How Generational Gaps Are Costing Your Business with Mary Cooney

Your company just hired a bright, ambitious Gen Z employee. Meanwhile, your veteran team member, let's call him Bob, has been with the company since dial-up internet was a thing. Bob thinks that the new hire lacks work ethic because they don't want to stay late. And the new hire thinks Bob is stuck in the Stone Age because he still prints out his emails. And you, you're stuck in the middle watching productivity plummet while resentment quietly brews like an office coffee pot that no one wants to clean. Here's the thing. Ineffective leadership is leading to toxic workplace cultures. Companies lose millions each year because of the generational disconnects. Things like miscommunication, disengagement, and high turnover that could be avoided. And that's what we're talking about today on Experience Leadership.

Welcome to Experience Leadership, a podcast that challenges small business owners and entrepreneurs just like you to dare to be the exception. Join our host, Customer Experience Expert Marc Haine, as he uncovers relevant and timely content to help you script and direct your business and teams to create jaw-dropping experiences your customers and staff deserve. Here is the host of Experience Leadership, author of Lights! Camera! Action!, customer experience expert Marc Haine.

Welcome to this episode! I am your host, Customer and Employee Experience Strategist Marc Haine. And today, my guest is Generational Dynamics and Engagement Strategist Mary Cooney. We are going to be pulling back the curtains on one of the most costly and overlooked challenges in business— generational disconnects in the workplace. When you think about the fact that we have 5 generations now potentially working in your workplace, we're going to need to uncover why so many teams struggle with miscommunication, disengagement, and turnover. And more importantly, how you as a leader can turn generational diversity into your company's greatest competitive advantage. So, stick around. This is a conversation you can't afford to miss. My one request though is please make sure that you subscribe to this podcast and please make sure that you share this episode with your circle of friends. I'd love to see the business community really support the work I've been doing. And it's free, free, free, free.

Free.

Let's be honest. Workplace culture is kind of a mess right now. We've got Boomers who believe loyalty means staying in one job for 30 years. We have Millennials who think a 2-year tenure is practically retirement. And Gen Zs asking why meetings can't just be an email. Meanwhile, turnover is skyrocketing. Engagement is plummeting. And somewhere in between, managers like you are left wondering, is it me?

Is it them?

Or is it my workplace slowly unraveling before my eyes? If you've ever struggled with getting different generations to actually talk to each other, let alone work together, you're not alone. Businesses lose up to $1 trillion every year to turnover and disengagement, much of what is caused by generational friction that no one is addressing. And that brings me to our Question of the Day. So, how much Is miscommunication, turnover, disengagement between generations costing your business? Have you even taken a look at it or are you just shrugging it off just thinking, oh, it's just the way life is now? I'd love to get your insights. Why don't you go ahead and share this episode on your favorite social media platform? Hashtag it #ExperienceLeadership. Put down your comments and become part of this conversation. As I mentioned, today's guest is someone who has spent Decades, decades decoding one of the biggest workplace mysteries of our time. How different generations think, work, and sometimes don't communicate. Dr. Mary Cooney is a generational dynamics and engagement strategist and the founder of Generation IQ. With over 20 years of experience as a university professor, she had a front row seat to the evolution of Gen Xs, Millennials, and now Gen Zs. Not just in the classroom, but as they entered the workforce. She's worked with major organizations like Wayne State University, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Consumers Energy to bridge the generational gaps and turn workplace friction into collaboration, engagement, and of course, retention. But what makes Mary truly stand out isn't just her research. It's her ability to translate big expensive business problems into practical solutions that actually work. Mary, it is so great to have you on the show. Welcome!

Oh, thank you, Marc. I'm delighted to be here. And just your introduction alone has got me energized about this. You communicate the problem so well. Yay!

Terrific. So maybe you can dig in a little bit deeper into what you do for your clients. Like, who are your clients and how do you help them?

