Can adults with a 30-40 year age spread work successfully together? Or are there just too many differences?
A while back I asked an HR consultant if, and if so where, she has seen examples of age-based differences causing problems in the workplace. The first thing she said was that most conflict she has seen between generations has its roots in communications.
Think about it: Communication, or its lack, can and often does create roots of conflict. Or as I’ve pointed out here and in Clapping Oak seminars, it can be the root of healthy growth, universal flourishing, and good fruit.
What does the word generations mean, anyway? Is that a real thing? Putting on my word nerd hat here, according to Etymology Online, since the early 1500s it has meant “a body of individuals born about the same period.” So yeah, it’s a real thing. That’s how we still use the word today. In my family, I’m the oldest of three living generations. In employment and sociological circles, and in our popular culture, though, we have generated (see what I did there?) nomenclature beyond this basic definition to identify adult generations as, in descending order of age, the Greatest Generation (coined by Tom Brokaw in his book of that title), Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Gen Z.
I think naming age groups like this started when my demographic was coming on the scene. Don’t blame me, though, because it was our elders at the time who named the post-World War II surge in births the Baby Boom. We were first called Baby Boomers when I was a young adult. We were young once, with the characteristics of the young. Today’s Gen Z’ers will someday be elders. It’s a spectrum. It’s fluid.
Too often, talk of these generations reinforces stereotypes. I fear I’ve been guilty of it myself, even regarding myself. Let’s just name it – we have contributed to ageism. Enough, already.
There are no hard and fast boundaries between the generations. You might have a birthday that makes you old enough to vote, but there is no birthday at which you cross the line from young to old. Our challenge is to recognize the differences and value them equally.
We are all older than someone and also younger than someone. That is accurate. I choose to use words like older and younger instead of the generational categories to help others as well as myself think beyond the stereotypes. I encourage this practice when I work with others. And all ages bring value — if we can open appreciative and curious eyes to learn from each other.
It’s a continuum. A human continuum. Like trees, we keep growing. In a healthy forest, the older trees and the younger trees help each other. They look out for one another. They share nutrients, light, and information. And they do that at the roots.
Take your pick. Do you want to grow conflict? Or a healthy environment where all ages thrive and bear abundant fruit?
How can we have more good communication at the root of the age-diverse population, and less communication that blocks growth?
If the communication has already been invaded by negativity and assumptions, it needs to be repaired with some good habits. It needs to be reframed and trained.
Good communication skills are a game-changer. Is this the year you till the ground for them in your organization or family?
If you’re intrigued by this topic and its benefit for individuals, teams, and families, contact me about Clapping Oak’s intergenerational communication training and facilitation options.