How to Overcome Resistance to Change

1. Coach your managers in generational diversity

4. Create an open environment to encourage collaboration

Leaders and managers must first understand the beats with which they are dealing. Coach them to recognize and understand generational diversity, so they can embrace the potential by employing appropriate leadership tactics.

Encourage people to converse often and openly. In team meetings, ask for (and listen to) ideas and the sharing of experiences. Encourage a collaborative culture to drive continuous change by enabling decision-making in cross-generational and cross-functional working groups. This new open and transparent culture can also be encouraged by redesigning office space. Eliminate closed doors and open the space.

2. Enable cross-generational collaboration

Encourage millennials to benefit from the experience of baby boomers. Simultaneously, senior employees should learn from the new viewpoint of the younger generation. One way to facilitate these learning processes is to adopt mentoring programs that bridge the generational divide.

5. Be a people organization

Different generations are at different stages of their life. Show concern for their personal wellbeing and needs: offer flexibility of hours and working practices to allow people to have a better work/life balance. This is more difficult than it appears – organizations must also be seen to treat all employees equally and fairly.

3. Engage people by considering different learning and working preferences

People of different generations learn differently. Baby boomers prefer classroom- based presentations and textbooks, while millennials prefer interactive training enabled by technology. Build your training with these differences in mind. In daily work, focus on creating a standard against which everyone is measured. Consider results achieved, and give flexibility as to how those results are achieved by allowing more flexibility of working routines; for example, by offering flexible hours or remote working opportunities. In longer-term projects, consider engaging millennials by giving them extra responsibilities outside their normal remit.

6. Use appropriate communication styles and channels

Different generations communicate differently. Younger employees generally prefer social media-style channels of communication (texting, instant messaging, and emails), while baby boomers prefer face-to-face communication and talking on the phone. When holding meetings, ensure that there is something to discuss and to engage all employees.

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