S06E05 When You Have Different Generations on the Same Team with Dr. Tim Elmore

Are generational differences causing tension on your missions team? Do you find it challenging to bring Baby Boomers, Millennials, and Gen Z together in a unified way? Join us as we sit down with Dr. Tim Elmore, author and founder of Growing Leaders, to explore how to overcome generational clashes and turn those differences into strengths.

This conversation will give you tools to handle tensions, build trust, and create a more unified, effective team. If you’ve ever wondered how to bring different generations together without losing your cool, this episode is for you!


✍️  In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to bridge generational gaps for stronger teamwork.
• Strategies for turning generational tensions into strengths.
• Key differences between Baby Boomers, Millennials, and Gen Z, and how to leverage them.
• Tips for improving communication across generations.
• How embracing generational diversity can make your team more effective.
  
  

💡 Questions to ponder as you listen:

• What generation is most difficult for me to understand? What confuses/frustrates me about them? What did Tim share that is helping me see them in a new light?
• What are some specific ways generational differences are showing up on my team, and what challenges are they creating?
• What’s one thing I could do to help bridge the gap between older and younger team members?
• What strengths from different generations on my team might I be overlooking?
• What is one practical way I can encourage teammates of different generations to work together?
  
  

Thanks for listening! Email us your questions at care@modernday.org

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Chapters

• 0:36 Meet Dr. Tim Elmore
• 0:57 Understanding Generational Differences
• 6:23 The Silent Generation and Baby Boomers
• 7:29 Generation X and Millennials
• 9:35 Gen Z: The New Kids on the Block
• 14:50 Building Bridges Between Generations
• 21:51 Reverse Mentoring Explained
• 24:09 Managing Generational Preferences and Expectations
• 25:52 Navigating Generational Demands
• 32:25 Global Implications of Generational Differences
• 35:35 Team Activities to Bridge Generational Gaps
• 39:45 Resources and Final Thoughts

Transcript

Welcome to Modern Day Missionaries, a podcast by Modern Day. Missions created for missionaries by missionaries. I'm your host, Stephanie Gutierrez. Are generational differences causing tension on your missions team. Do you feel frustrated trying to balance the expectations of different age groups? In this episode with Dr. Tim Elmore, we're talking about all the generations on the field from the silent generation to Baby Boomers, millennials and Gen Z. And we look at how we can turn generational clashes into strengths. You learn how to handle tensions, build trust, and create a more unified effective team.

[00:00:36] Stephanie Gutierrez: Tim, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today. We are thrilled to have you. 

[00:00:42] Tim Elmore: Stephanie, I'm honored to be with you. This is going to be a fun conversation. 

[00:00:45] Stephanie Gutierrez: It is, and talking about generations and how they can work well together and learn from one another, especially in the concept, the context of teams and missions. I know you spoke on this recently at a YWAM conference. I'd love to just begin by saying for missionaries, why is this topic about generations and teams so important?

Yeah. 

[00:01:06] Tim Elmore: Um, I, I would say the top one or two things that come to my mind in response to that question is, um, when we serve in ministry, particularly cross-cultural ministry, it's easy to confuse what is cultural and what is timeless. So we all know as missionaries, we got to be, you know, empathetic to the culture and understanding, read the culture before you lead the culture. But I think in the body of Christ, we can start baptizing things that ought to change, but we make it timeless, you know, churches do this wherever they are, ministries can do this. 

So I think if we have been, let's say, serving for 25, 30, maybe even 40 years, um, we can start holding on to things that we ought not hold on to. And we think they're sacred. We think this is the right way. This is Jesus’ way to do it. No, it's not. It's the way you learned it back in 1992. So, I’m being silly here, but you know what I'm saying. Um, we're not as open to ideas. 

This is interesting research. Dr. Raymond Cattell, way back 50 years ago in the mid 70s, did, did some research and released it, and I think we forgot about it because it's 50 years old. He says, over time, our brains morph a bit, and they move from fluid intelligence, which is very adaptable and innovative, to crystallized intelligence, which is more apt to clarify and summarize and teach. Well, that's good news, but I think once we morph in at 40 and, and start moving more into crystallized intelligence, we hold on to what we've learned in the past rather than what we can learn in the future. And I think that happens far too often when a Gen Z missionary joins the team and they've got these wacko way out ideas. At least that's what we think. And we're not as open as we ought to be to the, to the difference. So I'll stop. 

[00:02:59] Stephanie Gutierrez: No, that's so good. And we do, I know within Modern Day, the missionaries that we have, and we have all different kinds of listeners from all different missions, organizations, and agencies, but we serve about a thousand worldwide. And within our numbers, we have a ton of diversity in ages and generations.

And so it's really relevant in that. I think people are joining teams where they're not the same generation as somebody else. And you got to learn how to work together. I love what you said there too, Tim. You said, read them before you lead them. Say a little bit more about that. 

