Gentelligence | Book Review

Most existing efforts to transform organizational cultures
to appeal to multiple generations focus
exclusively on the layer of artifacts. (p. 166)

Megan Gerhardt, Josephine Nachemson-Ekwall and Brandon Fogel offer a well-researched how-to guide for existing and emerging leaders interested in transforming a widespread organizational challenge into a transformative strategic advantage.

Just as legendary basketball coach John Wooden taught incoming athletes to first tie their shoes, we may think of gentelligence as basic behaviors we must perform to become championship leaders as coaches.  The authors share that that gentelligence champions every generation and is born from intergenerational curiosity (p. 3). In a way, this is an extension of Pfeffer and Sutton’s The Knowing-Doing Gap call to treat knowledge as an active, continuous process. Our mandate: Development and retention require attention to create inclusive organizational cultures where all generations are given a voice and expected to learn from each other (p. 20).

This review centers on Chapters 3 and 4, or things we should stop doing and things we should start doing, respectively. Gentelligence offers a solid historical basis for the following generational identity birth years (pp. 29-37):

Stop Doing These Things

Gerhardt identifies four major roadblocks that prevent the development of Gentelligence: generational shaming, age biases, value perceptions, and knowledge differences.

1. Multiple generations are attempting to work together without a solid understanding of their age-related differences, leading to conflict, miscommunication, and frustration (p. 46). Imagine an Energize2Lead (E2L) Workshop intentionally populated by multiple generations with a specific focus on our expectations dimension. We could explore differences is not only how we want to be approached, but further the generational “why” behind such differences.

2. The authors are struck by how ageism in the workplace seems to be more widely accepted and tolerated when compared to other types of discrimination (p. 50). Perhaps we’ve been conditioned by our traditional concepts of working and retirement – put in your twenty years and collect the golden ring. In Arthur Brooks’ From Strength to Strength, he introduces our Vanaprastha life stage, when we purposely begin to pull back from our old personal and professional duties, becoming more devoted to crystallized intelligence, teaching and faith. This approach may serve as our antidote.

3. Four workplace values have been found to span all generational boundaries (pp. 54-55):

• A desire to feel valued to the organization.
• Competence: being perceived as knowledgeable and skilled.
• Connection: collaborating with colleagues and experiencing mutual trust.
• Autonomy: having the freedom and independence to exercise judgement and make sound decisions.

We can overcome our value differences by creating a motivational environment. Each of the listed four values are genuine motivators, reminiscent of Dan Pink’s identification of Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose (Drive).

4. There are five different types of knowledge that can be valuable to an organization (p. 59): know-what, know-how, know-when, know-why, and know-whom. Whitney Johnson’s S-Curve of Learning provides a terrific way to visualize overcoming and harnessing knowledge differences:

Recall, Whitney recommends 70% of our teams should occupy the engaged state, with only 15% each in the other two. This model also illustrates how our more senior teammates may transfer knowledge mastery, further increasing engagement in younger, less experienced generations.

Start Doing These Things

To break down barriers of intergenerational tension and bias (p. 65):

1. Resist Assumptions
2. Adjust the Lens

To build up the capacity to leverage intergenerational strength and power:

3. Strengthen Trust
4. Expand the Pie

Resisting Assumptions means pushing back against human tendencies to draw automatic connections based on stereotypes about someone’s generational identity (p. 66). Be a leader as coach or resist the temptation to evaluate rather than observe. Listen first, listen more.

Adjust the Lens, aims to better illuminate the intent behind the actions and behaviors of those from other generations (p. 70). Ask someone from a different generation to share their Personal Leadership Philosophy. Explore the differences and the why behind them.

Strengthening Trust is vital to helping people at all levels in an organization see the potential in depending on and collaborating with those across the perceived generation gap (p. 77). Our age related differences are likely captured in our E2L instinctive dimensions, where the requirements for developing trust, safety and security are revealed.

To Expand the Pie, it’s important to cultivate the habit of proactively searching for those win-win opportunities (p. 82). An actively collaborative leadership style or being both assertive and cooperative, serves us well here, minimizing conflict.

Moving Forward

On page 137, the authors summarize a future talent strategy:

Remember one of our primary findings from Culture Shock, that supervisors should have one meaningful conversation per week with each employee. That’s our starting point for increased engagement. To stay engaged, twenty-first century workers across generations will need continuous learning and career-development opportunities (p. 143).

Summary

Much of the gentelligence approach is having the humility to look past our own generation and to understand and embrace the contributions of others.

We challenge business leaders to unlock the talent potential of our
diverse, intergenerational workforce by proactively attracting
developing, and engaging employees at every age. (p. 187)