No Result
View All Result
SUBSCRIBE | NO FEES, NO PAYWALLS
MANAGE MY SUBSCRIPTION
NEWSLETTER
Corporate Compliance Insights
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • Writing for CCI
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Career Connection
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Library
    • Whitepapers & Reports
    • eBooks
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • Writing for CCI
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Career Connection
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Library
    • Whitepapers & Reports
    • eBooks
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
Corporate Compliance Insights
Home HR Compliance

How Graybeards and Youngbloods Can Improve Outcomes by Working as a Team

If Ageism Is at Work at Your Business, It Can Throw Up Barriers Where You Least Expect

by Carrie Root
December 1, 2021
in HR Compliance, Opinion
How Graybeards and Youngbloods Can Improve Outcomes by Working as a Team

Does that older (or younger) colleague on your team know something you don’t? Maybe it’s past time to set aside generational stereotypes and take advantage of the expertise or wisdom they can share. This article discusses how each generation in the workplace can learn from the others — if they are willing.

It wasn’t that long ago that the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers lamented how different Millennials were and expressed concerns about their ability to navigate the workplace. Disparaging remarks regarding the older generations’ perception of entitlement as a Millennial mindset were seen in headlines and analyzed extensively to see where the blame lay for this characteristic. “Okay, Boomer” was a reflexive call to action by the Millennial generation, who felt they had inherited a mess but lacked a voice.

Since 2016, the Millennial generation, the oldest of whom turned 40 in 2021, has made up the largest percentage of the workforce, and they are emerging as the leaders of today. Just as they shook up their elders with their entry into the workforce, as noted in a recent New York Times article, those same Millennials who disturbed their elders are worried about the challenges from Generation Z.

So, here is my advice. It’s time to stop worrying about change the next generation is going to bring and instead explore the value each has to offer. Change is going to happen. That is a given. New generations will redefine our workplace, adapt more easily to new technology. No doubt, they will disrupt the status quo. That is the norm. The new generations will see older generations as less agile, and it will take time for them to see, understand and appreciate the perspective that comes with age — that concept called “wisdom.”

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

I admit to having come to this understanding slowly. I began my career as an engineer at a relatively small 100-person firm, where I compensated for my lack of experience with a strong work ethic and no-quitting mindset. That got me far as I progressively worked my way up to much larger firms, eventually transitioning into working as an engineering consultant. There was little I couldn’t figure out on my own, and I became a go-to person for my clients when they had a new requirement levied on them that they couldn’t figure out, because they had confidence that I could.

I was well into my career when a situation occurred that required cross-generational thinking.

I was working with engineers who built, launched and validated weather satellite sensors and their data on a joint project with NASA and NOAA when one of the deployed sensors developed an anomaly.

Now, the space environment is harsh and you can’t just go up there to look at things and see what the problem is. You have debug problems on the ground, relying on a second set of hardware, data, and experience. 

After the current team tried unsuccessfully to fix the anomaly using a series of maneuvers designed to solve the problem, the sensor was shut down and the “graybeards” were brought in.

I had not heard the term graybeard used before in the context of engineering. But what I saw for the next two weeks changed my attitude about the older generations. These individuals were recalled from other jobs or from retirement. They were mostly gray if they did have hair and mostly male — hence the name “graybeard.” For two weeks, these engineers sat around a table speculating on what could have caused the problem and the likely way it could be fixed. They investigated their old notebooks and pored over the data from the sensor. Since there is no opportunity to fly up to see what the problem is, they held and turned and operated the duplicate set of components that are created when a satellite sensor is built.

Different Generations – Different But Complementary Skill Sets

Day after day, possible causes were explored and discarded based on experience and insight. Toward the end of the second week, the group had what they felt was the cause of the problem and the way to address it. And in the weeks that followed, their insights were borne out. Their suggestion restored the sensor to a nominal condition.

Turns out, the sensor had degraded due to space dust collecting in the lubrication oil of the operating side. Most sensors have an “A” side and a “B” side, redundant hardware to combat the harsh space conditions. When the young team had tried to switch from the A to the B side, the B side would not come up, and then they could not get the A side to operate again. The graybeards had decided that the B side had failed because the lubrication oil was too cold to act as a lubricant and allow the sensor to spin. By the time the A side was tried again, its lubrication oil had also gotten too cold to allow the sensor to spin.

