Recently I sat down with the President of Genesis10, Glenn Klein, to discuss how to get best outcomes from our team. A key theme from our conversation was the need to be adaptive and adjust our management style to the resource. Our conversation got me thinking further about managing teams and, moreover, leading multigenerational teams. Like many managers today, I manage a team of professionals who represent different generations. My teams are made up of Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials.
With varying levels of expertise, and years of experience, each member of my team is well qualified, with everyone making valuable contributions based on their unique talents that ultimately lead to the continued success of our company. Still, managing a high-performing multigenerational team can be challenging.
So, how do I approach to get the best outcomes from each team member? I realize that I can't take a cookie-cutter approach to management. I also have learned that everyone is influenced by their prior work experiences, education and mentors as well as their parents' work ethic and approach to their careers. Parents serve as role models. For example, one who struggled to climb the corporate ladder and did so successfully may inspire grit and determination in their child.
These influences, good and bad, create an unconscious bias that shapes the individual's approach to their job and their career. It is important for a manager to "dig in," to learn what makes the person tick. Whether you are managing a small team or a team of hundreds or thousands, the notion of "digging in" can be leveraged and applied to a team of three or four or to your immediate direct reports.
What works well for me is to play to people's strengths, to listen and pay attention to behaviors. A saying that characterizes my approach is "I don't play whack-a-mole." Why assign someone a task if we both know it does not play to their strengths and they will only get frustrated, procrastinate or just flat out miss the deadline? We are not getting best outcomes. Alternatively, I focus on individual strengths and creating a healthy, safe environment to learn and to grow individuals to take on tasks in the future that initially were not in their wheelhouse. Investing in our people and building capabilities is key, in my opinion. I am a strong proponent of professional development and mentoring across generations.
As Liz Bywater, Ph.D. of WJM Associates writes,
"On any given team, you will have people with a variety of strengths, backgrounds, personalities and work styles. To lead most effectively, you need to modify your management style to accommodate the needs of each team member. The flexible leader recognizes that there is nothing inauthentic about modifying his or her approach as needed."
The result is a high-performing team comprised of members of several generations that is super responsive to our customers—both internal and external, meets deadlines and exceeds the objectives we set for ourselves.
"Smart employers realize that one of the keys to growing and succeeding in an increasingly competitive global marketplace is recruiting and managing talent drawn from workers of all ages,"
finds a study from the Boston College Center for Work & Families.
"Leading—and successfully managing—an intergenerational workforce is becoming a business imperative that few organizations can ignore."
Challenges are inevitable when you try to integrate people with different life experiences, communication preferences and tech savvy into cohesive teams. Here are some tips to consider when bridging the generational divide and managing multigenerational teams.
Each generation has a different work style. Step one in my opinion is to understand and appreciate the generational differences in the workplace, so that in turn you can tailor your management style to get the best out of each team member. According to the American Management Association,
And remember, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z, while similar, are still unique.
As previously noted, it's best not to take a cookie-cutter approach towards managing the team. Rather tailor the management style to the resource to get best outcome.
Discuss feedback—and feedback expectations with team members. This is one area where there is a generational gap.
To be a successful manager and leader in today's dynamic workplace,it is important to understand the uniqueness of each generation to create an environment where everyone can thrive. A conversation will help with understanding the differences. Don't assume that every team member is dialed in and understands. The goal is to find common ground and bring different perspectives and experiences together to deliver best outcomes for the company. This is the essence of leading multigenerational teams.
Answer: Because team members bring different experiences, work styles, and expectations, a one-size-fits-all approach won’t deliver the best outcomes. The text emphasizes modifying your management style to each person’s needs—there’s “nothing inauthentic” about doing so. This flexibility results in high-performing, responsive teams that meet deadlines and exceed objectives. It’s also a business imperative: organizations that recruit and manage talent across ages are better positioned to grow in a competitive market.
answer: It means taking time to understand what makes each person tick—their prior work experiences, education, mentors, and even parental role models that shape unconscious biases and career approaches. “Digging in” can scale from a small team to large organizations and informs how you tailor assignments, support, and feedback so each person can contribute at their best.
Answer: Avoid “whack-a-mole” assignments that don’t match strengths and only create frustration or missed deadlines. Instead, align current work to strengths while creating a healthy, safe environment for learning so team members can take on stretch tasks over time. Investing in professional development and encouraging mentoring across generations builds capability for future, more challenging work.
Answer: Team members with roughly 7+ years of experience typically self-prioritize and steadily manage near-term and future deadlines; they may just need a brief call or email to clarify direction when overwhelmed. Less experienced professionals benefit from a weekly cadence with clear guidelines and incremental reviews. A quarterly mentoring rhythm helps build confidence and independence, turning early-career talent into “powerhouses.”
Answer: Discuss feedback preferences upfront. Millennials and Gen Z often seek immediate, frequent input (think texting/real-time updates), while Baby Boomers may prefer a more formal, reflective process with time to discuss. Don’t assume alignment—use conversation to find common ground and create an environment where each generation can thrive.