Let’s address the elephant in the (board)room: generational stereotypes. If you’ve seen our recent articles, you’ll have noticed that we’re on a mission to dispel the myths about generational differences in the workplace. Online events, blogs and discussion forums are rife with generational differences hype, but evidence shows they’re more myth than reality (to find out more about our research, download our free eBook).
Whether it’s that Baby Boomers are technophobic, Gen X are sceptical of authority, or Millennials lack loyalty, they’re stereotypes and potentially damaging ones at that. Stereotypes threaten to undermine any talent management process, but in our experience, they can be particularly risky when it comes to leadership succession planning.
When organisations let these myths steer their leadership pipeline, they risk overlooking the unique skills, ambitions, and potential of individual employees, which can alienate top talent and hinder development of adaptive, high-performing teams. Imagine passing over a tech-savvy Boomer because “they just won’t get it”, or assuming a Millennial can’t handle difficult conversations because “they’re too sensitive”. Not only is that unfair, but it’s also a fast track to a disengaged workforce and a shallow leadership bench.
Take Linda, a Baby Boomer who’s been with her company for 30 years. When a major digital transformation project launched, the usual suspects were quickly considered: tech-savvy millennials and rising Gen Z stars. But no one thought to ask Linda. She surprised everyone by stepping forward, revealing she’d recently completed a course in AI and digital strategy in her spare time. Her digital expertise and business knowledge enabled her to successfully lead the project and supported her in developing key leadership skills needed for promotion.
Three steps to stronger, stereotype-free succession planning
Focus on career-stage segmentation, with personalised assessment and development for your key talent. What might this look like in practice, and where should you start?
- Review your leadership frameworks for bias: – Take a good look at your leadership frameworks and competency models for stereotypes. For instance, are you implying a need for someone who is energetic and vibrant – words typically associated with youth, or driven and assertive – often viewed as more masculine qualities? Even subtle hints can trigger “stereotype threat”, causing great candidates to opt out before they even start.
- Don’t make assumptions about someone’s ambition or career aspirations: It’s essential to have real and relatively regular conversations about what people want from their careers (as this can change, don’t write people off). High-quality, one-on-one conversations can reveal hidden aspirations. It also provides the opportunity to uncover and challenge false assumptions about what leadership looks like or what a seat at the table will require of them. Sometimes strong, potential future leaders opt out of talent or succession processes because the approaches to leadership they’ve seen in the past either doesn’t appeal to them or reflect a mould they don’t see themselves fitting. However, this can change in a single, high-quality career conversation.
- Identify and nurture true leadership potential: Qualities like adaptability, emotional intelligence, and ability to learn from their experience – irrespective of age or generation (see our eBook on leadership potential for more) are what really matters. But it’s not always easy to spot. Using objective talent assessments and development programs will help you to build a robust leadership pipeline that reflects the full spectrum of skills and perspectives existing in every corner of your existing workforce.
Ultimately, focusing on leadership potential rather than generational stereotypes creates a more inclusive, engaged and future-ready organisation, one that doesn’t overlook capable leaders simply because of age. We all need to resist the urge to judge a book by its generational cover. After all, great leaders come in all ages, backgrounds, and Spotify playlists.