Key takeaways
● Today’s workforce is multigenerational. Unhelpful stereotypes can inhibit effective teamwork and focus on divides rather than helping people from different generations to collaborate more effectively.
● The Belbin Team Role framework is a useful lens through which to analyse intergenerational differences, since it focuses on strengths that may bridge generational divides.
● As we become older, our strengths become more clearly defined. We are more aware of our weaknesses and we strengthen our strengths. People entering the workforce are generally less sure of what they contribute to a team.
● Those in management roles mid-career are likely to play to more Team Role strengths than do senior managers and non-managers, so their strengths are less pronounced. As this is not attributed to low self-awareness, this might perhaps be read as a strategy for managing up and managing down.
● Some strengths come to the fore as we progress in our careers. Co-ordinator (and to a lesser extent, Shaper) Team Role behaviour is more common among older age groups.
● Received wisdom suggests that younger people are more creative and older people are more strategic thinkers. However, our dataset showed that there were more (and stronger) analytical thinkers among younger generations. And whilst there were proportionally more creative Team Roles amongst younger people too, older generations were more effective than their younger counterparts in creative roles.
● In order to collaborate successfully in a multigenerational team, it is important to look past generational stereotypes, and seek areas of commonality, such as Team Role strengths.
● Since some role behaviours may be less accessible for younger people, it is important to consider strengths-based personal development and mentoring opportunities to foster personal growth.
