Are tensions between different generations escalating? In organizations, lack of trust between older and younger workers often yields a culture of competition and resentment that leads to real productivity losses. But when age-diverse teams are managed well, members can share a wide array of skills, knowledge, and networks with one another. Today’s organizations already have the means to help leaders take advantage of these assets: tools that have been used by cross-cultural teams for decades and by DEI initiatives more recently. But these tools are rarely applied to age biases and conflicts. To change that, the authors offer a four-part framework of identifying assumptions, adjusting your lens, taking advantage of differences, and embracing mutual learning.
Buy CopiesConflict between generations is an age-old phenomenon. But at the end of 2019, when the retort “OK, Boomer” went viral, the vitriol — from both young people who said it and older people who opposed it — was pointed and widespread.
Assuming it is might make it worse.
Megan W. Gerhardt is a professor of management and the director of leadership development at the Farmer School of Business at Miami University, as well as the Robert D. Johnson Codirector of the school’s William Isaac and Michael Oxley Center for Business Leadership. She is coauthor of Gentelligence: The Revolutionary Approach to Leading an Intergenerational Workforce.
