Independent Banker - March 2019 - 30

PORTFOLIO
remember that each has something to contribute.
Knowledge and experience are incredibly valuable
regardless of what generation you belong
to. Tenured perspective is as useful as a fresh,
uninfl uenced view.
Leading by Example
By Chris Lorence, ICBA
Multigenerational
mentoring
I
n
today's workplace, it's not impossible
to fi nd fi ve generations rubbing shoulders.
With people working later in life than ever
before, you could fi nd a member of the Silent
Generation, who came of age during the Great
Depression, working side by side with a Gen Z
digital native, who has no concept of a world
without smartphones.
It's hard to imagine how the two would relate,
especially given that discussions of this generation
gap are often peppered with clichés:
older employees are resistant to change, while
millennials are lazy and entitled. Clearly, such
stereotypes are counterproductive and are
often far from true. Any generation can be stereotyped
and maligned, but it's important to
30 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q March 2019
Chris Lorence
(chris.lorence@
icba.org) is ICBA
group executive
vice president-
member
engagement and
strategy
The best leaders make the most of this diverse
talent base to increase job satisfaction, innovation
and productivity. One of the ways to do
this is through cross-generational mentoring.
Formalizing relationships between people of
diff erent experiences, tenures and generations
can reduce misconceptions, break down organizational
cliques and, eventually, evolve into
practical knowledge and application.
So much tacit knowledge is held, like gold, by
tenured staff , perhaps in fear that by passing it
along they will no longer have value. However,
it's the process of sharing that can open up new
possibilities. For older leaders, career longevity
may depend on expanding their knowledge
and understanding of technology and social
media, subjects that digital natives live and
breathe. Similarly, ideas that older leaders take
for granted may seem wildly original to younger
employees. Sharing those ideas not only helps
younger generations develop professional skills,
it helps the organization build its leadership
pipeline too. Bringing generations together has
been shown to reduce confl ict and create a sense
of shared commitment. Diverse teams are often
more innovative, and employees who feel more
engaged are more productive.
How you set up your mentoring program is
up to you. It can be peer to peer or up and down
the organization. It can be one on one or even
via mixed-age teams. With the latter, mentoring
relationships are allowed to develop organically,
which can take some of the pressure off .
For a partnership to work best, it's important
to defi ne your expectations and the rules of
engagement ahead of time. Keep an open mind,
trust in both the process and your partner, and
be willing to learn.
It's essential for leaders to help employees
understand that each generation brings distinct
sets of skills to the table and to fi nd common
ground between them. Personality types transcend
generations. Boomers may in fact discover
they have more in common with millennials than
they do with their contemporaries.
Independent Banker - March 2019

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