[00:03:32] Tim Elmore: Yeah, well, this is exactly what Jesus did. When you look at him interfacing with people in the Gospels, he talks about water to the woman at the well. He talks about money to the rich young ruler. He's totally different in his approach, even though it's the same gospel. And we need to borrow a page from that playbook.

But listen, that means we need to work harder. because we’re deciphering who's in front of me and how, you know, what age group are they from? And all of that's important. In fact, I would say this––every missionary will understand this––just as where a person is born informs who they become, when a person is born informs who they become. So, um, I think Jesus did it in the Gospels. We've got to do it now. 

So let me share an analogy that just came to my mind that I think will be perfect for anybody in cross cultural ministry. This month, I'm going to fly over to the Philippines to do some work there, and I'm really looking forward to it. I've been there about five times, and I love it. When I hop off that plane, I am going to be psyched up to work harder to connect with people there, because they're not from Atlanta, Georgia, where I live. They have different customs. They have different values. Some of them will speak a different language. Bingo. I think as a Baby Boomer, when I talk to a Gen Zer, different customs, different values, different language, and I need to be willing to work like I would work in a cross cultural setting with this person right in front of me that maybe is from my nation, but not from my generation. So, if we'll be willing to do the work, I'm telling you, we can make this work and obey what's written in the Psalms from generation to generation. Don't we read this from David? You bet we do. But then when it comes to us, we're not quite willing to do, to do that work. And it's our bad, not their bad. We're the ones that need to connect with the young and, and raise them up and disciple, et cetera, et cetera. And, uh, sometimes we're not willing to budge because we think what we're doing is, is sacred in its style. 

[00:05:36] Stephanie Gutierrez: That's an excellent analogy because you're absolutely right. We would never assume that somebody from another country would just, well…I mean, if we have some degree of cultural openness and intelligence, we wouldn't assume that, but we do sometimes assume that people from different generations should just get it.

And we have people listening to this who are on that maybe older side. And we have a lot of people listening to who might be in that Gen Z side who are figuring this out. So we've got people who are leading, we've got people who are joining. Everybody I think is leading it to some degree. I would love for you to kind of go through what are the different generations that you outline in the book and what would be some of those key differences between them? 

[00:06:17] Tim Elmore: Good, good. Okay, so, very quickly, I'll make this quick, but hopefully clear. Um, the oldest generation that might still be serving would be from the Silent Generation or the Builder Generation. They're far past retirement age, but as you know, sometimes we're living longer and working longer, we still love the Lord, and we can, we still got it in us, and so those are the people born between 1929 and 1945.

I mean, President Joe Biden is from that generation. He's still, still working. So, um, well past retirement age, they would value loyalty and consistency, frugality. They're very frugal, very conservative. Uh, save the wrapping paper at Christmas time. We'll use it next year. You know, that, that sort of generation. Okay. They were called Builders because they built so much out of so little. 

After them come the Baby Boomers. That's my generation. Um, 1946 to 64. There was a boom of babies right after World War II. So, hence the name. And Boomers didn't grow up in a time of depression. They grew up in a time of expansion. So, very different mindset as they came of age and started serving in their careers. 

After the Baby Boomers come the Baby Busters or Gen X. So Gen X was the title that stuck, but Baby Buster was the first title that were given by social scientists. And the reason they were is because their generation launched with the introduction of the birth control pill. So fertility rates were governed by the ability to, we're not going to have kids until we want kids. And then you have Roe v. Wade in 73, at least in America.

So you have a shrinking population, which affected enrollment, employment. And so Baby Busters grew up in a time, not of expansion, but a recession and inflation, the seventies and late sixties were a hard time. So, Xers grew up a little more jaded than the, than the optimistic, hopeful Boomers, you know, who are burning flags and buildings and bras and everything else back in the early sixties. Um, this is very anecdotal. You could tell, but okay. 

So after the Gen Xers come the Gen Yers or Millennials. These are basically the eighties and nineties folks. There'll be a lot of Millennials. Millennials are now the largest generation in the workforce. I don't know if it's the mission force, but certainly the workforce. So, they would be young professionals up to midlife, and Millennials grew up in a time of digital customization. 

So their mantra is, life is a cafeteria. You know, I'm choosing my playlist of songs that I listen to. I don't have to buy an album. I'm choosing three different colleges to attend to get one degree. It's a cafeteria. I'm mixing up my broccoli and my roast beef and my jello. So, um, and by the way, this often happens at least out in the world with faith. A Millennial would have a little Jesus, a little Buddha, a little Oprah, a little Kelly Clarkson, you know, and it's like, what are you doing? There's no one true source, but that doesn't matter. I'm mixing and matching. It's like a free agent mindset. And I bet some of the older missionaries would go, yeah, I got some free agents on my team right now. That I don't expect them to stay around very long, you know, because of that. 