Well, as you mentioned, my clientele cuts quite a broad swath. I've worked with people in higher education. In the court system, in various businesses, service industries. And I think that's because it's like in every walk of life, every business avenue we have, people are encountering this challenge of working with so many different generations right now. And I will say, if you are a leader who is oriented towards a culture in your workplace, in which people, you know that you want people to feel like they belong. And because you know that once they do, they are going to be able to work more productively and collaborate and achieve, you know, that end goal. It honestly doesn't matter exactly what kind of product you're turning out. This is about how do we get to that shared goal that we have?

It's really interesting because in my business, I deal a lot with, you know, the legacy baby boomer owner-operators and managers, and there's a lot of finger-pointing. Do you think that there's a generation in leadership roles right now that are handling generational differences better than others, or is it just Pandora's box of just, you know, all these issues come to the surface because you got all these different generations?

Yeah, honestly, no one generation gets it any better than another generation. And that's because of what we call, you know, that kind of confirmation bias.

Mm-hmm.

Whereby the perspective that I have or the way I see the world, I assume that that's the best viewpoint. And, and the cohort of people that I grew up with and the way that we all view the world Well, that's, that's got to be the best one because that's the one that served us.

Right.

And that's true whether you're a boomer, an Xer, you know, a Z. And so the reason we have this conflict is, you said, a wide variety of generations, every, every one of which has strong value. And that's what I really want to say is No generation is more important than another. And yet we all tend naturally to think, but we are more important than any other. So one of the first things we have to do if we want to get beyond the rut that we're in is to challenge the assumptions we make. about the significance of our generation.

Right.

Or sometimes we put down our generation. But then we have to expand and start challenging the assumptions we make about other generations.

Right.

And in some ways, I guess that needs to begin with leaders, because after all, they set the tone for how the rest of the company is going to work. But this is actually a challenge for everybody on the teams. Because as you said, up until now, generational inclusion has largely gone unaddressed.

Right.

And what you also said is we see all these different disconnects with turnover and disengagement and low morale, all thinking that it belongs, you know, it must be a problem somewhere, but not. kind of peeking under the covers to say, oh, there could be some generational differences here, which are really cultural differences. There's 5 different cultures here.

Yeah, yeah.

And so, how do we bridge those?

Yeah. So, what are some of the biggest misconceptions leaders have about the different generations in the workplace? What are some of the things you're hearing?

Well, it's definitely— I will speak from what I I'm a boomer, and I'm hesitating a minute. Do I want to talk about what the generalities are? But the first thing that I discovered where I really encountered generational difference was when millennials came into my classroom. You know, I taught for about 20 years, and that was the first time I thought, ooh, this is big. They really see things different. And their big thing was they were willing to challenge me. And their big thing was they needed to know context. Why are we doing the things we are doing? And my first response to their challenges was to say, you can't talk to me like this. I'm the teacher. I took this desire to know why as a threat to my authority. So you see, us boomers were raised that you didn't ask why. For me growing up to say, well, why?

Why?

You know, meant because I was, you know, I heard back because I said so. And we just didn't go further than that. Authority.

That was the conversation killer, wasn't it? Because I said so.

Okay, fine.

Yeah. And so right then and there, I had to learn that if I did not engage my millennial students by talking, just having conversations. And here's something, Marc, that I think we wanna, you know, like write on the board. Conversations. We need to start having conversations with different generations in different ways to set context, to help them understand why and how what they're doing actually Fits into the bigger service of the company. I had to recognize that this millennial generation were very engaged learners, active. They were not gonna just sit at their desk and passively do their work. So when they started saying to us, look, I have access to all this technical resources and I can do the same amount of work, but I don't have to do it at my desk.

Mm-hmm.

I don't have to do it at traditional times of the day, and I will still give you the work you're looking for. Us boomers, because we did not know anything different, what do you mean you're going to do this different or do this in a different manner?

Mm-hmm.

