Not long ago, I overheard two colleagues talking about a communication that used the word “skibidi [1].” The first asked whether the term was made up or a typo. The second smiled good-naturedly and explained that it was a real word for this audience. Immediately, the first team member started laughing at themselves and searching for more new words they simply had to learn.
What struck me wasn’t the miscommunication. It was the genuine interest in learning how to close the gap. That moment of effort, of leaning toward instead of away, is exactly what many organizations are missing right now.
It’s well-documented that today’s workforce is unprecedented, with up to five generations [2] sharing the same teams, tools and performance reviews. According to the U.S. Department of Labor [3], Gen Z surpassed Baby Boomers in the workforce in 2024, making up 18% of working Americans (compared to Baby Boomers’ 15%). Millennials held the largest share at 36%, with Gen X close behind. The implication is striking: Every assumption leaders hold about communication, motivation and work expectations is being tested across generations.
This is why I believe the organizations best positioned to thrive in today’s multigenerational landscape are those that embrace age differences, not just tolerate them.
The Real Source Of Friction
Generational dynamics are frequently misunderstood as a clash of personalities or a matter of one group being more difficult than another. In reality, the tension is far less personal. Each generation has been shaped by the conditions of its time. Baby Boomers entered a world of institutional loyalty and hierarchical structure. Gen X navigated economic volatility and the rise of the personal computer. Millennials came of age during the internet revolution and a global financial crisis. The majority of Gen Z don’t know a world without a smartphone in every pocket.
These experiences inform how people show up at work. When those differences aren’t examined with curiosity, they get filled in with assumptions. And assumptions, over time, tend to become bias.
Why Belonging Is The Right Frame
Sometimes, the solutions to engaging our multigenerational workforces stay at the surface level, such as a list of tips to communicate based on birth year. While beneficial, I’ve found that those tools usually miss the deeper condition that helps everyone perform: belonging.
Every person, regardless of generation, wants to be seen, understood and valued at work. Belonging isn’t a soft outcome. It’s a business driver resulting in a 56% increase in job performance. [4]
This desire to feel appreciated for your contributions doesn’t shift with age. What is more nuanced is how belonging gets cultivated. A Baby Boomer may feel valued through institutional recognition, whereas a Gen Z employee may feel it by being consulted on an upper-level decision. While these generalizations can help raise awareness, each person will still have their own way of defining belonging beyond their age cohort.
Four Practices That Make A Difference
As leaders, it’s important that we spend time understanding what drives each individual, while also engaging in practices to support collective belonging. Here’s a look at four steps I’ve found to be effective:
1. Invest in reverse mentoring—seriously.
Traditional mentoring assumes wisdom flows in one direction: from experienced to emerging. Today’s workplace requires something more fluid. Recent research found that when senior executives engaged in reverse mentoring [5]—where younger employees guide leaders on skills and perspectives—it resulted in “enhanced intergenerational communication, stronger organizational belonging, leadership development, digital adaptation, and innovation.” When reverse mentoring works, it changes how people see each other.
2. Build common language before assuming common ground.
Multigenerational teams often struggle because people have no shared framework to discuss differences without defaulting to age-based assumptions. Giving teams a neutral lens, whether through psychometric assessments [6] or structured reflection, can encourage curiosity rather than judgment. When someone can say, “I think differently about this problem,” instead of, “You just don’t understand,” it can shift the conversation entirely.
3. Create formal space for informal connection.
Belonging grows through consistent interactions. I’ve found that cross-generational project pairings and brief team rituals that invite people to get to know each other help replace stereotypes. When a Baby Boomer and a Gen Z colleague work through a problem together, they can stop representing their generation and start representing a team, creating a cohesive culture.
4. Train leaders in personalized leadership.
In my experience, managers are one of the most powerful variables in team performance. A supervisor who can flex their communication approach and ask the right questions of another employee, rather than defaulting to their preferences, can hold space for different expectations of feedback and structure. Leadership development that treats adaptability as a core competency can make the difference between a team that coexists and one that truly collaborates.
The Role Of Gen X—And Every Generation In Between
One dimension of this conversation that deserves more attention is the role of the generations in the middle. For example, Gen X occupies a unique position, having been raised before the internet and professionally formed within it. Many Gen X leaders carry a fluency [7] in both institutional structures and adaptive change, which can make them natural bridges in multigenerational environments.
The same is true of Millennials, who now make up the largest managerial cohort [8]. Their orientation toward purpose and inclusion can enable younger and older employees alike to feel they belong.
I’ve found that a powerful way to harness the strengths of these generations in the middle is to equip them to become connectors. Empower them use their ability to translate across differences to help every generation work and thrive together.
The Organizational Case
What I’ve learned from years of working with leaders across industries is that the friction in multigenerational teams is always about interpretation, and interpretation changes when people have real understanding about each other. Organizations that build belonging across generational lines typically do so by making curiosity a leadership habit and holding individuals accountable for the culture they create in addition to the results they deliver.
The differences between a generation that grew up wearing a suit and tie to the office and a generation that says “skibidi” are not problems to be solved. They’re opportunities waiting to be unleashed.
*Reposted from Forbes Councils [9]