Generational Differences in the Workforce

“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished by how much he'd learned in seven years.” American humorist Mark Twain, who turned 21 in 1856.

Remember when you thought your parents were behind the times?  Would your kids say this about you? There’s an old saying, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Technology changes at warp speed, but human nature is fairly consistent. Lately there’s been so much written about Boomers, Gen Xers and Millennials that it’s hard to know what’s really true and what just seems true because we hear it so often in the media.

People are working longer, so you may have coworkers in your office who range in age from aged 18 to 70 or more. But sizing up a co-worker according to their generation is a waste of time. It won’t tell you what they’re really like, and it won’t help you understand how to work well together. One thing is for sure: if you want your team to work together like the rock stars they can be, you’re going to need to give them some information they can really use to communicate better.

There is a reliable way to understand someone very quickly: If you want to work well together, take a look at their assessment report and let them have a look at yours. Be sure it’s an assessment that shows the values they hold dear, because these are the inner motivations that move them into action. It should include their behaviors and the personal skill competencies they bring to the job, too. Are they talkative, friendly and optimistic? Detail-oriented and conscientious? Can you count on them to put their head down and get the job done like clockwork? Is this someone who will move full speed ahead to make decisions? With one look at a comprehensive assessment, you’ll see who is high in personal accountability, who embraces learning new skills, and who is a natural team-builder.

Knowing a co-worker’s assessment profile tells you how they are going to operate on the job, and that’s what you really need to know. It will tell you about their behavior, what motivates them and the personal skills they excel at on the job. With this information, you’ll understand them based on their own specific characteristics, not just some generalization. You can find common ground, understand each other’s preferred communication style and adjust the way you approach each other. And if you’re a manager, a job-related assessment will tell you exactly how closely they fit what you need from them on the job. It will even tell you specifically how you can help them boost their performance by using professional development only in the areas where they really need it. Like Mark Twain, you may be astonished by how much more they have to offer than you ever guessed.

How do you leverage all of the talent and potential within your organization to build market competitiveness? It starts by identifying each individual’s current strengths and helping them to develop more.