While it can be a great opportunity, entering the working environment where various generations, from Baby Boomers to Generation Z working side-by-side, has challenged many organizations to adapt to each generation. It is also a challenge for the employees themselves to work with someone unfamiliar.
Leading a multi-generational workplace can be a complex process due to the differences in age, time, and values. The chances of conflict arising in the workplace are never zero; therefore, it is crucial for the leaders to identify what kind of approaches or method is suitable for that working environment. It is their responsibility to lead the employees to reach the organization's goals and develop together as a person.
Based on their work era, we must acknowledge their priorities and preferences to understand their work dynamic further. For example,baby boomers prefer the method of communication of face-to-face and phone calls while millennials prefer through digitals such as instant messages and blogs.
One of many keys to having a healthy working environment is avoiding the stereotyping of each generation. These actions happen a lot on a day-to-day basis, especially in the workplace. People are often used to believing the general stereotypes that different generations have and their way of working. Stereotyping can be a source of conflict and low productivity that eventually leads to a toxic working environment; hence, eliminating this mindset is essential before moving on to the next step.
Stereotyping and identifying their fundamental principles are two different things. By understanding their motivation, target, values, and preferred method of communication, we can better visualize what they are like as a person; therefore, we know who we are working with and how to establish a good relationship with them. In some situations, many choose to disregard this part of diversity in the process with one's assumption.
The next most crucial part is establishing good communication by working together as a team, not individually. The leaders must acknowledge that there are differences in the workplace and be open and accepting with various communications that varied by the employees.
It can be frustrating to both the leader and employee to use the wrong style or type of communication; therefore, communication is vital. If we do not have the right way of communicating, it can lead to misinformation and give us a wrong impression that can affect future affairs. Using the right communication style with different generations, the leaders can start to figure out their fundamental principles and work ethic.
With accurate and adequate information on what the employees' goals are, the next step is to find the common grounds of those concepts and figure out the suitable methods or approaches that will be applied within the organization. In addition, with the known pattern, it builds their characteristics.
The Team Management approach could potentially yield the best result. The approach emphasizes organizational tasks and interpersonal relations, meaning that the leader can still reach the initial target while promoting a healthy work environment and relationship with the workers.
The approach can be done by conducting regular surveys and talking with employees to keep up with their values to be used to lead multiple generations. Combining the techniques with past experiences with certain generations could help recognize each generation's challenges and deal with uncertain situations. In a case where the leader is only familiar with a few generation's patterns compared to the others, the past knowledge can assist them in overcoming the issue.
Finding and creating activities to unite the employees can engage the relationship between one employee to another. The leaders can initiate a training program where they must work together as a team or having weekly to monthly with the staff to discuss their progress and complex tasks. By doing these types of activities, the employees will eventually get to know each other and be able to exchange their perspectives and share experiences on specific issues with each other.
By understanding the behavior and patterns of the employee, the leaders can try to avoid problems by knowing what to avoid based on the observation. Even if they are to deal with a complication, they can suit themselves accordingly.
All of the approaches will eventually ease the leading process as we understand each generation slowly. Trust and a comfortable working space will improve the relationship between the leaders and employees, influencing how the employees perform. It is essential that the employees feel encouraged to work together despite their differences.
Every step that is taken within the organization by the leaders will affect the surroundings. The leaders must always promote a healthy and open working environment. By presenting these values, employees will mimic the positive behaviors and principles that ultimately accept the idea of working in a multi-generational environment.
Many are unaware of the advantages that a multi-generational workplace can offer and how the differences make it unique. Experiencing challenges in the workplace is a somewhat typical situation, however, how we overcome is the actual task. Our leadership skill is measured through our influence towards others and the development of the community. Like Ken Blanchard said, 'The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.'
