Generations Do Differ: Best Practices in Leading Traditionalists, Boomers, and Generations X, Y, and Z

Supervisors in all businesses and organizations are challenged daily to determine how to recognize, reward, and motivate workers from each generation in their workplace. To maximize effectiveness, they must strive to support and nurture an age-neutral workplace that fosters worker productivity, tolerance, teamwork, and a sense of valuing of all employees to be all that they can be for as long as they desire. The purpose of this article is to underscore the importance of all members of multigenerational workforces working together to accomplish identified workplace goals, even as individuals realize their professional goals and aspirations. It is very important to understand and implement practices that complement workers' and learners' generational preferences, differences, and similarities.In a school setting, accomplishing this goal requires that school administrators and supervisors possess an understanding of generational similarities and differences and are able to talk with people in a manner that resonates with the individual(s) and the issue(s) at hand. Teachers are a unique group to lead, as each is already a leader in his or her own right. Accordingly, a teacher-leader or supervisor must respect the teacher's unique authority and expertise while keeping the individual working toward the larger and overarching plan for all school stakeholders, including students, parents, staff, and community members.Generations ReferencedCategorically speaking, each of the five generations currently found in workforces and schools include Traditionalists; Baby Boomers; and Generations X, Y, and Z. Each of these groups is profiled in this article, which also summarizes similarities and differences to enable workplace administrators and supervisors to work effectively with individual workers and teams of workers comprised of individuals from the different generations.Traditionalists. Clause (2015) defined Traditionalists as people who were born 1900-1945 and comprise the oldest generation in American culture. Traditionalists have generally aged out of the workplace through retirement and thus constitute a mere 5% of today's workforce. Traditionalists generally prefer to work in conservative, hierarchical places where there is a clear chain of command (top-down). The term "Traditionalist" is often associated with a variety of other generational terms, including Radio Babies, Builders, Industrialists, The Silent Generation, and World War II Generation (Buahene & Kovary, 2003; Kane, 2015). Many of these generational references relate to world events, inventions, and creations that occurred during the timeframe, such as invention of the radio. Historically, Traditionalists lived through Hitler's 1941 Russian invasion, the United States' 1941 World War II entry with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the 1945 end of World War II in Japan and Europe, and the beginning of the 1950 Korean War.Typically, Traditionalists respect authority and possess family values that keep their work and family lives separate. Generally motivated by money and position like their Baby Boomer children, Traditionalists take pride in being self-sacrificing and thrifty. They tend to work hard from a sense of pride and determination, consider debt or obligation to be embarrassing, and acknowledge that change comes slowly. According to Kane (2015), Traditionalists describe themselves with two words-loyal and disciplined-and view education to be a dream. They reportedly learn best through traditional, instructor-led instruction; generally prefer tangible items for recognition or reward, such as certificates, plaques, or trophies; and seek to feel supported and valued by their employers and supervisors.Baby Boomers. Human resources expert Heathfied (2015) defined Baby Boomers (Boomers) as the generation of Americans born in a baby boom following World War II, 1946-1964. Boomers have had good health, constitute the wealthiest generation, and optimistically view the world as improving over time. …