HBR Guides to Managing Your Career Collection (6 Books)

Collaborating Across Generations

by Tamara Erickson

If you work with people from every generation, as many of us do these days, how do you communicate with them? And how do you get them to support and participate in your initiatives? By understanding their priorities and positioning your ideas and requests accordingly. To help with that challenge, here’s a snapshot of each generation, along with tips for working effectively across the ages.

Group	Defining characteristics	How to work with them
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 ...