We tend to think of leadership in pretty one-dimensional terms; there’s someone at the top, and their job is to lead the people that work for the company or the organization. But this is an overly simplistic view of the role. It’s not just who’s leading the team that counts, but the type of people that make up the team. For instance, there are different requirements when it comes to managing workers with a more traditional mindset than workers with a modern attitude.
While there are certain work cultures that attract one specific type of person (think Silicon Valley), the vast majority of companies are not like this. They function as a melting pot of different personality types. Take the age factor, for instance. Today, there are four generations working side by side: traditionalists, baby boomers, generation Xers, and millennials. And it won’t be long before the new generation, generation z, is a big part of the workforce. While there are similarities that unite all workers (and especially those that work for the same company), there are also some pretty big differences that must be managed if the organizational leadership is going to be strong.
The good news is that leading a multigenerational workforce is not impossible; it just requires a considered approach. Doing things such as focusing on the team’s shared qualities, developing a culture that promotes collaboration, and encouraging mentoring between different groups will all help. To learn more about this topic, check out the infographic from Norwich University below.
Infographic Design by Norwich University Norwich University