For me, work is a place. I do go to work. I don't understand. And this is where I believe for us to get past these generational disconnects. Millennials need to understand why us boomers can't see it different, like in our bones. But the boomers, by the same token, have to understand that the world that the millennials are growing up in are not the same world that the boomers grew up in. And therefore, there's no way they're going to function successfully If we expect them to live and work the same way we did.

Right.

It's not only not necessary, but it's not very useful.

And what's interesting though is right now the millennials are the parents of the Gen Zs.

Yes.

And so that in itself has manifested some other extraordinary anomalies as well. So what are some of the common signs that a company might be struggling with generational disconnects? What should leaders be looking out for?

Well, I would say one of your first telltale signs is look at your turnover. You know, like you said, your attrition. And see what you can figure out about generational segments as that pertains. And for, in other words, if a lot of your turnover is coming from younger generations, people that have been there a short time. Now, like you say, you're not gonna have folks their, you know, like, as lifetime careers. But certainly, if they're leaving before that 2.5, 3-year mark, if they're heading out the door, like, no sooner than you got them onboarded, and I'd say less than a year, you probably have— I would say that's a symptom that they're having trouble working with people older than them, because 9 times out of 10, that's who their manager's going to be.

Yeah.

And what they'll often say is, I don't feel respected. I do not feel heard. And I do not feel that my needs are being basically accommodated. And part of what we've got to be able to work out together is the fact that even though some of the needs are different, it does not mean that the goals cannot be met. Right.

It's interesting because I was just doing a presentation to an organization, to an association. And of course, you know, associations right now are just clamoring for new members and they want to get the younger generation in. But yet when I was speaking at this one particular conference, I had 2 Gen Zs come to me and they said, Marc, we have a problem because we joined the association because a teacher said it was a good idea to do this. And now that we're in the workspace, we want to participate. We joined the board, but now every single time we come up with an idea, or with a different way of looking at things or doing things, we get shut down by the older members. And a lot of it happens with statements like, you don't know what it's like, or you don't understand how this works, or we've never done it this way. And they get completely shut down. So, when you say that attrition kind of is the major sign, that is a symptom that you have all these other little issues happening before attrition ever does.

Oh, yes, you're absolutely right, because I would say that attrition problem, that's the final—

That's the final goodbye.

When all else fails, is that those Gen Zs are going to decide that theoretically it would be a good idea for me to be part of this, you know, organization, but it's not worth the hassle and it's not worth feeling belittled. And I'll just figure out another way to network or, you know, to build experience. So, you're right. Before we get to that problem of the final goodbye, it is, I think, when people— let's say we were onboarding them and we're not recognizing that no matter how young, or we might say inexperienced, someone is, they do come to us with some form of expertise.

Right.

Everybody knows something. And here's what I think the older gen has to recognize, maybe more than ever before, is that our Zs and our younger millennials, they have got some tech savvy that we honestly don't have, at least not intrinsically. Because things are happening so fast. And all I have to say is, you know, 2 letters, AI.

Mm-hmm.

And if we do not have this young gen with their agile intellect that can pick up on things and adapt to things and help us problem solve in that innovative way, the future of our company is going to be in jeopardy.

Yeah.

Does that mean that this brand new person I hire, we just, you know, give them free rein and just say, well, do whatever because I don't know what you're about? No, because then the role of the older person in the company, you know, the elders, is to help, you know, guide or again, provide context for the innovation That the younger gen is bringing to us. They can ask the questions such as, how are we gonna use this? What's it going to do for us that we haven't been able to do thus far? Where is it gonna take us? That's a whole different question than this judgmental put-down of, well, you're not allowed to talk at a meeting. You haven't been here long enough.

It's crazy because what it takes to hire these people, we put them through a whole process of vetting and making sure that these are the best candidates on the planet to come in and support our businesses. And then, they step through the door and you go, mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm. So, we know that leaders—

That's right.