The cause was determined through discussion — not from data. There was no data on the viscosity or temperature of the lubrication oil. The suggestion by the graybeards was to power up everything on the sensor, leave it for a period of time so the oil could be warmed up, and then try to start the backup side. And it worked. This solution might seem obvious in hindsight, but it was anything but when the discussions began. It took the collective effort of centuries of experience to resolve the problem. It took perspective. It took wisdom.

As technology continues to drive differences in our generations, we are going to see 360 mentoring become the norm. Aging generations will need to become comfortable with reaching back for help, whether it’s the current older generations who sought assistance from their younger counterparts in learning how to connect their cable and use their smartphones, or future older generations, who will face an ever-steepening learning curve to keep up with technology.

Meanwhile, as they mature, those in younger generations will come to appreciate the insight and perspective their older colleagues bring, such as being able to read people and understand their motivations, having patience to work through problems and understanding the bigger picture.

Every generation can learn from the others — and be better for it.


Previous Post

Compliance Automation Platform RegScale Formally Launches, Announces Early Investment

Next Post

TCS Re-Imagining Client Onboarding Whitepaper

Carrie Root

Carrie Root

Carrie Root, author of “The Other Soft Skill: How to Solve Workplace Challenges with Generational Intelligence,” is the founder and CEO of Alpha UMi, an education consulting firm that develops professional-development curricula. Her company has provided workshops at conferences for major corporations and associations. Prior to founding Alpha UMi, Root had a successful engineering career working for large and small businesses, followed by more than two decades consulting as a high-level troubleshooter for the U.S. Navy.

Related Posts

data breach

Sobering Reality: Drizly Order Indicates Officers May Face Personal Liability for Data Breaches

by Baker Donelson
February 1, 2023

The FTC says Drizly’s CEO James Cory Rellas was alerted to a potential security loophole two years before a data...

finserv whatsapp

WhatsApp, FinServ? Feds Seem Done With Grace Period on Messaging Apps

by Harriet Christie
February 1, 2023

A flurry of settlements with investment banks over use of unauthorized messaging apps makes one thing clear: The feds aren’t...

well being intentions

New Beginnings & New Understandings

by Lisa Beth Lentini Walker
February 1, 2023

As the calendar rolls into February, the percentage of us who have kept our New Year’s resolutions is likely pretty...

remote work

With Employees on the Move, Make Sure You Can See the Entire Map

by Jennifer Stein
February 1, 2023

About two-thirds of American employees work remotely at least part of the time. Ensuring compliance means more than just making...

Next Post

TCS Re-Imagining Client Onboarding Whitepaper

Compliance Job Interview Q&A

Jump to a Topic

AML Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption Artificial Intelligence (AI) Automation Banking Board of Directors Board Risk Oversight Business Continuity Planning California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Code of Conduct Communications Management Corporate Culture COVID-19 Cryptocurrency Culture of Ethics Cybercrime Cyber Risk Data Analytics Data Breach Data Governance DOJ Download Due Diligence Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) ESG FCPA Enforcement Actions Financial Crime Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) GDPR HIPAA Know Your Customer (KYC) Machine Learning Monitoring RegTech Reputation Risk Risk Assessment SEC Social Media Risk Supply Chain Technology Third Party Risk Management Tone at the Top Training Whistleblowing
No Result
View All Result

Privacy Policy

Founded in 2010, CCI is the web’s premier global independent news source for compliance, ethics, risk and information security. 

Got a news tip? Get in touch. Want a weekly round-up in your inbox? Sign up for free. No subscription fees, no paywalls. 

Follow Us

Browse Topics:

  • CCI Press
  • Compliance
  • Compliance Podcasts
  • Cybersecurity
  • Data Privacy
  • eBooks Published by CCI
  • Ethics
  • FCPA
  • Featured
  • Financial Services
  • Fraud
  • Governance
  • GRC Vendor News
  • HR Compliance
  • Internal Audit
  • Leadership and Career
  • On Demand Webinars
  • Opinion
  • Resource Library
  • Risk
  • Uncategorized
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Well-Being
  • Whitepapers

© 2022 Corporate Compliance Insights

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • Writing for CCI
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Career Connection
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Library
    • Whitepapers & Reports
    • eBooks
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Subscribe

© 2022 Corporate Compliance Insights

Welcome to CCI. This site uses cookies. Please click OK to accept. Privacy Policy
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT