Today’s workforce spans across five generations, from Traditionalists to Gen Z-ers. Though some may find this challenging to manage, having different generational perspectives is highly advantageous in the running of a business. This article will explore 5 ways to effectively lead a multi-generational workforce.
1. Establish Respect and Avoid Stereotyping
When it comes to leading multi-generational teams, establishing an environment of trust and respect within your organisation is indispensable. A crucial aspect of this is ensuring that there is no room for stereotyping or age bias.
Regardless of seniority, all employees should be treated with courtesy and respect. Your employees want to feel that their contributions are valued no matter what their age or experience level is. You do not want to be making assumptions or drawing conclusions about what team members can or cannot do based on generational differences or potential biases. Rather, you and your team need to focus on individual potential and merit.
2. Understand the Unique Motivations of Your Team
To be able to best work with your diverse team, you need to understand the unique motivations of each individual team member. Motivators differ for each person. They could include: family, helping others, learning new things, recognition, giving back to the community, personal development, and so on.
As a leader, identifying motivators will help you keep your staff engaged at work and achieve organisational goals more effectively.
3. Create a Culture of Collaboration
Fostering a culture of collaboration in your organisation is one of the best ways to ensure that your team members are continuously sharing their knowledge and are learning from one another. So, when building teams, you’ll want to include a number of diverse age groups and backgrounds, and pair employees who have complementary skillsets as well as diverse perspectives.
Drawing from different strengths, talents, experiences and backgrounds will facilitate the development of new ideas and creative solutions that may not have been achievable or even considered without such collaboration.
4. Provide Flexibility
Different generations have different preferences and needs when it comes to the workplace and their working style. While some may favour a traditional, fixed 9-5 office role, others call for more choice and flexibility in the way they conduct their work. Effective leaders understand this and refine their organisational policies and procedures to accommodate to these preferences and to meet the needs of a diverse workforce. They provide opportunities for flexible work arrangements such as:
- Part-time working
- Home working
- Remote working
- Variable hours
- Compressed work week
- Job sharing
- Staggered start and end times
5. Emphasise Shared Values
As a leader, it’s your job to motivate your team and the people that you lead to be able to take action and get results. Ultimately, your team members will still share a large number of commonalities and similarities despite the generational differences or potential inconsistencies in perspective or approach.
So, you need to emphasise the shared values within your organisation, your WHY and the idea that every team member is working towards the same vision and goal.
Multi-generational teams largely define the workplaces of today. Our team is here to help you build and lead exceptional teams for success. Get in touch with us today.
