Giving digital tasks to the youngest on the team and leaving the oldest out of them: two decisions made in seconds, two mistakes.
We all carry a mental framework that sorts colleagues by age. It’s reassuring, but research contradicts it, and it can create what it predicts. This module teaches you to look at what people are going through rather than their year of birth, and to turn age gaps into a strength that flows both ways.
~20 min at your own paceKey skill: Cooperation Across GenerationsAvailable in FR + ENNo prerequisites
What you’ll take away
- an awareness of the age stereotypes that create what they predict
- the habit of seeing what a colleague is going through, not their year of birth
- practices for mixed-age teamwork, from two-way mentoring to complementary pairs
Who it’s for
Managers of mixed-age teams and colleagues of all ages who work side by side.
Learning objectives
- Distinguish the myth of generations from the facts: on engagement and values, the differences between generations are statistically insignificant.
- Recognize the self-fulfilling prophecy: how an age stereotype, by changing our behavior, ends up producing what it predicts.
- Think in terms of life stages, not generations, and ask each person what they need rather than guessing.
- Foster cooperation across ages: two-way mentoring, intergenerational working groups, and pairs combining experience and boldness.
How does this module work?
The steps of the Adaptive module.
- Self-assessmentOn nine dimensions, to gauge current habits and guide the practice.
- Expert videoA ~10 min video with three pauses for reflection.
- Practice scenariosThe first two scenarios chosen from the self-assessment, then sixteen more, optional. Every answer gets feedback: what it leads to, and one way to improve.
- Dated commitmentOne action to try, written by the learner or chosen from the suggestions.
- Memo to downloadKey takeaways, questions, commitment, personal notes, and checklists.
Duration: ~20 min. Excluding bonus practice scenarios and optional in-depth content.
