Gen X Is Built Different. Of Course, So Is Everyone Else.
I recently saw one of those posts describing Gen X. Apparently, we’re 45 to 60 years old but look 35 to 40, still listen to the same music, work hard, swear too much, have zero tolerance for stupidity and laziness, and are still willing to “throw hands.”
As a Gen Xer, I laughed. Mostly because every generation loves a good stereotype about itself, and Gen X has certainly embraced ours. We like to remind everyone that we drank from garden hoses, rode bikes without helmets, disappeared for eight hours at a time, and somehow survived childhood without our parents tracking us on an iPhone.
We get it. We’re tough.
Of course, the meme is meant to be funny, but it got me thinking about something much bigger. For the first time, many workplaces have several generations working side by side, from Baby Boomers and Gen X to Millennials and Gen Z. Each generation entered the workforce with different experiences, expectations and ideas about what work should look like.
As leaders, we can complain about those differences, or we can learn how to use them.
We Were Shaped by Different Worlds
One thing I’ve always found interesting is the idea that generations don’t just randomly develop certain attitudes. Much of how we view work, communication, authority, technology and even success comes from the world we experienced growing up.
Think about how different those worlds were. Gen X grew up without smartphones, social media or instant access to information. Millennials came of age as the internet completely changed how we communicate, shop, learn and work. Gen Z has barely known a world without smartphones, Google, social media and information available within seconds. Now AI is changing the workplace again.
It shouldn’t surprise us that people shaped by such different environments might approach work differently.
The mistake is assuming different means wrong.
Gen X: Just Figure It Out
Let’s start with my generation. The Gen X stereotype is that we’re independent, skeptical and don’t need a lot of attention. Give us the goal, tell us when you need it, and we’ll figure out the rest.
There is truth in that stereotype, even if it doesn’t describe every Gen Xer. Many of us grew up with a level of independence that would seem strange today. You got home from school, made yourself something to eat, figured out what you were doing until dinner, and hopefully stayed out of enough trouble that nobody needed to call your parents.
That mentality followed many of us into the workplace. If the boss gave you a problem and needed it solved by Friday, you found a way to solve it. You didn’t necessarily expect regular check-ins, detailed instructions or constant feedback. Most of us in Gen X didn’t grow up managing a Jira board.
There are some great qualities that come from that mindset. Independence, resilience and problem-solving are valuable in any workplace.
That strength becomes a weakness when we assume everyone should thrive under the same hands-off style. They don’t.
Millennials: Why Are We Doing It This Way?
When Millennials began entering the workforce, they brought different expectations. They asked more questions about why things were done a certain way, what their career path looked like, how they were performing and whether there might be a better way to accomplish something.
Older generations often heard those questions as entitlement. Sometimes they may have been. But just as often, they were a signal that something needed to be reexamined. Millennials also forced companies to examine practices that had gone unquestioned for years.
Every company has processes that exist mainly because “that’s how we’ve always done it.”
When someone finally asks why, that can feel like a challenge to the people who built or followed the process. Sometimes, though, it’s exactly the question that needs to be asked.
Millennials helped push employers to think differently about workplace culture, flexibility, communication, technology and the employee experience. They challenged some long-standing ideas about what a successful career was supposed to look like. Not every change improved the workplace, but many of those conversations were overdue.
Gen Z: There’s Probably An Easier Way
Now Gen Z is entering the workplace in greater numbers, and the stereotypes have followed them too. They have short attention spans. They’re always on their phones. They want everything immediately. They don’t want to make phone calls. They expect flexibility before they’ve “earned it.”
Sound familiar?
Every generation eventually looks at the one behind it and mistakes unfamiliar habits for declining standards.
But think about the world Gen Z grew up in. If they needed an answer, they Googled it. If they wanted food, they tapped an app. If they wanted to watch something, they streamed it. If they needed to learn how to do something, there was probably a video explaining it in a few minutes.
Then they walk into a company and someone hands them a 17-step process created in 2009.
When they ask, “Why are we still doing it this way?” our first reaction might be that they are impatient or unwilling to put in the work. Sometimes impatience is the issue. Other times, they simply see inefficiency the rest of us have learned to tolerate.
AI Is About to Make This Even More Interesting
Artificial intelligence is going to make these generational differences even more noticeable. AI can already write, research, analyze data, summarize meetings and automate tasks that used to take hours. Someone who has performed a job a certain way for 25 years may naturally be skeptical of turning part of that work over to technology. Someone who is 23 may wonder why you wouldn’t.
Neither person has the complete answer.
Experience still matters. Judgment matters. Critical thinking matters. There has to be a balance between, just as AI, and let’s think about it. There are things you learn from years of dealing with customers, employees and difficult situations that no software can simply hand to you.
At the same time, experience shouldn’t become an excuse to resist better tools. The employee who has been doing something for 25 years may understand the problem better than anyone in the room, while the employee who has been there for six months may know a technology that can solve it faster.
Every Generation Has Blind Spots
It’s always easier to see the flaws in another generation than our own. Gen X independence can become poor communication or an unwillingness to ask for help. Millennials’ desire for collaboration and feedback can sometimes create too much discussion before a decision gets made. Gen Z’s comfort with technology and speed can create frustration when a problem requires patience, experience or a difficult conversation.
Those are stereotypes, of course. There are 25-year-olds with incredible patience and 55-year-olds who can’t make it through a 30-second video without checking their phone.
Generations give us context. They do not give us the whole person.
Generational differences can help us understand someone, but they shouldn’t become labels we use to define them. The moment we decide someone is lazy, entitled, difficult or outdated because of their age, we’ve probably stopped trying to understand the person in front of us.
Different Leadership Doesn’t Mean Lower Standards
This may be the most important lesson for leaders. Understanding generational differences does not mean lowering expectations. Deadlines still matter. Accountability still matters. Showing up matters. Doing quality work matters.
What may need to change is how we help different people meet those expectations.
One employee may want you to give them the assignment and leave them alone until Friday. Another may perform better with feedback along the way. One person wants a phone call, while another would rather get a Teams message. One employee wants detailed instructions, while another just wants to understand the goal and have the freedom to determine how to get there.
Good leadership is not about lowering the bar. It is about understanding what each person needs to reach it.
That distinction matters.
Maybe We’re All Built Different
I’ll still laugh at the Gen X memes. I’ll still listen to a lot of the same music, and I still believe there are times when you need to stop talking about a problem and just get the job done. I also reserve the right to occasionally wonder why someone couldn’t just pick up the phone.
That’s my generation showing.
But leadership isn’t about deciding which generation had it harder, works harder or has the better approach. It’s about understanding why people see things differently and figuring out how to bring those different perspectives together.
Gen X is built different. Millennials are built different. Gen Z is built different.
Maybe that is not a problem to solve. Maybe it is an advantage to lead.
Bob Brzyski
Vice President of Marketing