The Golden Rule – treat others as you would want to be treated – dates back for generations as a simple yet effective mantra for interacting with other humans, whether at home or at work. But, does it work? What if those you lead are not like you and don’t want to be treated the way you want?

––
–
Despite the good intent built into the maxim, in turns out that “one-size-fits-all” does not work in leadership. Even the magic wrench has limitations despite its appeal as a universal tool. Emerging successful leaders today are applying The Platinum Rule instead – treat others as THEY would want to be treated. This is especially important (and much more challenging) in today’s landscape with as many as five generations performing alongside one another in the same workforce. What is a leader to do?
First let’s understand what the five generations are and a few common characteristics within each. Then we will review how leaders might adapt to effectively engage across those audiences. Various opinions exist on how to define generations and what years mark the start and end points of each, but according to Pew Research these are the most commonly used by sociologists: 
–
  • Silent Generation: (born between 1925-1945) As the oldest of the employed generations, this is also the smallest subset of the workforce, but people are increasingly working into their 70s and 80s. Also known as Traditionalists, they were shaped by economic fragility and firm parenting, nurtured to be seen rather than heard. General traits include loyalty, determination, respectfulness and thriftiness.  
  • Baby Boomers: (born between 1946-1964) Employees in this bracket tend to be loyal, believe in more hours at work and view work as a career rather than a job. They usually prefer in-person communication and often are goal-oriented, competitive, team players and bureaucratic. They may resist adoption of technology and be slower to change. 
  • Generation X: (born between 1965-1979) This generation was the last to understand the world before technology became the norm. Single-parenting and divorce rates increased in this generation. They are known as hard-working, independent-minded, self-reliant, open to feedback and flexible. “Gen X-ers” are educated, casual and entrepreneurial, and are passing those values onto their Gen Z children.
  • Millennial: (born between 1980-1996) Millennials are more likely to embrace gadgets and technology as part of parenting and how one approaches work. They typically are socially-driven, tech-driven, multi-career based, financially conscious (more debt averse than their Boomer parents) and poor at interpersonal skills. They are perceived as lacking resilience and yet they tend to freely experiment with career moves early and often.
  • Gen Z: (born between 1997-2015) Often the children of Generation X, this generation is fully immersed in the world of technology, the Internet, mobile devices and more recently…social media. Others view them as entrepreneurial, less materialistic than Millennials, tech-savvy, “always on”, lacking interpersonal skills, having low attention span and characterized as the indoor generation.

–

Each generation as defined by these ranges has shared experiences that define their upbringing, and influence views on career, finances, life goals, communication preferences and how to collaborate. The Silent Generation grew up amidst two world wars and economic calamity. Their Boomer successors experienced a vastly different period of post-war optimism, growth and liberation. Gen X is sandwiched between two popular generations of Baby Boomers and Millennials, but is also defined by its pioneering of pop culture, and love for music and art. Millennials experienced a massive shift in technology during childhood as home and personal computers became the norm. Gen Z grew up with mobile devices becoming ubiquitous and the merging of physical and online life through social media and the Information Age. 
When attempting to tailor your leadership approach to engage with each generation, consider the following strategies to align with the views and needs often associated with each group:
–
Silent Generation
    – Capture the valuable institutional knowledge through deliberate mentoring.
    – Emphasize legacy by honoring contributions of the past that paved the way for today.
–
Baby Boomers
    – Keep them on the team as long as possible through phased retirement plans.
    – Incentivize a knowledge transfer through mentoring of other team members.
–
Generation X
    – Proactively develop leadership skills and career pathing options up and across. 
    – Emphasize autonomy and flexibility in the work environment.
–
Millennials
    – Create opportunities for early and frequent progression by offering mentoring.
    – Engage them with meaningful, purpose-driven work and opportunities to contribute through reverse mentoring (e.g. sharing technology skills with previous generations). 
–
Generation Z
    – Leverage technology and especially mobile devices. Adapt the way you recruit, communicate and collaborate to align with this group’s preferences for digital.
    – Be open to candidates with relevant experience that might replace degreed education. Many in this generation opted for non-traditional education due to skyrocketing costs of college. 
–
What can be done as a leader to bring awareness to the generational differences on your team and maximize the contributions of all involved? 
–
  1. Capitalize on the unique superpowers and benefits of each generation to build a formidable, diverse team. Build awareness around the key characteristics of each generation in today’s workplace. 
  2. Identify and focus on similarities. For example, one study extracted that all generations agreed that they want their team to succeed, value the same things from their leaders, want to understand how success is measured in their careers, all generations have different needs at different life stages and that we will all continue to face challenges in the future. 
  3. Foster collaboration. Bring the various generations on your teams together by developing tools that spotlight and honor the contributions of each generation. This might include coaching and mentoring programs to bridge the generational gaps and encourage sharing of knowledge in both directions.  Communication strategies could also include adaptations for different preferences. Build leaders who are adept at mobilizing diverse teams. 
–
“Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.”   – George Orwell

––