Do Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials have anything in common?

I recently had the privilege of facilitating training for an international organization where the age difference between the oldest and youngest participants was 63 years. They were drawn from six nationalities in three continents, North America, Europe and Africa.

The oldest participant was a few months shy of 90 years while the youngest was 28. The average age of the participants was around 65, all volunteers. It was a great learning opportunity for me.

I watched, listened, and immersed myself in the octogenarians and septuagenarians rich histories, travels, diverse cultural experiences and great wisdom. I was amazed at the clarity of their memories. They spoke of past events as if they happened yesterday, calmly, slowly with long pauses. Their faces would light up as they recalled and retold life-defining moments and milestones.

The feisty tweens, full of youthful vigor, shared their experiences too. They spoke fast compared to the 70 and 80-year-olds, with versatility, curiosity and excitement punctuating their stories. The influence of technology and instant information access in their lives was palpable. The forty and fifty-somethings were also present, most in the pinnacle of their careers, decision makers and opinion shapers.

Looking and listening to the participants, the stark generational differences were obvious. It was a delicate balance for me and my team to bring energy, activities and lessons that were relevant and could transcend generational barriers.

It was a great theatre starring Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials. It was my training dream come true – a live experiment titled diversity in the 21st Century workplace. I took the lessons to heart.

Being of different ages and stages in their lives, different generations have a lot less in common. However, what they have in common is so powerful. It is what has made this diverse team, a volunteer organization, so successful.

So what do they have in common, you may ask? What do all generations have in common? I was surprised that they had so much in common.

I have sat with many HR managers and one of their biggest headaches is managing Millennials. This new breed of employees is very different from what HR has been managing over the last 30 years or so. The old text books don’t seem to be working anymore.

The 21st Century workplace is a clash of generations and we need to figure out how to make it work. When we focus on the glaring disparities, we fail to see the uniting similarities. These similarities are the catalysts to successful integration, collaboration and efficiency in diverse teams. Here’s is a snippet of qualities I observed and that are common across all generations.

Good Leadership

Everyone wants to be led by a good leader. Good leaders are present, respectful, have vision and direction. They are captains; they set a course to a destination and lead their team to it. In this team, the leader was not the oldest person, but the vision and mission were well communicated. The team had bought the vision and their passion was evident across the generations. They were happy to volunteer their time and money to the organization’s cause.

Mutual Respect

Disrespect leads to discrimination and can destroy a team and kill its mission. Respect and accommodation build bonds and strengthen a team no matter their differences. The team functions like a well-oiled machine.

I observed respect beyond age, race, nationality and gender. The members showed tremendous respect for each other despite their many differences.

It was amazing to watch an 89-year-old interact with a 28-year-old on an equal platform. Instead of focusing on their differences, they used them to enrich the experience and drive the mission. There were no negative references e.g., dinosaur or juvenile, everyone got equal time and space to participate and play their part.

Recognition and appreciation

When a team leader solely takes credit for success and fails to acknowledge the team’s effort and input, it always leads to disquiet, contempt and discontentment within the team. When a leader plays the blame game, the results are similar.

When we queried the efficiency of team functions and roles, compliments based on performance flowed liberally regardless of the person’s age, gender and nationality.

We all like to get a pat on the back for a job well done, and it was obvious when participants appreciated their colleagues. Boomers, Gen X and Millennials alike were ravished by the praise heaped on them.

Balanced lifestyle

Another very clear similarity was the need for a balanced lifestyle or what is commonly called work-life balance. The talk of balance between occupation/livelihood and personal life yielded consistent answers. Everyone wanted the important things in their private life respected and recognized as important.

From weekends, hobbies, family events, vacations, further education among others, everyone had something they considered important away from work that they wanted to spend time and money on. They wanted to be able to attend to these important issues despite their busy work schedules.

Conclusion

The 21st century teams are very diverse. They have cultural, racial, religious, political, generational and other differences. If team leaders focus only on their team’s differences, they are likely to disagree, become suspicious, fight and fail in their mission.

However, if they shift the focus to what is shared, they build synergy, trust and collaboration. These ingredients help the team function properly and achieve success.

I had a front-row seat to observe successful interactions in a very diverse team, at play. They have been able to leverage on what unites them, build trust and become a very robust squad, very successful in their mission even without monetary incentive.

What other qualities have you observed that can help organizations with a multi-generational workforce function better, please share in the comments below?