Like I love the fact that you recognize that leaders kind of being the top tier really set that tone. But can you share how leaders might be unknowingly sabotaging itself because of the generational friction and what they see? Like, because there's so many different aspects that we're talking about today. One is the leaders themselves kind of discrediting the new generations. But there's also this thing about being able to recognize the friction as it's happening and then actually having the cojones to actually do something about it.

Well, here's where I believe what I would call building some generational intelligence comes into play. And by that, I mean, let's just take a brief timeout and learn about the background or the backstory of every generation, the world we were born into, and how we came to understand and perceive the world, which then informs the way that we act in it. And the expectations that we have. And to some extent, I feel that the bosses, whether they be traditionalists, boomers, older Xers, we need to probably begin honestly by understanding with some insight the generation that we grew up in. I know we know the facts, but what does it mean for me today? By virtue of the fact that when I came to work, I had to keep my head down and I had to wait for someone to come and anoint me to say, you are doing good work, you are not causing any trouble, I like the way you're emulating everybody else around here, and therefore I, you know, am going to honor you with a promotion. And you are going to work your way up the ranks, and someday you will get to be the boss and tell other people what to do. Why do we boomers do that? Because it's what we learned from our traditionalist parents. And it actually did work for us. But you see, for us, the less you say, the more you comply, the more that it pays off. And we need to recognize that the fact that we don't get to lead the way we were led is really kind of not fair. Because I have been waiting all these years to finally get to be able to boss other people around and to have them say, yes, sir. And I am kind of meaning yes. Yes, sir. Right away, sir. Okay. Yes, sir. And instead, we are encountering a workplace in which we need to collaborate, we need to listen, we need to share some power, we need to take into account different things, flexible workplaces, flexible time. And honestly, but I think I can say this to you because of the kind of business you do, I think there needs to be a little time to grieve that this is not the world I expected to have right now, expected to function in. I need to retool. And I know you don't have a big meeting about that, but it's okay to be a little sad and then have to say, well, you know, or a little angry, and then say, but those aren't the cards life has dealt. So what are we gonna do? Unless I plan to close and lock the doors, the company doors, the day that I retire.

Hmm.

Because I'm not gonna have a legacy unless I find a way to bring people on that I can mentor, that I can encourage, that I can recognize that here you are, the future. Welcome. I don't completely understand you. I may never understand you, but here's the key. I'm curious. As soon as we can switch judgment for curiosity, and it's some questions that are as simple and basic as, can you help me understand why it's so important that you not come into the office every day of the week?

Yeah.

Just, I mean, really, just help me understand. And then if I can in turn say, Well, I gotta tell you, and I would say this, I love coming to the office every day of the week because it's kind of my happy place. I like seeing people. I like being around people. And there we've just shared 2 different perspectives. It's not to say that either one is better than the other, but I need to have no shame for the fact that the office is an important place to me. And the other person needs to have no shame about the fact that No, office, too much office is stress. But balanced, it's healthy.

Yeah, it's interesting because you've outlined kind of 2 key components I think to the solution of what we've been talking about today. One is curiosity being the first one. And then, the second one is actually using that curiosity to create conversations. When we come back, I'd like to talk more about solutions. Thinking about we know what the problem is. We know the consequences. Now, let's find out some actionable steps that people who are tuning in can take. And we'll get to that right after this.

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Welcome back! I am speaking with the fabulous Mary Cooney. We talked about just before the break, we talked about the 2 key components that Mary outlined, which was this idea of curiosity first, which I love. And then, of course, being able to bring that into communication. Do you find that the different generations, baby boomers in particular, have a really hard time with having the humility to say, wait a second, I don't have all the answers?

Yep. Because again, we were shamed for not having the answers. If you think back to school for us, it was— we were indoctrinated with knowledge and you had to give the knowledge back. And if you didn't have that knowledge, Points were deducted. You failed the exam. You were embarrassed in front of the class. Oh, lordy, now I'm really—

ugh.

No, you progressed according to your expertise, and that's how you won the game. And remember too, we could not say to somebody, oh, just a minute, I'll Google that.

Right.

