Change the Lyrics: How Leaders Can Bridge the Generational Divide

Abstract The author, an executive coach who specializes in leadership development and succession planning, contends that generational misunderstanding (including “othering” in workplaces and boardrooms) is not a one‐directional phenomenon. “When established leaders punch down,” he writes, “younger leaders punch back up. Neither side benefits from this cycle. It calcifies into mutual distrust, missed opportunities to learn from each other, and organizations that move slower than they should.” He further contends that “the organizations that will thrive are the ones where leaders team across generational lines, not in spite of their differences, but because of them.” He suggests three places to start; in his words: Audit your generational viewpoints; Build shared definitions; and Repeat what matters. For instance, within point one, he writes that the “audit has to be individual first. Before you can collaborate across generations, you need to name the biases you carry, examine them honestly, and retire the ones that are holding you back.”