Written by Carole Stizza, Executive Leadership Coach
Carole Stizza, PCC is an expert on the leadership ripple effect and resiliency. She is an executive leadership coach, speaker, author, and military spouse who has been able to study military and corporate leadership in real-time.
For those who think different generations don’t have diverging workplace philosophies, let me quote you a stunning statistic: “One in four Gen Zers have brought a parent to a job interview over the past year, and roughly one-quarter have had their parents submit job applications on their behalf,” according to CNBC. This is an extreme example of how disparate generations now appear in the modern workplace, leading to leadership challenges. But first, it’s worth mentioning we have never before seen so many generations in the office concurrently. Time recently wrote about what to expect when not one—or two—or even three—but five generations now work side-by-side. “For the first time in history, five generations are colliding in the workplace.
The five generations are
Generation Z: born 2001 - 2020
Millennials: born 1981 - 2000
Generation X: born 1965 - 1980
Baby Boomers: born 1946 -1964
Silent Generation: born 1925 - 1945
The word “unprecedented” comes to mind when describing this unique phenomenon. It’s easy to predict that conflict can ensue with the new number of age groups, each possessing their own life experiences, values, and even unique communication styles. In an interview for SHRM, Jennifer C. Deal, a senior research scientist at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, N.C., said, “Most intergenerational conflicts are fundamentally about power or clout... ‘A young person who wants more clout wants to be noticed. They have new ideas that aren't being listened to. An older person wants their experience to be recognized and appreciated.’
Everyone wants to be heard and respected yet recognize it in completely different ways
When both the rank and file at any organization are driven by vastly different incentives, increasingly due to their age and life experience, misunderstandings will arise. While all will admit to wanting to be challenged, valued for their talent, and appreciated with monetary advancement, the day-to-day incentives vary for each generation.
Generational motivators
Generation Z: Collaboration, connection to social causes with purpose
Millennials: Regular feedback on where to grow to stay competitive
Generation X: Autonomy, regular feedback and recognition
Baby Boomers: Opportunities for advancement and decision-making
Silent Generation: Respect for their experience with a personal touch
Knowing that a positive workplace culture is ideal for companies to perform, it’s mission-critical that tomorrow’s leaders know how to navigate the terrain of their organization.
The exceptional leaders I work with who aren’t just surviving—but thriving—in these unprecedented times recognize this feat requires flipping the script on modern workplace expectations. To help you understand this mindset, let’s return to the stunning statistic above about the explosion of Gen Zers who now invite their parents into their careers, whether co-attending an interview, being on speaker phone when hearing feedback, or asking for internal connections to gain preference. To track with this novel thought process, we might generalize that many younger workers desire a workplace that feels more like home with a safety net than work.
Home, friends, or growth?
Naturally, the idea of a safety net has allure. It feels safer. It conjures familiarity. Hearing this, a corporate leader might be inclined to think their people want a friend, not an employer. But this is an unsustainable way to run a company. The truth: your people do not want their boss to be their friend, especially those just starting their careers. They want to be challenged by someone who will lead the charge and paint the vision of where they are headed.
Tomorrow’s leaders must be mindful to lead first. Success consistently earns friendships; friendships do not consistently lead to success. Only with success and growth will people follow a leader. And only then will these leaders lead exceptionally. After all, it is a leader’s job to pull people; not push them. If you find yourself doing a lot of the latter—you will benefit from an executive leadership coach, someone to show you a better way of achieving the results you seek from your people. (Likewise, if you are in the C-Suite and find the leaders beneath you are pushing, rather than pulling their people, this too, shows they could benefit from such a partnership.)
New generational conversations
To this point, I recently spoke with a “fast burner.” That’s what I dub those dynamic 30-something leaders I routinely coach. This particular fast burner leader whom we’ll call Kevin was upset by the demands of a prospective employee to his organization. Hiring is a challenge when dealing with different generations.
“Carole, this person we need to hire said they won’t come onboard unless we up the salary being offered. It feels like I’m in a hostage situation. Worse yet, we need this person’s unique talent. I’m not sure how to respond to this attitude.”
“Kevin.” I started. “This person understands their worth and is challenging you to verify your need, validate their worth, and come to the table honestly. How can you prove you are the type of leader they will willingly work for regardless of salary? One who is worthy of their talent and who leads with heart?”
Kevin paused and looked a little blank. “I have no idea!”
I offered the idea of role-playing. “How will that help me?” Kevin asked.
“First of all, depending upon what you want to use as the context, it lets the prospect into your thought process. What if you were to ask them to consider the fact that you also needed to hire 5 more people just like them for the project? Posing questions like this helps you into their thinking process while also making them feel respected. You are showing not telling them that they are valuable enough to you and your organization that you would be so candid about your decision-making process. It reveals you make your people feel seen and heard without divulging true details. And this works with all the different generations you need to hire.”
“That makes sense,” said Kevin.
Does curiosity work?
I offered a coaching tip. “Have you used curiosity to explore where this candidate gained their reasoning for a higher salary? This will allow you to understand their context and be more empathetic. Leading is desired, yet young candidates also wish to see a leader with curiosity and heart to feel they care. When you have this conversation with the candidate, you can also explore how to reach their desired salary. The goal is that you can summarize your offer with more clarity.
Kevin regarded this and decided his goal would be to end with, ‘While our organization has boundaries around what we can pay you to start, I would like you to accept the offer to work with our company so we can do great things together and get you to your desired earning salary as fast as possible.”
The seed of solutions
I believe that within every problem lies the seed of something positive, just waiting to bloom. When it comes to the fact that five generations now work alongside each other, exceptional leaders can seize this moment. By leading first, they can harness their most valuable asset—people—for unprecedented greatness. By leading with heart and curiosity, all generations gain recognizable assets in being led by you.
Harvard Business Review is on this same wavelength. Here’s how it describes what’s possible when you adopt such a growth mentality.
“Harnessing the perspectives of employees of differing backgrounds can ignite innovation…When individuals who entered the workforce, before email was utilized, can collaborate smoothly with those who were raised on memes and selfies, your business can bring more widely appealing products to market, craft compelling marketing campaigns to touch millions, and win love for your brand across the generational spectrum.”
Let’s talk about how you can pull, not push, your people to new heights.
Carole Stizza, Executive Leadership Coach
Carole's first awareness of any type of ripple effect came after she experienced the loss of several family members from a reckless driver, only to see her father never regain his love of life, his spark, or his ability to lead as he once had. The ripple effect was profound. Equally profound was experiencing brilliant leadership via several employment roles. Taking note of the ripple effect of each type of leadership now allows Carole to coach clients to recognize the ROI.
