Silencing the echo to conquer the generational divide

Do you sometimes feel that being a manager is like being a lone soul in a canyon yelling “Hello…is anyone out there?” and hearing your voice mocking you as your echo reverberates throughout the canyon walls?

To quiet the echo, you must conquer this canyon divide by communicating with your employees in a way that will yield the results or actions you desire. The first step is to recognize that the canyon divide that is preventing you from communicating with your employees may actually be a generational divide.

A generation can be defined as a group of individuals born in the same time period who share common life experiences and thus share common attitudes and traits. Today’s workforce is a melting pot of four different generations: Matures, Baby Boomers, Generation Xers and Millennials. Each generation brings to the workplace its own diverse perspectives, values, needs, habits and expectations, which were formed by the historical and social events that took place during each generation’s formative years.

Recognizing the different generations around you provides a greater understanding of your employees and the situation confronting you, a context for why your employees may be responding to a situation in a certain way, or a framework by which you can make choices and decisions.

Once you have identified a generational divide, keep the following concepts in mind to help you overcome the steepest of canyon walls.

1) Remember that how you view generational differences is based on your generational perspective. You, too, wear a generational lens that helps shape how you see the world, make decisions and make choices. As a manager, remember to take off your generational lens in order to see the situation at hand from every employee’s perspective.

2) Recognize that every generation has a different communication need and preference and that a one-size-fits-all approach may not fit your organization. It is important that you be flexible regarding the means of communication that you use to reach a particular employee. For instance, Baby Boomers often prefer to attend meetings that allow for complete discussion and consensus to be reached. Generation Xers, however, prefer to have a quick one-on-one update meeting; they want to get in and get out so that they can focus on completing tasks and achieving their goals.

3) Be attentive to signs of misunderstanding. When employees from four different generations work together, misunderstanding is likely to occur. Managers should look for signs of misunderstanding and be prepared to intervene to identify the misunderstanding and establish an action plan for moving forward that everyone understands.

4) Be patient. Once you recognize that you may have some challenges in your organization posed by generational differences, it may take you time to get to know and understand the specific needs of your employees. Patience and perseverance will help you find the communication method that works best for each employee.

5) Educate employees about generational differences and how they may affect the workplace; interaction with management, co-workers and customers; and employees’ performance. Developing awareness of generational differences and the impact that they can have on an individual’s actions is the first step in addressing the generation-caused challenges.

6) Most importantly, if you continue to unsuccessfully reach out to your employees, turn to them to find out what you can do differently to connect with them. Ask your employees about their communication preferences.

The analysis of generational differences merely provides you with a framework by which you can begin to understand and examine the world around you. It is by no means intended as a stereotype for individuals. You still need to get to know your employees for who they are and how they see the world. It is this understanding that will ultimately help silence the echo.
Susanne C. Medley is president of Customer Communication Group, an organizational change management and communication consulting firm. For more information, visit www.thinkccg.biz.