To go do some research, you know, could mean having to go to the library and go through the card catalog. So it could be that we were sometimes making up the answer on the fly, but you never wanted anyone to know. So I think there was a lot of posturing that went on.

Oh yeah. You mentioned expectations being an employee and then looking at, you know, at some point I'm gonna be the boss. And I know as a younger person, I couldn't wait till I was the boss and had all the answers. And then I became the boss and realized I don't have all the answers. And it's like, wait a second, somebody lied to me.

Yeah. Yeah. And I think one of the things And one of the things that can help us in today's world, because knowledge and information is so ubiquitous, that can it be a relief for us older bosses to think, oh, I don't have to have all the knowledge anymore. It's not necessary. But what I do need to have, and this is what our value is as older generation, is wisdom. is we have what's known as crystallized knowledge. And that means knowledge that's just come from years of experience, that I've been around the block, I've lived through things. And remember, we have some people skills, hopefully we should, because of how much face-to-face interaction we've had with folks over the years. And if we can just use that and say, now, this is something I definitely have, That young people do not have because they haven't lived long enough. And if I can use that with some wisdom and some compassion, I promise you, you will have young people following you because they're going to be looking for mentorship. They're looking for that boss as coach, somebody that's not hollering out directions, but somebody that is encouraging, making corrections. That lets people know this is the expectation, this is the deadline. Give some autonomy.

And questioning outcomes as well, right? Like when an idea comes to the forefront, instead of just shooting it down, to be able to turn around and say, okay, well, let's play the yes-and game, which is a nice improv game. And what, what would that look like? Let's explore what that would look like and see what would happen, right?

Yeah.

And that's what became my experience as a teacher, is that As I became more interactive and willing to trust that these students had the capacity to solve problems, to come up with, you know, creative answers to questions and problems, and that again, I was there to provide the support as well as structure, then they would come to me. to ask for help, to make sure things were going okay. Young folks don't want to just be running around, you know, reinventing the world on their own. Now, they might talk like that, you know, but that's bravado. They really do crave leadership, but it has to happen in a way that affirms dignity.

Yeah.

And it has to be personalized with the newer generations. It has to be— it's almost like I said in one particular brainstorming session that I think that we need to clear the deck for managers to become leaders. But that leadership is centered around being a coach first, which means we need to take all the stuff off the to-do list and make their number one priority the people in their charge, the people that they're there to mentor and coach forward, and give them the space to be able to make that happen. And I think to your point, once we have kind of Leverage the idea of curiosity. I'd like to see your perspective on this. It's interesting that you said that. Can we explore your belief system or can we explore why you think that? And let's kind of play with it. And then, even bringing other people into the fold and say, hey, we have this belief. Does anybody else see something different?

Right?

Yeah.

And the amount of innovation and collaboration that can happen just by again, dropping this bravado thing of I'm the boss to actually having humility and saying, hey, let's pull on the magic that we hired into our business. And let's tap into the brilliance that we have in the people I surround myself with. Doesn't sound that hard, Mary. It doesn't sound that hard.

And sometimes, all it takes is allowing somebody to come in. And in this case, I'll say from the outside to just sort of help break the ice a little. Because this is a conversation we haven't had before. And to help, you know, sometimes we call it a candid conversation, or we're just gonna have an introduction to what, you know, these 5 generations are. I know I've gotten feedback from younger generations when we've had these kind of conversations saying, oh my gosh, this is the first time I've heard anyone talk about Gen Z. Without it being laden with judgment.

And finger-pointing.

Yeah, finger-pointing. And I've had sometimes a member of the older generation say, oh, I no longer feel like I'm about to be obsolete. I feel like actually I do have a role here. My experience is necessary. And that's the key. And this is the part, Marc, 2, when let's say we can get these notions of leadership that you're talking about, the leader that's got some humility, that doesn't feel like I have to go be the big know-it-all, and I can help coach, and I recognize the special gifts that young gen brings, as well as what us older generations bring. Well, you know, the people that are specialists in innovation, and creativity, and you're an artist, know that when you, when you have the kind of diversity of ideas that younger and older generation can bring to the table, that's where some of the best innovative problem solving can come from.

