Become the bridge
Leadership that unites the generations
By Jim Huling
October 2008
"I really need your help,” said
Susan, the human resources
executive at one of my consulting clients.
The anxiety in her voice was
clear, and I knew that whatever
the problem was that prompted
her call, it was serious.
“Over the past year, we’ve
hired some great new talent,
but we’re having trouble integrating them into the team,” she
said. “Most of the new people
are younger — some of them
were even hired directly from
college — and now they’re having tremendous conflict with
our senior people. The tension
between the generations is
escalating. If we don’t do something soon, we’re going to have
a crisis on our hands.”
After two hours of brainstorming, Susan and I agreed
to take the entire team off-site for an open dialogue that
I would facilitate, hoping
that we would find answers
to the challenges undermining this valuable team.
From the moment we
began the off-site meeting,
tempers flared. The senior
members of the team, mostly
composed of the baby boomer
generation, portrayed the new
team members as lacking
respect and a strong work ethic.
The new team members, all of
whom were members of the
millennial generation, accused
the seniors of being inflexible
and unimaginative.
Susan’s assessment had been
right — this was a team in crisis.
After taking a much needed
break, I reassembled the entire
team into pairs — one senior
teammate with a newly hired
one — and gave them a radical
assignment. For the next hour,
they were not allowed to discuss any of their differences.
They were only allowed to discuss the characteristics that
they both wanted to see in the
team. When the hour was over,
each pair would explain what
they had found in common and,
more importantly, why each
characteristic was personally
important to both of them.
As soon as the first pair finished their report, I knew we
would find the answers we
needed. Pair after pair described
characteristics that bridged
the generations, and as they
explained why each characteristic was important, their passion and commitment to see the
team succeed were clear.
Soon, they had a list of shared
characteristics that exceeded
their differences, but they also
had something far more valuable — an understanding that,
while their approaches might be
different, they actually wanted
many of the same things.
Leadership that is authentic.
While the baby boomers wanted leaders whom they could
respect and trust, the millennials wanted leaders that were
“real.” What they discovered
was a common desire to be led
by individuals who would tell
the truth even when it was difficult, who would acknowledge
their mistakes, and who were
genuinely passionate about the
company and their team.
Work that matters.
Initially, one
of the greatest differences was
the boomers “work ethic” contrasted with the millennials
perceived desire to only do
tasks that were interesting or
appealing. In the end, both
generations discovered that
what they really wanted was a
sense of contribution — to see
the connection between their
work and the team’s ability to
reach its goals. As one of the
boomers summarized, “Every
one of us wants to feel valued
and to know our work is
important.”
Companies that stand for something.
In the wake of recent
scandals, both generations were
passionate about working for an
organization they could believe
in. This meant having a clearly
defined set of corporate values
and ensuring that the company’s
actions were consistent with
them. But it also meant going
beyond simply making a profit
to supporting service to the
community and preservation of
the environment as part of the
company’s mission.
Lives that can be balanced.
For both generations, flexibility
was essential. While they
agreed on the importance of
making a significant investment in their jobs, they needed
the ability to creatively balance
that investment with priorities
such as family and health.
As the day came to an end,
this divided team was now
joined through the understanding of all the team members had
in common. Whatever challenges remained, they knew
they would meet them together.
Look deeply today at the people on your own team and you
will likely find that the things
you share outnumber your differences. Start now to focus on
authentic leadership, integrity,
inclusiveness and flexibility, and
you will become the bridge that
unites the generations.
JIM HULING is CEO of The Jim Huling Group, a strategic consulting company enabling leaders and
their teams to achieve extraordinary results. Jim’s leadership experience spans more than 30 years,
including a decade as CEO of a company recognized four times as one of the “25 Best Companies to
Work For in America.” Jim is also the author of “Choose Your Life! a powerful, proven method for
creating the life you want.” He can be reached at jim@jimhuling.com.
