An analysis of 20 studies with nearly 20,000 people revealed slight and inconsistent differences in job attitudes when comparing generational groups. While many love to point out that younger and older people are more different than alike, research refutes this notion–especially in the workplace. What matters at work is not differences between differently aged employees, but the attachment to the belief that differences exist. This fallacy gets in the way of team collaboration and how employees of different ages are managed and trained. What’s needed is a strategy that not only fosters mutual respect, but utilizes unique opportunities to cater to specific needs, such as audio technology making provision for those harder of hearing and introducing (and allowing) easy access to mother’s rooms.
Managing your culture while engaging all age groups can be done with the introduction of the skill of Positive Presence as an organizational necessity. The skill of Positive Presence enables your people to be responsive to each others’ needs, which is a primary contributor to employee engagement and workplace culture. It pollinizes influential leadership and requires you to learn to understand yourself. The ancient Greek aphorism, “Know Thyself,” can be attributed to at least six Greek sages, the most notable being the philosopher Socrates.
Leaders must be purposeful and intentional about managing dynamic states of nature like culture, generational gap, and brand image. These dynamics are not problems to be solved but states of nature that require constant attention. How people experience the external effect of your organizational culture is a by-product of the internal dynamic of your organizational culture. Tony Hsieh the CEO of Zappos said it best that “culture is your brand” and that culture is driven and created as a direct result of the level of engagement you have as leader in your organization.
By embracing flexibility, promoting knowledge transfer, and investing in employee wellbeing, organizations can effectively leverage the skills and experience of all their employees, regardless of age.
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.