Listen Now: The Power of 4 Generations Working Together

Like all workplaces, nonprofits now are filled with up to four generations of workers, as boomers work alongside millennials and people in Generations X and Z.

Each generation approaches work and careers differently, which leads to struggles at some organizations. But at the best-run nonprofits, leaders are ensuring that differences in work styles and life experience enhance an organization’s ability to meet its mission.

In this episode of Nonprofits Now, Stacy Palmer, chief executive of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, talks to two leaders who excel in working with people in different life stages.

Alexandra Bernadotte is founder and CEO of Beyond 12, which works to ensure students from marginalized backgrounds graduate from college, and Elsa Morales-Roth, is executive director of the Emilio Nares Foundation, which helps the families of children with cancer.

Among the suggestions from Bernadotte, who is a Gen Xer, and Morales-Roth, who is a millennial:

Embrace what people of every age bring to the organization. “It’s the job of younger generations to challenge, to reimagine, and to dream bigger,” says Bernadotte. “But at the same time we can’t abandon the wisdom of those who have been in the workforce for years. We have to leverage those diverse perspectives and not let them pull us apart.”

Bernadotte makes a point of reminding people that intergenerational teams are “powerful because they’re not homogeneous.” What’s more, she says, these teams “don’t just get the work done, they build something that lasts.”

Highlight achievements of staff members from each generation. Morales-Roth starts every team meeting by making sure that an employee from each generation gets a shout-out for their accomplishments and contributions.

Put the mission and values first. “When you have people coming from different generations or backgrounds and experiences it’s easy for decision making to feel personal,” says Bernadotte. “But when you root decisions in shared values, not just opinion, it creates alignment.”

One way she puts this into action: Each year, Bernadotte creates case studies based on difficult or divisive issues the nonprofit confronted. Staff members form teams to discuss what they would do when facing the same set of facts. Doing so helps people of different ages and backgrounds learn how others think — and figure out how to make decisions that best reflect the organization’s values.

Give fresh thought to performance measures. Annual reviews are especially unpopular with young employees, who often prefer continuous feedback and want more opportunities to review their supervisors, so both Bernadotte and Morales-Roth are resetting their approach to evaluations. Morales-Roth is putting in place a system of 360-degree reviews, which means every staff member — including Morales-Roth — will receive feedback not only from their managers, but also from their peers and subordinates.

Meanwhile, Bernadotte says some of her young employees see reviews only as a signal that something is wrong. She reminds them, “We don’t give you feedback because we don’t trust you. We do it because we see your potential.” That message works, she says, as long as it is coupled with a promise to give staff managers a chance to offer feedback to their managers and to her as the CEO.

For more information from the Chronicle about how to manage an intergenerational workplace, see these resources:

• Gen Z Is Open to Nonprofit Careers — But on Their Own Terms
• (Opinion) Boomer Leaders Should Learn to Share Their Power — Like I Did
• What Young Nonprofit Workers Want
• How Millennials Lead
• (Tool Kit) How to Manage Several Generations at a Nonprofit

For more leadership insights, turn to our special report, Leadership at the Crossroads.

Nonprofits Now: Leading Today is produced by Emily Haynes and Reasonable Volume, with editorial direction from Margie Fleming Glennon and support from Kyle Johnson.