Yeah.

Because of what I mentioned earlier, you've got the agile intellect of folks that don't need prior experience. They know how to think of like, 5 new things before breakfast. It's just intrinsic. As we get older, our agile intellect isn't as strong. But what does keep getting stronger is this crystallized intellect. So we can take those agile ideas and we can help say, based on my experience, I think this one of your 5 has legs. I think these are the key questions we need to answer to make it a go. And as a result, what you said, that magic that neither of us could have come up with on our own begins to evolve, and we see that we did this.

It really does feel like it's an opportunity to take kind of this generational diversity challenge that we're all facing and actually harnessing it so that we can really kick into creating an advantage. And it could be A, you know, it's a labor advantage, it's a competitive advantage, it's a customer service advantage. I mean, we really could turn this around, couldn't we?

Yes.

I think this is what you're really helping us discuss today is we're not only figuring out ways to cope with our challenges today, but we're getting ready for the workplace of the future.

Mm-hmm.

One of your demographers and a futurist, Bradley Sherman, I don't know if you know his work. I think he's based in Toronto. And he talks a lot about how we're getting ready to enter, we are entering the super age. And that means that we are now working in an aging world. In the US, I know that right now, we have more people over the age of 60 than under 18. And in 5 more years, it will be more people over 65 than under 18. So that means more people over retirement age.

Mm-hmm.

But because people are living longer and because of better healthcare, folks are going to be working longer. So how are we working now to ensure that our workplace is Conducive and welcoming and harnessing, as you said, those talents of the older worker, while at the same time incorporating the talents of the young workers, which, by the way, means there are fewer younger workers coming into the workplace.

Mm-hmm.

So fewer youth, more elders. And so this business of being able to collaborate To make those wins.

Yeah.

This is where we're at. Let's— but let's be doing it now.

Right, right. For the leaders who are tuning in right now, what's one action that they can take this week to start bridging the generational divide in their teams?

You want to start by having a conversation, an intentional conversation with somebody in a different generation, you know, like maybe a younger generation. And ask them a question as simple as, and how do you see this? Like, be curious. I want to know what your perspective is on our latest initiative. And again, different companies are going to have different things that they're presenting with.

Right.

I know the back to the workplace has been a big thing, but I want to know how you see this.

It's—

the challenge is to become curious. Can I find somebody where I can ask a curiosity question? Because just in that, I'm setting aside my judgmental tendencies. And believe me, I'm in this business, but I can toss off, you know, the judgments, the stereotypes. See, the stereotypes are so ingrained in us.

Right.

It does take real Practice. Challenge those assumptions we make.

Well, and you know, one of the things that I've been preaching back to organizations has been this idea of reverse mentorship, where we not only create a top-down mentorship program but also a bottom-up mentorship program. Where we, again, it takes a lot of humility. It takes the I know it all off the table. And it says, you know, why don't we bring people in and tap into their genius by helping them mentor us even though they might not have a ton of experience. Their new eyes could create a new lens by which we can be looking at problems. And what's challenging is a lot of times you'll talk to younger people. Maybe they were in college or university and they go, oh yeah, I did this project once. And then you look at it and you go, but this is real life. This is not a project. But it's like we need the humility to hear them out. And be able to tap into it because maybe what they're explaining is very, very real.

Yes.

And there's another emerging style of mentorship called co-mentorship or mutual mentorship by a member of the older generation. Younger generation are paired up and they will identify, you know, issues that they'd like to learn about, but they mentor each other. So that they're honoring, again, this idea that each has some expertise that they bring to the table and that there's some interdependence. Oftentimes, the younger member of the pair will help, you know, with some of that latest technology, but even identifying trends. You know, trends are changing.

Mm-hmm.

And again, answering those questions, why is this happening? Where is this going? How do we deal with this?

Yeah.

And can you imagine being a younger employee and having somebody consult you to ask, well, you know, please help me understand something you're an expert in, which is being like Gen Z? And what the older mentor can do is help with career issues. You know, what's the trajectory? Where do I go next? What do I do on that day I'm just going to walk out of here because I can't take it? When that older person can say, I know just how you feel because I almost did that 30 years ago, and let me tell you, but I can do it in that way. Then, and you know, there are studies that say that they found that this co-mentoring goes a long way in retention. It goes a long way in knowledge sharing. And it can be the crux of some of this innovative work too that we've talked about.

What a great way to break down that barrier too, right? just to say that we, for the common good, we're going to have this co-mentoring existence. I'd like to get into some of the most common challenges that leaders face when they're trying to improve the situation with intergenerational teams. And we'll get to that right after this.

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Welcome back! I hope you're getting a ton of value from today's episode. As you can tell, Mary and I are on a mission to support businesses just like yours. So, if you belong to an organization that could use our help, or you know somebody who might be planning a leadership retreat or a conference, Drop us a line. We'd love to explore how we could be of service to you and your people. Our contact information is in the show notes. Mary, can we talk about the role that training plays in overcoming the challenges in building required skills? Because that's one of the things we talked about upskilling. But I think that if we want to implement some sort of a change within our environment, you did mention bringing outside help in. So, it would be bringing somebody like yourself or myself in as kind of trusted advisors. But what role does training play when we want to kind of shake up the status quo and get people to kind of merge together intergenerationally?

Well, frankly, I think training is essential because, as you, again, you have said, it's, uh, generational inclusion is by and large an unexplored topic. In workplace culture and understanding. Now, there are a few workplaces that are already investigating this and incorporating it, but not many. And where I think some— one way to start as an organization could be if you have employee resource groups. Do you have one? Sometimes one— there are groups that— are concerned about age issues, especially if it has to do with age discrimination or people that are trying to take care of aging parents and at the same time balance work life, well, is one way to get started, you know, having that group sponsor a training that introduces this idea of intergenerational connections and inclusion. Or do you have a training session set aside, you know, through your training group that is available to all people on teams in which I call it Generational Diversity and Why Does It Matter? And it is strictly an overview of what do we mean Why do generations have the identities that they have, therefore the different perceptions of things? And then those beginning steps that we can take both ourselves as well as in our workplaces to begin to recognize when we're getting stuck in those stereotypical tropes.

Mm-hmm.

As well as some other ways in which we can actually call on somebody because we're going to identify what strengths different generations have. So, when can we let those strengths on that team be brought to the fore and make sure we're plugging people into roles in which they can work from their strengths, which sometimes has a generational component to it?

Yeah, I've been saying all too often that I believe that when we hire people, we bring people into our team. Sometimes we limit their growth because we have a job description and we're not able to tap into their superpowers because it's like, you know, we hired you to be a front desk clerk. That's all we want you to be. And it's like, you know, you could be losing such, such promise of being able to support your business if you were to tap into kind of the superpowers that people bring to the forefront. For those people tuning in, I mean, this is not necessarily— it sounds easy. to change our mindset and change the way we behave as leaders. But what cautionaries and pitfalls should we be aware of as we try to look into our organization, try to shake that tree of complacency so that we can start tapping into the magic?

Well, the first thing that happens, I know, when I meet with organizations is there's bound to be some resistance.

No! Really?

Resistance?

Sometimes it's the denial that, oh, this isn't such a big problem. And then they'll turn around and they'll start telling me about, you know, the number of people who, you know, again, the retention problems or morale problems or how they try to have, you know, some fun social gatherings, but people just don't seem to want to be showing up. So, you know, there's disengagement problems. So I would say maybe one, that to me is a symptom of not recognizing that sometimes the generational differences contribute to issues and you might not even know it.

Mm-hmm.

