Managing Employees of Different Generations

In a multigenerational working environment, managers lead and mentor best by considering each employee's needs, personality, and learning styles and tailoring their leadership accordingly. 

Many of us know that people from different generations tend to have behavior tendencies – how they work, what they value, how they receive positive and negative feedback, and the amount of autonomy they need and want. 

You can gain a general knowledge of generational types based on the year an individual was born. The stereotypical generational types are defined as:

Gen Z (1995-2012),

Millennial (1980-1994),

Generation X (1965-1979),

and Baby Boomers (1946-1964)

Generally speaking, Gen Z is passionate about working with cutting-edge technology and values work-life balance. Because of the value they place on work-life balance, they tend to set boundaries and like to travel. They are highly motivated by a sense of purpose.

Millennials, on the other hand, prioritize a fun, collaborative, people-focused work environment. Generally, prefer being rewarded through title recognition, career development, or extra time off.

Typically, Gen X prefers to work independently, as opposed to collaborating in a large group. They tend to be workaholics and are skeptical of authority in the workplace. Gex X’ers are typically motivated by job security and advancement.

Lastly, Boomers want to work in a collaborative environment where they know they are having an impact. Compared to other generations, they are more likely to feel seen by special boons in the workplace, like a new office, more responsibility, or a company award. They believe in managerial hierarchy and prefer face-to-face communication.

These generational guidelines are a great starting place to understand and work toward effective communication and management of your employees, but not everyone fits their generational stereotypes. 

Since the workplace is a regular area where people of different generations collaborate and need to optimize communication, I recommend considering each employee's unique needs and reviewing generational tendencies.

When using these generalizations, remember that not everyone follows these trends. For example, I work with a Gen Z individual who grew up involved in her family business. While Gen Z is not known as the most "self-starting" of generations, her unique life experience and exposure to the work ethic demonstrated in the family business cause her to behave more independently and with little guidance. 

Keep in mind that these generational characteristics are helpful but not foolproof. I take it a step further in managing my employees in the most individualized way possible.

Upon hiring or joining my team, I ask each individual to complete a questionnaire. My survey asks some questions: 

What do you believe are your strengths? 

What do you perceive to be your weaknesses?

Do you have a preference for your work environment?

What motivates you?

**For my complete questionnaire, visit www.5ftview.com and send me a message.

I find that these questions allow me to manage someone keeping in mind their personality, learning, and communication style, and we can create a collaborative employee/manager relationship that runs efficiently and optimizes our shared opportunity for success. 

In addition to my questionnaire, I make feedback a regular part of our work process. Scheduled 1:1s with each employee once a week are a standard practice so that we can discuss their project status, review needed support, or realign expectations and priorities for the upcoming week.

A set meeting is crucial because it demonstrates that communication and feedback are regular parts of the process. It alleviates employees' feeling like they are “bugging” me by requesting a meeting during a jam-packed week. It also prevents 

an employee who has never had a 1:1 from thinking, "Am I in trouble” which is common when unexpected meetings pop up on the calendar.

When you tailor feedback to your direct reports' learning and communication style and couple that with a regular meeting cadence talking through situations and making improvements or positive changes together is welcomed and comfortable.

Overall, I find it is vital to manage employees in a way that highlights their unique personal needs, personalities, and learning styles.

While it is sometimes difficult to work with every person using an individualized approach, we can garner clues from one's generation, information about their needs in the workplace, and regular communication to manage employees as effectively as possible so that common goals are achieved.