away from the mindset that generational interactions are a win-lose proposition, the possibility emerges that multi-generational collaboration can actually result in learning and success for all involved. So, again, you, as the leader, need to fight off and remove that us versus them dynamic in the workplace. Right, change that narrative moving forward. Right. There are ways for you to bridge the generational gap, and it's going to begin with communication, humility and a deeper curiosity about the strengths and limitations that each of our team members can bring to the table, as well as ourselves. Right, it begins with the acceptance that we are all fundamentally different people with equally valuable insights to offer, and it ends with respect and it ends with understanding and from there you get progress forward with your business. So remember, if you're leading a multi-generational team, the things that you can do as a leader to start leading that team to success is number one. Challenge the harmful stereotypes that are often associated with multi -generations. Communicate your preferences openly. Make sure that the team respects boundaries and learns what boundaries exist in their workplace. And number four don't play favorites. Try and level the playing field for everybody and work with them all. So I hope you have gained some insights today on how to lead a multi-generational team in the workplace, because chances are, as you start to scale your business and hire more employees, you very well may have a multi-generational team. So that concludes this episode of the Entrepreneur to Employer podcast.

Speaker 1:

If you are interested, I have published an ebook on the six top business mistakes that I see business owners making. We call it the six silver bullets out of 21 silver bullets. So if you are interested in growing and scaling your business and want to read about the typical mistakes that I see business owners making and how to correct those mistakes, the link to the ebook will be in the show notes. Grab the link, download the book. You can read it in 23 minutes or less. I know I've done it and I wrote it to be a very quick read but impactful. You will absolutely get some insight out of this ebook that you can take into your business right away. So I encourage you to download the ebook and apply it to your business. Have a great week and we'll see you next week on the Entrepreneur to Employer podcast.

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Brian Montes

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