OR Manager - November 2018 - 20

Cross-generational communication: A two-way street
Leadership
oday's perioperative services staff
consist of multiple generations
with different backgrounds and
communication styles. Nurse leaders
must consider such differences, not
only for recruitment and retention purposes
but also for developing bonds
with bosses who are not from their own
generation-because they will have
their own unique leadership styles.
" Each generation has a way they
lead and want to be led, " says Gabrielle
Bosché, founder and president of
The Millennial Solution, a consulting
company in Washington, DC, and author
of 5 Millennial Myths: The Handbook
For Managing and Motivating Millennials,
2nd ed. " Generational
T
leadership
preferences are based on how people
were educated, how they were raised,
and, particularly, their worldview, " says
Bosché, who spent 3 years researching
generational leadership styles.
Rose
Sherman,
EdD, RN,
NEA-BC,
FAAN
Understanding these
preferences will help
leaders of all generations
build better relationships
with those
they report to and with
the leaders who, in turn,
report to them. " What
nurses expect from their
leaders is changing, "
says Rose Sherman,
EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN,
director of the nursing leadership institute
at Florida Atlantic University in
Boca Raton. " Nurses today want their
leaders to be coaches. "
Those changing expectations warrant
a closer look at the leadership style
of each generation and how to build
bridges when leaders and their bosses
are from different generations.
Leading with style
Differences in leadership style can be
traced to how each generation experienced
childhood, Bosché says.
Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964).
Baby Boomers tend to lead from the top
down. " They're very process oriented, "
20
OR Manager | November 2018
Bosché says. " They created many of the
processes [being used in the organization],
so they like them. " That can make
Baby Boomers more resistant to suggestions
for changing those processes.
A top-down style comes naturally to
Baby Boomers because their parents
were influenced by a military style of
leadership. For instance, " when it came
to TV, they watched what their parents
wanted to watch, " Bosché says.
Generation X (born 1965-1980).
Gen Xers typically lead from the side because
they are independent and entrepreneurial.
" Leadership for them is delegation
oriented and self-empowering, "
Bosché says. Generation X was the first
generation where both parents usually
worked outside the home, resulting in
the " latchkey " effect. In the case of
TV, " they watched what they wanted to
watch because their parents weren't
around, " Bosché says.
Because they had more time to
themselves, members of Generation
X learned to do things for themselves.
Their independence makes them chafe
under micromanagers, and it's why
they feel that those who work for them
should figure out what is needed, rather
than be led through the steps.
Millennials (Generation Y, born
1981-1996). Millennials tend to lead
from the middle. " They seek collaboration, "
Bosché says. " They want to be
sure everyone on the team agrees and
thinks it's a good idea before moving
forward. "
This generation was raised very
democratically, which is why they seek
collaboration. " Our parents asked us,
'What do you want to watch on television?
Where do you want to go on vacation?' "
says Bosché, who is a Millennial.
Generation Z (born since 1996).
Although small in number, Bosché says
leaders from this generation will likely
be similar to Gen Xers. " They are going
to be very independent and are selfsolvers,
less collaborative than Millennials. "
In childhood, Generation Z individuals
often interact with friends online
rather than face to face. " Their leadership
style is going to be doing things
alone but together, and technology will
allow them to do that, " Bosché says.
The 2014 report, The Great Generational
Shift, from the UK recruitment firm
Hudson, reflects results of more than
28,000 psychometric assessments of
three generations of workers (https://
uk.hudson.com/reports/the-great-generational-shift).
According to the report,
leadership skills vary by generation, with
each having their strengths.
* Baby Boomers score the best on
traditional leadership skills such as
leading, decision making, motivating,
persuading, and strategic thinking.
* Generation X falls between Baby
Boomers and Millennials in traits.
For example, they score higher in
strategic thinking than Millennials,
and female Gen Xers are more people
oriented than Baby Boomers.
* Although Millennials score the lowest
on traditional leadership traits,
they are excellent abstract and conceptual
thinkers.
Building bridges
Different leadership styles can clash
when leaders from one generation report
to leaders from another generation.
But it doesn't have to be that way.
Keeping the other person's viewpoint
in mind and being willing to adapt go
a long way toward building bridges between
leaders of different generations.
Here are a few examples.
Millennials reporting to Baby
Boomers or Gen Xers. Bosché recommends
Millennial
leaders first
try
to find answers themselves (as Baby
Boomers and Gen Xers would) before
going to their bosses. " We [Millennials]
have been taught to ask 'Why?', which
often makes us look like we are needy, "
Bosché says. " When you ask for overclarification,
it comes across as weak
and [like] you don't know the answers. "
She says before Millennials approach
the boss, they should think
about why a process is in place and
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OR Manager - November 2018

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