For the first time in history, five generations are colliding in the workspace. Multiple generations have worked together for ages, but how we work together is rapidly evolving, requiring learning leaders to observe and react with greater agility.

Work environments over the decades looked something like this: Younger team members reported to older team members and worked their way up to senior roles through dedication, perseverance, and loyalty. It was uncommon decades ago to find younger generations offering knowledge to their elder peers, but today, a vast range of ages can be found in linear roles, problem-solving side-by-side. Older team members often report to colleagues decades younger today, as Millenials grow momentum in the workplace and Baby Boomers retire.

As the workforce landscape evolves, your learning strategy should be devoted in part to determining best practices to move the business forward.

Which generations create the present?

Today we have four, sometimes even five, generations working together within a single team.
Uniting people with contrasting generational upbringings and professional experiences has its share of challenges. It’s also an unprecedented opportunity as a learning company to reflect on what makes each generation unique and an integral part of the organization.

The Society for Human Resource Management categorizes these five generations and the percentages of each found in today’s U.S. workforce as follows:

• Traditionalists, also known as The Silent Generation: Born 1925 to 1945, 2 percent of current workforce
• Baby Boomers: Born 1946 to 1964, 25 percent of current workforce
• Generation X: Born 1965 to 1980, 33 percent of current workforce
• Millennials: Born 1981 to 2000, 35 percent of current workforce
• Generation Z: Born 2001 to 2020, 5 percent of current workforce

By honoring each generation’s definition of success, we can develop a clearer path toward organizational success. In the midst of so many differences, where do we begin to find commonalities?

To gain understanding, look backward first

Embracing differences between multigenerational learners begins by recalling what the job market looked like as each of your team members joined the workforce. Here lies endless learning potential. Considering the past illuminates defining features of generational traits, which shapes all of us professionally in ways we may not even realize. Learners are not blank slates, so it’s important to begin this practice with empathy and not assumptions.

Envision what was going on in the world during each era when your team members joined the workforce. What did technology look like? What defined professional success? What drove them to begin working on their chosen path? How did entering the workforce under these circumstances shape how they operate within your organization today?

Communication: The language of learning and leadership

One of the best examples of a multigenerational team embracing its differences occurred at The Open Sustainability Technology Lab at Michigan Technical University. During the development of the first low-cost open-source metal 3D printer, one of the younger engineers on the team took to Amazon to speedily order a necessary component for project completion. Before the part was added to their Amazon cart, an older team member researched his own rendition of the missing element with spare parts, finalizing the project faster than Amazon could prepare for shipment.

The project’s success was credited to the team’s humble willingness to coach one another and share individual diverse skillsets based on which style of working each generation embraced. Healthy communication is essential for a harmonious multigenerational team. This is where honoring the past shapes the present and informs a concise learning strategy.

Consider this quote from Johnny Tan, a Filipino trade union leader: “Although we live in an information technology age, we often find ourselves in failure to communicate situations.” What are we missing? Prime opportunities to talk it out. Social learning bridges gaps in communication, especially in multigenerational environments. There’s no time like the present to utilize social learning.

Check out our perspective on how innovation advances when learners feel a sense of social belonging and connection to one another. In hybrid and remote learning environments, people clearly crave togetherness and want to learn from one another.

Acknowledge differences and learn from them

It’s easy to get caught up in the web of details surrounding what makes up each distinctive generation. So, how do we help our teams grow when one generation may prefer in-person learning workshops and another prefers quick tutorials via TikTok? Many teams are comprised of Baby Boomers who once made use of interoffice memos as the preference for office communication, while Gen Z began their work experiences with texting and instant messaging. And this is just differences in communication methods. Naturally, everyone has their preferred styles of communication, but remember as you build your learning strategy, you lead the charge by making a final choice that works for everyone.

One of Maestro’s core values touches on a primary contribution to working successfully and multigenerationally, which is “check your ego”. Ego traps are everywhere, and it doesn’t take much to fall into believing one generation’s way of doing things is the best way. The truth is, we all have something to learn from one another.

Learning should meet people where they are

This leads us to Maestro’s Learning Principle number three: Learning should meet people where they are. Leaders cultivate innovation because they reach toward learners and do not expect learners to come to them. There’s no one-size-fits-all, and consider that there may not even be such a thing as different learning styles.

It’s our duty as a learning company to acknowledge and cultivate the unique backgrounds of each team member. One way we do that is through our Learning Environment Analysis framework (LEA), a comprehensive approach to conducting learner research. Although we typically use the LEA for learner discovery, it can be applied internally to understand your learners’ generational backgrounds. Let’s take a look at just one exercise that can help bring learners together, embrace differences, and pave the way for leveraging the strengths of different generations.

Time to take notes

This practice highlights the most innovative generational traits of your team members. It’s key to remember that not everyone fits in a mold. This is a meeting exercise to simply find overlapping commonalities.

First, invite your team to join you in-person or online. Open up a discussion on the benefits each generation brings to the table. Speak freely about how generational stereotypes affect our perceptions of ourselves and our ability to learn. Ask your team about their professional goals and seek common themes, as you make note of details. Eliminate the potential for differences to become a point of contention by keeping conversations positive and constructive.

As discussions continue, you’ll find stereotypes fade, and what remains is our human need for acceptance and value. Challenge every team member to be a part of this process. Encourage all to take a day or two and watch for generational gaps in learning and workflow and to make notes in a shared document for all to view.

Once complete, discuss observations in a quick in-person or video meeting and go through areas that may lead to snags in workflow. Wrap up your meeting by reiterating positive shared experiences and goals. And don’t let go of your team’s meeting exercise notes, which will be helpful to reflect back on and share again in the future as your team grows.

Focus on the why

When developing a learning strategy for a multigenerational team, finalize decisions based around broader united organizational goals that everyone can get behind. Reminding learners of foundational company goals focuses on the why versus moving forward without illustrating a deeper purpose. Consider generational attributes gathered from your learning, and combine them with your pre-existing proven training methods to move the business forward and radiate organizational success.

Effective learning leads with heart

Learning and development is multigenerational glue, holding together all the best qualities of each generation to build your greatest team. Consider Maestro’s core value “lead with heart”. Everyone you meet has their own story. Begin with empathy.

Learners of every generation find comfort in what they’ve practiced time and time again throughout their work experience. Remind your team to focus on empathy when considering differences, and nurture an environment of learning from one another. By leading with heart, differences turn into mutual mentoring and build business stronger.