Nurturing a Multi-Generational Workforce

Call it what you will — nurturing, training, mentoring, developing, or empowering. By any name, it's one of the biggest challenges in leading a multi-generational workforce. 

In fact, it goes beyond that. Creating a nurturing environment is one of the biggest challenges in leading any workforce.

Looking Beyond Differences to See Advantages

It's easy to blame changes for challenges. The easy thing to do isn't always the right thing to do.

The challenge doesn't really come from the diverse, multi-generational nature of contemporary organizations. It comes from fostering the growth of any group of individuals. Even in single-generation environments — a school classroom, for example — leaders still face challenges nurturing their groups.

Having five generations under one roof doesn't hurt you. In fact, you'll probably find your diversity is a major advantage — when you learn how to use it.

Learning to Use the Your Clubs in Your Bag

As a golfer, you spend a lot of time practicing. Specifically, you spend time learning how your clubs feel in your hands.

To be the best you can be, you need to know how your swing feels, the aim, the grip, and the posture you need for that flawless swing. Learning that takes hundreds of hours at the driving range and lots of time on the putting green.

After that, you just practice keeping your skills sharp. It gets to be second nature — and you might even forget about all the work you put in.

When you switch one of your clubs out for a new one, some of the skills are going to transfer over. Rather, you will be able to transfer them over once you learn the similarities and differences between the two sets of clubs. Some of the skills — well, you might have to spend a little extra time at the driving range.

Committing to Permanent Growth

It's natural to want to learn new skills faster than you learned the old ones. You might even want the transfer to be automatic.

Your experience will help you practice efficiently, but it won't make you an automatic expert. You'll have to work for that.

Getting Back in the Swing of Things

Just like working to feel out a new club, you'll have to work with the increased generational diversity of your team. It will be a while before you really understand everything it can do.

Your path forward will depend on the exact nature of your organization and your vision for the future. That said, there's something you can do right now to prepare for more specific action late.

Sharing Your Passion for Self-Improvement

In many ways, leaders carry around their own nurturing environments. They're self-inspired to grow.

Your vision of success compels you towards constant personal growth and learning. You know self-improvement means making progress towards that ideal future.

This never-ending challenge is what makes leadership one of the greatest challenges in the world. It's what keeps you going forward. Start actively sharing that feeling, and you're one step closer to nurturing any team — no matter how diverse.

Are you ready to actively champion the culture of learning you want everyone to adopt?