A New Kind of Diversity: Making the Different Generations on Your Team a Competitive Advantage

by Tim Elmore , John C Maxwell

• ISBN13: 9798887100005
• ISBN10: 8887100004
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2022-01-01
• Publisher: The John Maxwell Co.

Summary

In A New Kind of Diversity, bestselling 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. Regardless of how we feel about the gaps between us, there is one we cannot avoid. One of the largest gaps remains an “elephant in the room.” We know it's there but we don't know how to talk about it.

It's the different generations that find themselves working together. It's a generation gap.

There is a new kind of diversity that only eight percent of U.S. 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.

Author Biography

Dr. Tim Elmore is the founder and CEO of Growing Leaders (www.GrowingLeaders.com), an Atlanta-based nonprofit organization created to develop emerging leaders. Since founding Growing Leaders, Elmore has spoken to more than 500,000 students, faculty, and staff on hundreds of campuses across the country, including the University of Oklahoma, Stanford University, Duke University, Rutgers University, the University of South Carolina, and Louisiana State University. Elmore has also provided leadership training and resources for multiple athletic programs, including the University of Texas, the University of Miami, the University of Alabama, The Ohio State University, and the Kansas City Royals Baseball team. In addition, a number of government offices in Washington, D.C. have utilized Dr. Elmore's curriculum and training.

From the classroom to the boardroom, Elmore is a dynamic communicator who uses principles, images, and stories to strengthen leaders. He has taught leadership to Delta Global Services, Chick-fil-A, Inc., The Home Depot, The John Maxwell Co., HomeBanc, and Gold Kist, Inc., among others. He has also taught courses on leadership and mentoring at nine universities and graduate schools across the U.S. Committed to developing young leaders on every continent of the world, Elmore also has shared his insights in more than thirty countries--including India, Russia, China, and Australia.

Tim's expertise on emerging generations and generational diversity in the workplace has led to media coverage in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes.com, Investor's Business Daily, Huffington Post, MSNBC.com, The Washington Post, WorkingMother.com, Atlanta Business Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, and Portfolio.com. Tim has appeared on CNN's Headline News and FOX & Friends discussing parenting trends and advice.