Managing Generational Differences, Part 1

It’s easy, when someone from another generation is driving you crazy, to overlook the unique contributions she can make. In the next three blogs, I’m going to spell out how each generation prefers to interact, helping you create a cohesive team.

Baby Boomers love face to face interactions. They grew up with large groups everywhere, before the age of the Internet. They thrived on mass protests, mass rock concerts and large families. The idea of IM’ing or texting, when they could be having a face to face meeting is foreign to them. So if you’re Generation X or Y, be flexible with Boomers. Try to increase your face to face interactions every month with them…by the water cooler, at meetings, during lunch, and even during coffee breaks. You’ll be surprised at how fun it can be to actually talk live to a person!

My next blog will cover how Generation X prefers to interact.