Multi-Generational Communication

Assumptions can be made about how a particular member of a given generation is going to communicate, but is the way a leader communicates dependent on his generation? There are styles and techniques that are going to lend themselves to more effective communication as a leader. A leader needs to be prepared to play a role in order to engender the confidence of his subordinates to readily follow his vision. The leader will need to assure his followers that he or she is intelligent and knowledgable about the core of the organization's business (De Vries, 2006). Today's workplace is composed of three primary generations; the Baby Boomers who were born between 1946 and 1964, Generation X who were born between 1965 and 1980, and the Millennial generation, or Generation Y, born from 1980 to 2000 (Hammill, 2005). Each of these age groups has a completely different set of goals and particular methods of communicating. And with the largest segment of the working population, the Baby Boomers, beginning to retire, more Generation X and Generation Y members are being promoted earlier into leadership positions, leading to a change in the traditional organizational structure where age has always been at the top (Winzenburg, 2007). So, with these promotions, the nuances of their individual generation's communication style are coming into play, but in order to reach the pan-generational audience they can not dominate the leader's message.

Communication Evolution

Styles of communication are going to change with time as new influences replace older structures of communication. If this were not the case, we would still be speaking in Chaucer's Old English and drafting manuscripts on parchment instead of Modern English transmitted in bits of data ov...

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... the group as though he or she is speaking to his age peers. But, if he or she understands what the expectations of each age group are, the message can be crafted to reach the broad audience.

Works Cited

De Vries, M., & Korotov, K. (2006). THE FUTURE OF EUROPEAN BUSINESS LEADERSHIP. European Business Forum, (24), 36-42.

Hammill, G. (2005). Mixing and Managing Four Generations of Employees. FDU Magazine Online, Winter/Spring 2005. Retrieved from http://www.fdu.edu/newspubs/magazine/05ws/generations.htm

McKenzie, A., & Cannon, D. (1998). Across the ages. Communication World, 15(7), 21.

Reynolds, L., Bush, E., & Geist, R. (2008). The Gen Y Imperative. Communication World, 25(3), 19-22.

Winzenburg V., & Magnus R. (2007, October 5). Understanding Generational Leadership Styles. Retrieved from http://www.di.net/articles/archive/understanding_generational_leadership/