Clash of the Generations

Appendix BCASE STUDY ‐ CONSULTANTS: LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, LLC, AND RGP

INTERVIEWEES

• Bridget Graham—Senior Consultant, RGP (www.rgp.com)
• Dr. Lois J. Zachary—President, Leadership Development Services, LLC (www.leadservs.com)

Consultants have the benefit of gaining insight into a wide variety of companies—how they work, what the culture is like, and how employees interact. And while companies come in all shapes and sizes, the similarities often outweigh the differences. One of those similarities is the clash of the generations, which occurs in nearly every industry, from health care to tech.

Although she's never been brought into a company specifically to address a multigenerational matter, Bridget Graham, a senior consultant at RGP, says that while most companies don't usually identify generational differences as the cause, “inevitably it comes up in many issues I'm handling.”

Dr. Lois J. Zachary, president of Leadership Development Services, notes that there is definitely a difference in the generations' mind‐sets, approaches, and ways of working. Her company, which promotes mentoring as a tool for leadership competency, finds mentoring to be key in bridging those divides. “Mentoring is something both Gen Xers and Millennials crave,” she explains. “It's a way to feel connected, to feel like somebody cares about you, and to feel supported.”

The following are areas where the generational clash most often arises, and what you can do to overcome them in the workplace. ...