For the first time in history, five generations of lawyers are occupying legal workplaces. Each generation brings unique lived experiences (often determined by their birth date), which underlie their values, expectations, and behaviors.
Working in multigenerational teams can create challenges, but also opportunities to increase understanding and build bridges with your colleagues.
The generational breakdown by birth year is typically Traditionalists (1925 – 1945), Baby Boomers (1946 – 1964), Generation X (1965 – 1980), Millennials (1981 – 1995), and Generation Z (1995 – 2012).
If you attended our annual Future Is Now: Legal Services conference in April, you heard generational strategist Katherine Jeffery, Ph.D., explain generational differences and how they influence the way we behave.
Kendra Abercrombie, a Legal Recruiting & Professional Development Manager at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, then discussed how these differences appear in legal workplaces.
Katherine and Kendra shared a wealth of truly valuable information (you can watch the panel here), but these three things stuck out to me.
1. Think about generations as different cultures.
Jeffery explained that each generation operates differently, from the clothes they wear to the language they use. So, it can be helpful to think of generations as different cultures in terms of norms and customs, she said.
For example, older generations often viewed parents and other adults as authority figures, while many Millennials and Gen Zers were raised to view their parents as friends, Jeffery said. This can create different expectations about traditional workplace hierarchies, involvement in decision-making, and engagement with leadership.
Another example: Gen Zers often get criticized for their reluctance to answer a phone call unless they know who it is or receive a text first. But consider this: Growing up, Baby Boomers and Gen Xers answered landlines at home all the time without knowing who was on the other end, Jeffery said. Whether it was their dad’s boss or their sister’s boyfriend, this allowed them to build some confidence in conversations with people they didn’t know.
But this wasn’t the case with Gen Zers, whose smartphones have always told them who is calling. No wonder office landlines can cause some anxiety.
With some research, you can learn how differences in lived experiences may inform behavior and expectations. Moreover, by better understanding your colleagues, you can work more efficiently as a team.
2. ‘Clear is kind’ in communication.
Lawyers from different generations communicate differently, which can be seen as speaking different languages, Jeffery said. When there is confusion, she advised that clear communication is a kind way to help your colleagues understand where you are coming from.
Abbreviations like BRB, BTW, or LOL might mean different things to different people. For example, does LOL mean “laughing out loud” or “lots of love”? It could depend on your generation.
Shorthand, emojis, and even punctuation can lead to confusion, too. For example, does the skull emoji mean “dying of laughter” or indicate an overwhelming situation?
These discrepancies can lead to communication that is misinterpreted and potential conflict. So, Jeffery recommends using plain language and adding context when needed to help make your message more comprehensible.
Abercrombie said that the best way to communicate in workplaces is “to stay open,” recognize our differences, and appreciate the role these differences play in driving innovation. This is what enables us to create a “phenomenal work product,” she said.
3. Remain flexible and curious.
Most people are aware of how each generation is stereotyped, and this can impact the way we approach interactions with our colleagues.
To move past this, Abercrombie suggests meeting each other “where we’re at,” embracing flexibility and ditching the idea that the way things have always been done is the only way they should be.
One way to build this muscle is through mentoring.
Jeffery said that mentoring relationships, in which both mentor and mentee learn from each other, create trust, foster curiosity, and increase understanding of different generations.
The Commission on Professionalism collaborates with legal organizations and workplaces across Illinois to facilitate a lawyer-to-lawyer mentoring program, focusing on practical professionalism issues. The program is free, and CLE is provided. Learn more here.
To sum things up: the experiences we had as children can significantly impact the way we engage with the world as adults. Consider this when you communicate with colleagues and embrace these interactions as opportunities to create open and productive workplaces.
Hear my full conversation with Katherine Jeffery and Kendra Abercrombie in our free, online CLE, “The GenShift: From Tension to Teamwork” (qualifies for 1.0 hours of diversity and inclusion CLE credit in Illinois).
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