Hearing Adam Grant describe task conflicts as healthy, I thought of how multi-generational teams work through gaps in technological knowhow. Each generation responds differently not just to technology but also to persuasion and debate. The situation is made especially complex by how team leaders - who aren’t technical leaders - see and want to be seen by tech-savvy team members.
For an earlier generation, technology was something they had to do. My mother-in-law trained for 6 months to master the complicated analog technology required to work as an AT&T operator. She quit the workforce in the 60’s and never took to digital technology. She doesn’t own a cell phone, never learned ‘the computer’, but is a tournament level champion of the Infinity remote control.
Tech adoption can certainly be inconsistent and unexpected while shaping how we view ourselves and others. A GenXer, I have my own internal tensions with digital technology. I am all-digital in my work and personal life but clearly not a digital native. My digital insecurities surface especially around younger team members. I feel slow or clumsy: precisely how my generation is perceived. Leading an assignment for a Fortune 50 company where the desk activities of volunteers were monitored, I was advised to stay away from those using one messenger tool over another because ‘they were older and likely to be more suspicious of technology.
My preference is to let digital natives manage presentations, be the scribes, and manage the tech demo. Three Gen Z's, a millennial, and me were in a meeting recently to decide on a new direction for a website. I love working with Gen Z's for many reasons but sometimes, you really have to scratch the surface to solicit dissent. At other times, they are very vocal as a group, especially against an older person. My leadership challenge here - as the person with the power to decide - was to encourage healthy debate among the participants with technical chops and/or domain expertise.
When provided with a safe environment inviting healthy task conflict, they pushed back in a way that older generations would consider as being disrespectful and not persuasive at all, and perhaps even bordering on relationship conflict. If - as Adam Grant says - the lack of task conflict is a sign of apathy, for these Gen Z’s, the outcome really mattered! The meeting ended with a constructive decision, but for the rest of the day, I kept processing it and my leadership. Who was I in that room? How did I want to be seen? How loud was my ego, and what role did my experience and sound judgment play?
My clients constantly deal with complex situations like this where Gen Xers, millennials, and Gen Z’s have different approaches to work, especially where technology is involved. If left unchecked, the multiple dynamics of such situations can scream in their heads and affect their leadership.
Coaching can help unpack such issues. I invite you to contact me or post your experience to the comments below or LinkedIn discussion.