Boomers (born between 1946 and 1960)

• Hold a deeply competitive world view; see most scenarios as win-lose
• Are hardworking and driven
• Value individual achievement and recognition
• Question authority and hierarchy, yet feel pressure to follow established rules and procedures
• Are idealistic, but have by and large put “lofty” personal goals on the back burner for the past 30 years
• Are often parents of Gen Ys and inclined to enjoy members of this generation
• Enjoy mentoring others and the idea of leaving a legacy

OVERALL:

• Emphasize winning: Explain how your idea either represents a “win” or will make the organization (or individual) more competitive. For instance, if you’re offering a Boomer a new position in the company, comment on how you’ve chosen her over numerous other candidates. Or if you’re proposing a new marketing investment, discuss how it will thwart a competitor’s program.
• Seek their counsel: Appeal to their desire to pass on their knowledge. You might ask a Boomer for advice on how to get her boss’s attention, for example, or for help analyzing a problem that keeps cropping up.

IF YOU’RE A GEN XER:

• Spell out your career goals: Clearly convey your aspirations to any Boomers with influence on your career well before you’re up for a promotion or new role. Don’t assume they’ll automatically know where you’d like to end up long term or what kind of development path you’d prefer. Their well-intentioned ideas may be quite different from your own.
• Overcommunicate: Be transparent in your approach to projects or problem solving. You’re more likely than your Boomer colleagues to consider multiple options. Explain how and when you’ll make decisions so Boomers will recognize the time you’re spending as due diligence, not misconstrue it as indecision or procrastination.
• Partner with them: Tap their experience and networks. For example, invite a Boomer to join your skunkworks team. When you’re ready to pitch the best ideas to your executive board, she can help socialize the top contenders with her peers, which may help speed buy-in. She can also raise potential concerns early on-helping you dodge delays at the implementation phase.

IF YOU’RE A GEN Y:

• Ask them for mentoring: Pair your enthusiasm for learning with a Boomer’s expertise and desire to give back. For example, share your most pressing project management problems with him and discuss potential solutions. In return, offer him tutorials on social media or time-saving technologies.
• Make sure your written communication is professional: Boomers are more likely than others to base judgments on the way you present your ideas. Express your recommendations concisely, using correct grammar and spelling. Describe the financial benefits of your suggestions when possible.

Gen Xers (born between early 1960s and late 1970s)

• Are self-reliant
• Don’t trust any institution (corporations, marriage, and so on) to take care of them forever
• Like to keep their options open
• Are irreverent
• Think outside the box and are comfortable changing the rules as necessary
• Accept the validity of diverse points of view
• Have close relationships within a small group of friends (their “tribe”
• Place high priority on being good parents

OVERALL:

• Weigh your options: Most Xers want to know that you’ve considered contingencies. Earn their respect and buy-in by including a discussion of “what if” when you present ideas to them. For instance, identify the two or three events or trends that would be most likely to disrupt your proposed course of action—and the response you would recommend taking if each one were to occur.
• Let them choose: Whenever possible, present a menu of solutions and engage the Xer (whether she is your boss, colleague, or subordinate) in the process of choosing the best one. You might, for example, ask her what weight she would give to various decision criteria.

IF YOU’RE A BOOMER:

• Employ their innovative thinking: Ask an Xer to help solve a problem or reality-check your solution to make sure you’re viewing the challenge from every possible angle. For example, invite him to test the validity of your strategy statement by posing a broad range of scenarios you might not have considered on your own.
• Harness their ability to integrate multiple points of view: Invite an Xer to lead a complex group discussion—for instance, an after-action review. She’s likely to ensure that everyone is heard so you’ll have a fuller picture of what worked well and what needs improvement.

IF YOU’RE A GEN Y:

• Explore common ground: Make the most of your shared passion for discovering new ways of working. For example, ask an Xer to help you analyze and improve your cross-functional team’s processes. Or work together to find opportunities to leverage new technology in the organization.
• Respect the dues they’ve paid: Most Xers have worked their way up a long career track and may feel threatened by the perception that you want to “leapfrog” past them. When you express your desire for more challenging work, be clear that you’re not looking to take their seat.

Gen Ys (born between 1980 and the mid-1990s)

• Expect to live life fully each day
• Are optimistic and confident
• Prefer to work on their schedule, not yours
• Are hungry to learn; expect regular coaching
• Get things done using in-the-moment coordination rather than long-range planning
• Work collaboratively
• Have limited awareness of corporate hierarchy and protocol
• Are comfortable expressing opinions freely and bluntly
• Enjoy and respect their parents and tend to retain close relationships with them

OVERALL:

• Ramp up the challenge: Give stretch assignments to maintain their interest. For example, ask a Gen Y to prepare a draft proposal for a client. You’ll free up more of your time for other priorities, and he’ll feel that he’s making career progress. Or specify an outcome you need to achieve, but leave the approach to his discretion. Encourage him to find ways to do it better. Tell him, for instance, that the sales team needs to understand and get excited about a new product’s features by the planned launch date, but invite him to propose the communication and training plan.
• Put their work into context: Explain how what they do affects the larger organization. For example, invite a Gen Y to your next marketing meeting so she can see how the daily sales dashboard she’s setting up will help your group accurately track the impact of different campaigns.
• Provide frequent feedback: Take every opportunity to teach them. After a brainstorming session, for instance, pull your Gen Y direct report aside to note how useful it was for him to help facilitate. Give him a few specific suggestions on how he could do it even more effectively next time.

IF YOU’RE A BOOMER:

• Clarify how you’ll communicate with each other: Agree on “rules” everyone feels comfortable with. For example: How frequently will you exchange e-mails or text messages? Will you share questions and thoughts as they come to mind or save them for a weekly status meeting? Work together to accommodate your different preferences.
• Tap their technological prowess: Gen Ys are great sources of tech support, often without realizing it. Task a Gen Y with test-driving new software, for example, or looking for shortcuts in the sales-reporting process.