Strategies to Bring Out the Best in Everyone

Getty Images

We have a new job for you. You are a party planner. Your assignment is to plan a birthday party. This birthday party has an unusual guest list. There are 3 toddlers, 3 elementary school aged children, 2 middle schoolers and 1 high school student.

The parameters of this event are that everyone has to stay together as a unit and the activities need to be engaging for all guests. It would be quite the challenge to plan this event. You would have to be keenly aware of different developmental stages, understand the strengths of each age group and create engaging content across a broad spectrum of interests. 

Where would you start? You would come to the party with some ideas. Then, you might spend some time chatting with the middle and high schoolers to get their thoughts and see if they would enjoy organizing some of the games. You could then move on to the elementary kids and talk about how influential they could be with the toddlers. The next step might be to create two person teams composed of one elementary student guiding one toddler through the day creating good natured competition.

It would definitely take some creativity, communication and inspirational leadership to make this soiree successful.

This example is indicative of what many leaders are facing. In past blogs we have talked about the unprecedented generational diversity in the workplace today. Each generation brings strengths to their work, but have different perspectives. Just like our party planner, leaders have to be on their toes analyzing if the strategies they are using are celebrating the employee’s assets and creating the cultures they desire.

In our last blog we gave you profiles of the four most predominant generations in the workforce. Today, we are going to outline some strategies that can be used to cultivate the environment necessary for organizations to thrive in the cross generational world.

Encourage nontraditional mentoring

Think of it as two way mentoring. Each generation can provide insights and tips that can be helpful to the other. By pairing people together with different skill sets and setting mentoring goals, team members increase appreciation for each other and misconceptions are broken down. This leads to more effective collaboration. 

Focus on common ground

Trust is what makes any relationship work. In the workplace, it leads to greater innovation because people feel comfortable taking risks and asking for help.To build trust you have to find common ground. Unfortunately, it is often human nature to look for differences between people. This can lead to both sides of the generational spectrum dismissing the other. Focusing on the differences creates competitive relationships which inhibits collaboration. Setting up opportunities for coworkers to come together and create shared experiences can help bridge potential generational divides. Organizing social or volunteer events can be a great way to do this. The AARP has developed an Intergenerational Toolkit, that can be a resource.

Communicate about communicating

One of the biggest generational challenges is around communication. There can be very different expectations when it comes to communication etiquette. For example, older generations may be put off when important communication is completed digitally rather than in person. Taking some time to set communication guidelines around digital and in person communication can be a good start. Issues to address can include emoji, social media, email and telephone use. This can be a light hearted conversation where team members openly share how the differences in life experience influence their communication preferences.  

Provide managers with resources

We live in a different professional landscape. New managers may not feel equipped to build bridges between the generations. Be sure to provide training resources and reinforce that their job is to create a supportive environment for all workers. Managers who reframe generational differences as opportunities to learn and grow together lay the essential foundation for team cohesion.

Prioritize creating collaborative teams

Rather than siloing expertise which can result in decreasing generational diversity, strive to balance generational experience when developing teams. By bringing together a wide variety of viewpoints an incubator for innovation is created. Assess skill sets and match those that compliment each other. Transparency is essential here. Take time to clearly articulate the benefits of mixing generational expertise. Provide support by checking in and assessing the team dynamic to help develop highly effective teams. 

The demographic shift in the workplace provides new challenges and opportunities for business leaders.  These suggestions are tools for the managerial toolbox and will help bring out the best in everyone.

Let G2 Solutions guide you in implementing strategies just like these! Contact us and we’ll show you how!