So could you be willing to just investigate, you know, to do some assessment work, to let people even have a conversation and they can tell you, whether or not they've ever felt that their age has sometimes been used against them or has caused them to be ignored. And, you know, again, this kind of discrimination, as it were, goes both ways. I mean, we talked about it.

Yeah.

People feel dismissed because they're getting older. People feel dismissed because they're young. And so, it happens to all of us.

It's interesting that you say that because one of my mentors is half my age and she's brilliant. She's absolutely brilliant. And I couldn't do what I've been doing without her input and feedback.

Yeah.

One of the biggest challenges she has is that when she talks to somebody my age, I am the last of the baby boomers, people will look at her and go, you're just on 30. It's like, you don't have any life experience. How can you be my mentor? And— but it's absolutely incredible, the knowledge and the power this person has that has opened up my view of the world so drastically.

Yes. And those are unique and exciting relationships. And I'll bet it helps you know how valuable your work is when it's so relevant to somebody who's significantly younger than you. That it holds value for younger generations. I know for me, when I've had those kinds of experiences, I do feel like I'm— it's helping me to create work experience for, again, for that next generation coming on, you know?

Mm-hmm.

To help make the world a little easier for them to navigate, to know that they're important, that I'm here to support. That I want them to be successful. And when they can see that what they're giving is helping me be more successful, oh!

And they feel like they're working at a higher purpose because it's not about the paycheck. It's not even about the project necessarily. It's about how they now feel like they're contributing to something and they matter, right? And I think I don't care if you're a baby boomer or whatever generation you are. Every one of us wants to feel like we matter.

And millennials, Gen Zs especially, very purpose-driven.

This has been such a great conversation, Mary. Could you let everybody know how they can get a hold of you if they'd like to tap into your expertise?

Yes. I would love for you to, well, find me on LinkedIn, Mary Cooney. And you're welcome to send me an email. I would like that. mary@generationiq.net. My website is Generation IQ. And call me up. I'm in the States, 248-563-1739. You know, you could text, send me a, um, call me.

Can we text you at that number?

Yes, you can.

There you go.

Be sure to tell me who you are. Yeah.

This has been such a fabulous conversation. As we wrap up, do you have any last thoughts about what we've been talking about today?

Well, I just had so much fun. This is my passion. So anytime somebody lets me talk about it, I do think that it's just about overcoming maybe that initial hump. The generational gap has been around forever. There has always been this idea that there's going to be a struggle between Older generation and younger generation, and that's just the way it is. And I think our new opportunity now is to actually say, if we can get beyond that kind of binary us versus them, harness that energy, because it's different. We each have the different things. We can make for some powerful things. And I think that's something we can do.

Boy!

This opportunity to make things more powerful.

Right. Yeah, no, absolutely. Mary, thank you again. I really appreciate you being here and sharing your knowledge and passion and your expertise. It's just been absolutely brilliant. Thank you for joining me today.

Thank you for having me.

Do you have any questions about today's episode? Or maybe you're thinking, hey, we could really use a complimentary 30-minute brainstorm And if you're looking to book a career transforming session with Marc or even with Mary, well, good news. You can snag a spot on my calendar. You just have to hit the link below the one that's marked meetwith.marchaine.com and you're all set. And of course, if you want to get in touch with Mary, her contact information is there as well. As always, I am at your service. If you haven't done so yet though, please, why don't you go ahead, subscribe to this podcast and go ahead and follow me on social I love sharing information, sharing anything that makes leaders better. And I appreciate you being here. Thank you so much for joining me. My name is Marc Haine. I hope you stay safe, stay healthy, and I hope you dare to be the exception.

Thank you for joining us this week on Experience Leadership. Make sure you visit MarcHaine.com for a full directory of available episodes. While you're at it, if you found today's content valuable, please share it and tell your friends about the show. As Marc says, knowledge is power, but only if you share it. Be sure to tune in each week for the newest episode. Please stay safe, stay healthy, and I'll see you next time.

Thank you.

The end.

Dare to be the exception.