Without wanting to oversimplify or reduce generations to only the time periods in which they were born, it’s essential for leaders to recognise the differences among generations and appreciate that each grew up in different cultural, economic and, critically, technological contexts, these have shaped their values, career expectations, optimal modes of knowledge acquisition, output and even work ethic. These differences manifest themselves in myriad ways, e.g. tenure, communication styles or technology adoption.
- Tenure – younger generations are more likely to change jobs or roles every few years, in an attempt to achieve variety, breadth of scope and increased exposure to business operations. More seasoned employees often see shorter tenure and frequent moves as a lack of commitment, corporate stamina or loyalty.
- Communication style and cadence – older generations may prefer in-person meetings or sporadic unscheduled phone conversations, while younger ones may do better with email or constant instant messaging. When communication is asynchronous, misunderstandings and misinterpretations can arise.
- Technology adoption (and, by extension, resistance to or acceptance of change) – older employees may be less willing to adopt new processes due to a lack of familiarity with new technologies and unwillingness to “fix what isn’t broken”. This perceived resistance may impede innovation and efficiency. On the other hand, younger generations may push for new systems, without fully understanding the rationale behind more traditional methodologies or without seeking to improve existing processes but, rather, to simply do what is new.
