A New Kind of Diversity

Making the Different Generations on Your Team a Competitive Advantage

By: Tim Elmore

Narrated by: Tim Elmore

In A New Kind of Diversity, best-selling author Tim Elmore brings his decades of research and leadership experience to bear on what might be the biggest, most dramatic, and most disruptive shift the American workforce has ever seen: the vast diversity of several generations living—and working—together.

The past few years have brought an endless cascade of social media movements that left many of us...well...scratching our heads. #Occupy Wallstreet. #March For Our Lives. #Black Lives Matter. #MeToo. #ClimateChange. Regardless of how you might feel about these protests, each symbolizes a gap. Despite the perspectives on all sides of these causes, a clear issue remains:

There is a huge gap in this country that few are taking seriously.

While diversity is usually seen as an ethnic, gender, or income issue—there is a new kind of diversity that only eight percent of US companies even recognize: diverse generations on teams.

Long laughed off as a cliché and more recently mocked in memes #HowToConfuseMillennials and #OKBoomer hashtags, the generational gap has become an undeniable tension in the global workplace. Sadly, it has fostered:

• Loneliness in our workplaces.
• Poor communication on our teams.
• Reduction in revenue and team morale.
• Conflicting values and priorities in the office.
• Divisions that lead to “walls” instead of “bridges.”

For the first time in history, up to five generations find themselves working alongside each other in a typical company. The result? There can be division. Interactions between people from different generations can resemble a cross-cultural relationship. Both usually possess different values and customs. At times, each generation is literally speaking a different language!

How can we hope to work together when we can’t even understand each other?

This book provides the tools to:

1. Get the most out of the strengths of each age group on your team.
2. Foster effective communication instead of isolation among people.
3. Build bridges rather than walls so that loneliness becomes connectedness.
4. Connect people to learn how both veterans and rookies can mentor each other.

©2022 Maxwell Leadership (P)2022 Maxwell Leadership

Great information, easy listen/read

Tim Elmore does a great job explaining both pros and cons of the generational differences. But most importantly he explains the strengths of each generation and how we all can work together to make progress and to unify our workforce.

Great book

Very informative. Will reread this book several times. There is just so much great stuff to think about in one read.

Excellent book at the right time!

Tim Elmore is someone I’ve read before and enjoyed but this is my favorite resource from him! I lead a team of 4 generations at a urban multiethnic church and found the book full of incredible nuggets, reflection questions, and reference materials. I’ve now shared the book with my Lead Team and will eventually walk our entire staff through it. 5 out of 5!

Excellent information

the author has collected valuable information through decades and shared the key points of each gemeration to understand, relate and take the best of each one, I loved it!

Excellent practical advice for leaders and parents

Key points for me: (1) each generation has something to offer and blind spots to manage. (2) Social and emotional intelligence he suggests is the key to building teams across generational divides. While this has always been true, the relative lack of such skills among the young makes it even more critical. (3) Reverse mentoring where the youngest employees mentor the oldest is a brilliant idea!