A Baby Boomer, a Gen Xer, and a Millenial walked into a bar... That's not the opening line of a joke. It's one ingredient for creating a fulfilling life of continuous learning!
You don't need to literally hang out in a bar, but I do recommend cultivating conversations and friendships with people from multiple generations - especially at your place of work. Today, my multi-generational mastermind group gathered in a restaurant/bar that's actually a bookstore. What could be better?! (You can check out Kramerbooks here.)
I first met Ms. Teresa Doke (the Boomer) and Dr. Alyssa Adams (the Millenial) while attending a program at the College of Executive Coaching. (Yes, I'm the Gen Xer of the group.) While their perspectives are informed by very different experiences than mine, our lives are enriched through sharing goals, challenges, and brainstorming ideas.
Separately, we're successful women growing our businesses and living full lives. But together, we're a powerhouse coaching team - able to brainstorm solutions from a broad perspective, consider a wide range of alternatives, and share our lens on the world with each other. We're looking forward to our first coaching engagement together, where our clients will benefit from our collective corporate, psychology, government, wellness and communications knowledge.
Chances are that your colleagues represent a range of generations, including one I didn't previously mention, Gen Z. Cultivating friendships with diverse individuals, or asking their opinion and perspective on a world event can go a long way towards helping to build productive relationships. Breaking the ice to initiate conversations around a non-work topic can pave the way for a quicker meeting of the minds when it's time for a challenging work discussion. (However, you might want to steer clear of politics!)
In our fast-paced world, your "hanging out" time is limited. But your exposure to perspectives from multiple generations and diverse backgrounds doesn't need to be. How are you cultivating multi-generational perspectives?
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