From Boomers to Alphas: Are leaders capable and prepared to engage their current and future employees?

Take a snapshot of your employees by generation. What do you see? If you are in a manufacturing environment, are you still dominated by the Baby Boomer generation. If you’re in crypto or software development, do the Millennials rule supreme?

I’ve spent my whole career in communications, first as a reporter and editor and the last two decades in public relations. In both fields, I learned to target my messaging to various audiences. Journalists, at least those from my Boomer generation, learned to “write to the 10th grade level”, as it was assumed our readers were mostly uneducated and incapable of understanding words with more than two syllables. In PR, I learned the finer art of targeting specific groups, be they shareholders, customers or students looking for jobs in manufacturing.

While there might be a place for these approaches, none should be assumed as writ in stone. Is it fair to say that employees in one field – or a particular generation – are incapable of comprehending complex messages while those in another field or generation are more astute and can absorb greater meaning and understanding from more elaborate messages?

For several years I have been training new group leaders entering our manufacturing operations. I focus on helping them develop their communication skills to become more effective leaders. I see this as a critical learning opportunity, as these new leaders (salary employees) technically oversee teams of hourly employees. It’s easy for the leaders to fall into the trap of telling their charges what to do and walk away expecting blind compliance.

I’ve taken a broad approach with the training, emphasizing that the new leaders need to “get to know their teams” first, so they can better communicate important messages that drive alignment and engagement. Getting to know the team involves the basics of knowing the team members by name, understanding their capabilities, and knowing how to tailor messaging to engage the team members. I couple this with a discussion about how to listen, something many leaders fail at because they view their role as dispensing direction and not gathering feedback from their charges.

Lately, I’ve adjusted my approach to include information on generational dispersion in our operations. To open the eyes of these fledgling leaders, I share an example from one of our sites, showing not only how many employees fall into each generation from Boomers to Gen Z, but also dispersion by seniority.

I hope that by sharing this information I can encourage these new leaders to better understand the teams in their charge. As Simon Sinek has stressed, one of the key differences between a leader and manager is how you treat the people in your teams. Managers tend to focus on the micro details of the job whereas leaders take care of their teams’ needs. In a workplace spanning multiple generations, it’s easy to form negative biases along generational lines.

With the needed emphasis on DEI in the workplace, we should be adding generational dispersion to the to our discussions and equity and inclusion. Knowing our generational makeup will position us to address our employees’ needs, accordingly. For instance, as someone who was born at end of the Boomer era, I am comfortable with technology and trying new things. Yet, I know plenty of older Boomers who shun social media and prefer a printed newsletter over a digital version.

A one-size fits all approach does not work when you are trying to reach multiple generations. Just looking at generational dispersion supports the argument that leaders need to be nimble and flexible in how they interact and communicate with their teams. A mix of printed, verbal, and digital communications can be employed to reach the broader audience with personal interactions taking into account the preferences of the team members.

Leaders may be loathe to personalize their messaging, but it is not as daunting as it might seem. Spending more time on the shop floor, in the offices or just mingling with the employees allows the leader to “get to know” the teams and understand the workplace dynamics. I had a leader once reject a suggestion I made to recognize an employee at a safety meeting. Rather, the leader decided a one-on-one discussion with the employee made more sense. He was right. The employee wasn’t necessarily keen on being recognized in front of a group but absolutely loved the personal attention the leader provided during the visit to his work area.

With generational shifts occurring in the workplace, it’s easy for leaders to focus on the emergence of the younger generation of workers. This focus, though, should not be at the expense of the generations that are waning. In fact, greater emphasize is needed to ensure the older generations are included in helping onboard and mentor the newer generations, and that we capture their institutional knowledge to help the organization thrive for generations to come.

I’ve seen this work effectively when more experienced employees coach and mentor K-12 robotics teams. Having Boomer or Gen X employees working with Gen Z and Gen Alpha students has inspired individuals to see careers in manufacturing as desirable and even exciting. Formal mentoring and the creation of knowledge libraries are two other ways to leverage generational dispersion.

We should never lose sight of the rich diversity found in the generations working in our plants, offices, warehouses or even remotely from our homes. Their inclusion and engagement are critical to organizational success but, more importantly, foundational to how our employees feel they are valued.

Tom Wickham is a senior manager of manufacturing communications at General Motors. #IWorkForGM Tom previously worked as a journalist for The Detroit News, The Saginaw News and The Flint Journal. Opinions expressed in this article are his own.  #generations #leadership #communications #babyboomer #genx #genz #millennials #genalpha #iworkforGM