One of the most significant recent changes to occur in the working world has been the entry of Generation Z into the workplace. With Gen Z coming into the fold, we now have five different generations working together for the first time in history – Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and now, Generation Z as well. It’s common for companies in the paper industry to employ people from many of these generations at the same time.
People from different generations have very different values, communication styles, and ideas of what good leadership is. To put it in perspective, Traditionalists almost certainly had leading figures in their lives at some point that were born in the 1800s. Millennials and Generation Z might as well have grown up in a different world compared to their elder counterparts thanks to the level of technological development and integration that surrounded them as they grew up.
Getting someone a Millennial to work well with a Baby Boomer is already difficult, let alone a Gen Zer with a Traditionalist. So how do you get people to find common ground and work as a cohesive team?
Embrace the differences, exploit the similarities
People from different generations tend to have very distinctly different ideas about just about everything. Their values, their preferred communication styles, the things that feel natural and unnatural to them – everything.
These generational differences can be so strongly defined that people develop prejudices against other generations that prevent them from seeing the value in other ways of being. It’s famously common for Gen Zers to stereotype all Baby Boomers as being out of touch and behind the times. On the other side, it’s common for Baby Boomers to generalize all Gen Zers as lazy and entitled. When people express these prejudices directly or indirectly, it can make already massive barriers to communication even worse. As such, it’s important to start by encouraging people to understand and accept each other’s differences. Stereotypes and prejudices will never be productive or lead to anything except contempt. Teach your people how to kill off stigmas and stereotypes and just accept each other for who they are rather than judging them for who they assume them to be. This can be done by helping people understand each other’s individual dignity (what motivates them, what constitutes respect to them, what traits they carry etc.) regardless of their age.
Once you’ve made progress on the barrier of stigmas and stereotypes, you can move on to teaching people of different generations to connect based on what all of them have in common. There are certain things that members of every single generation can find common ground on, and which can be used as a basis for respectful interactions. Here are just a few examples of some things everyone wants, regardless of their age or background:
- Recognition for the work they do
- Clear and transparent communication
- Seeing the positive effects of the work they do
- Avoiding unhealthy and unnecessary conflict
Provide a variety of mentorship opportunities
Once people of different generations are able to speak to each other with a level of respect and without the presence of stigmas and stereotypes, they often find that they have a lot to learn from each other. For example, Baby Boomers, who have decades of experience in their career, can teach an up-and-coming Generation Zer a lot of knowledge and tips that only come from experience, and set up that budding leader to be as successful as possible in their future. In exchange, the Gen Zer could teach the Boomer exactly how to use a new company software or piece of technology that could help them streamline processes or create more efficiencies. Both parties can make each other’s lives easier and create value for their employer with this kind of interaction.
This process is called mutual mentorship, and it’s one of the best ways that people of different generations can not only connect with each other, but help each other in the process. Mutual mentorship can be undertaken in many different ways, but as with anything in leadership, the most effective way to go about it is to practice it consistently. To get the best results out of a mutual mentorship initiative, take the following actions:
- Provide time for each of your team members to think up a list of topics that they would like to learn about from somebody of a different generation
- Establish a regular cadence for team members of different generations to meet with each other and teach each other about a topic of their choice
- Make these meetings a priority – allow team members to block off times in their schedules to complete them so that they don’t get constantly moved back or cancelled
People love to talk, especially about who they are and what they know. When you incentivize members of different generations to teach each other about what they know best, both participants in the conversation walk away fulfilled. The teacher gets to help someone understand something that will likely make their interactions smoother, and the learner has the opportunity to grow their skills and perspectives in a way that they wouldn’t normally be able to.
The bottom line
In order to create lasting peace and productivity in a multigenerational workplace, the simple fact of the matter is, respect must be paramount. As a leader, there are plenty of things that you can do to mediate conversations and bridge divides. You can teach people to credit each other for who they are, sponsor mutual mentorship opportunities, help people understand how those from other generations are wired, and more. But ultimately, people must make a conscious choice to find common ground, treat each other with honor and respect, and learn from each other. It’s a leader’s job to provide the incentives and opportunities that allow their team members to do that.
