Generational Stereotypes
We hear generational stereotypes all the time. How many times have you heard:
Why do Boomers have to print every email? Don’t they know they’re killing trees?
Why does Gen Y have to be online all the time? Can’t they have a face-to-face conversation?
Why does Gen X have to find the flaw in every solution? They’re such party-poopers!
“So what?” as my father would say. So what if we have certain ideas about other people? The “so what” is that stereotypes hinder team effectiveness. If we enter every meeting stereotyping others on the team, with “Oh boy. Here comes Rahul, the classic Gen X. He’s gonna put a damper on everything; he makes no time to socialize.”, then we’ll make assumptions about him, based on that stereotype. We’ll start to judge him based on his age, rather than on his talent, ideas and insights. That’s a huge loss to any organization.
So how do we become aware of our own stereotypes and stop them from hindering team performance? The first step is to become aware of what we say in our heads, and out loud, about others. It may be something like “Why do THEY always do that?” or “I just can’t relate to them; THEY make me crazy.”
Once you become aware of your personal biases, you can then start to get answers about them. Ask your question to someone of that generation and see what he or she says. You might ask a Gen Y why she’s online all the time; the reply will likely be that she values connection to her community and uses technology to stay connected. Or you might ask a Gen X why they are so practical and pragmatic about everything; he’ll likely answer that he was forced to mature quickly so views everything from a more focused angle.
The actual answer doesn’t matter so much. What matters is that you have created a conversation with someone who sees the world differently than you. That helps you understand why people do things and opens your world to new perspectives. And what does that create? Collaboration and innovation. Just what the doctor ordered when it comes to team performance!