[00:09:35] Tim Elmore: Finally, Gen Z would be the new kids on the block. They're entering their careers and they'll be the ones entering for the next decade or so. In all of my research, both qualitative and quantitative, focus groups as well as just raw data, I just fell in love with them because I began to understand them. Um, I started as a college pastor in 1979. This is my 45th year of my career. And you know, it was the late Boomers coming through. Then it was the Xers. Then it was what now it's Gen Z. I love Gen Z as much as any generation, but I had to really pivot Stephanie to, um, to understand them. 

So they have grown up at a time, uh, they're true digital natives for sure. They never known a day without the smartphone. Um, but their mantra, as 21st century people, not 20th century people, would be, I'm coping and I'm hoping.

So there's a hopeful side to them because they're young and they want to change the world, but right now they may just be coping with their mental health issues, depression, anxiety. have been normalized. Not everybody, but a large enough number that this is a normal thing to have a therapist or two in their life. 

Um, and I think oftentimes somebody over 45 goes, what the heck, what are you talking about? We are the therapist for the world, you know? Yeah. And I need one too. So we're gonna have to pivot if we're gonna stay relevant older folks.

Listen to me, please. I'm one of you. I'm an old guy, but I am pivoting and pivoting and pivoting. And I'll tell you, Stephanie, you didn't ask this, but can I tell you my greatest lesson right now is to listen.

Um, I'll tell you a quick story. That's very, very, very current. My kids are both in their thirties and I adore them both. And I think they adore me, I'm going to guess, but my older daughter, my firstborn, Bethany is 36, and, uh, we've always had a really fun, loving relationship as a father and a daughter, but I began to capture clues that she didn't feel like I was hearing her, or understanding her, or really listening to her, because I had a talk, I had a lecture, I had a sermon, I had a book, And my wife has really been helpful, but she said, Tim, she just needs you to hear her. 

So we began to see a counselor virtually. She's in Orlando. I'm in Atlanta. And, um, I tried to listen, but I had something to add. You know how, how that goes, please, please hear me out here. And, um, after the last session was over, I called her up and I said, Bethany, I just had an epiphany. It was like I was visited by the ghost of Christmas future. Remember Ebeneezer Scrooge and, you know, and I said, I don't want our lives to come to a close. Where I finally pass away and we never did get this right. And you don't even want to talk at the funeral because because we didn't get it. Right. So, um, I've been calling her every month and my job on that call is just to listen and she does not. She's not short of words. So I'm listening for…we had an hour long call. It went 90 minutes until I had to go. But I was so glad that at the end of the call, she, she felt heard. 

And so I guess, I just, I guess I'm thinking Xers and Boomers, if you can just listen a little bit more, if you're not, maybe you are, maybe you're doing stellar, but um, they, they want to feel heard. I'll tell you what, I'm learning now, the way I view respect and the way Gen Z views respect, totally different. I think they believe that I view respect as compliance. Just do what I tell you to do. They view respect as equity. There’s equity here between you and I. There isn't a power gap. 

Well, I would say, of course, there's a power gap. I've been doing this for 45 years. You've been doing this for 45 minutes, you know, you know, but I'm telling you, if we can begin to see, uh, we need to bring more equity and we need to be listening as well as teaching and, uh, we need to be open minded as well as stubborn on some issues. But very open minded on others. So, I'm sorry, that was a long answer to a short question, but I feel like that's, that's the move we've got to make, uh, as seasoned veterans. 

[00:14:15] Stephanie Gutierrez: It was fantastic. And thank you for sharing such a vulnerable example, because I think you're reminding us that the implications, yes, our teams, but also their family relationships as well, because clearly the people that we're parenting or, or for younger people listening, their parents are not of the same generation.

So this has implications for all of our relationships in life. I mean, even, you know, we talk a lot about finances, even here, even like for somebody who is. maybe appealing to a supporter who's of a different generation. How can they communicate differently?

So this has far reaching implications. Tim, what are some of the biggest clashes that you're seeing right now of just generations not understanding each other and trying to think about this in a, in a missions context? 

[00:14:59] Tim Elmore: Okay. 

[00:14:59] Stephanie Gutierrez: if you've even seen it there, 

[00:15:00] Tim Elmore: I have. Yeah, in fact, I was with, last year, some Assemblies of God missionary leaders that were over regions and countries and they, I mean, we're all kind of same age. We're all over, you know, 50 year older and we were, I was trying to build a bridge instead of a wall for on behalf of Gen Z and millennials, but I'll tell you what kept coming up. It was the need for the seasoned veteran leader to confront or to offer feedback to what they would consider a fragile generation. Okay. Can I just say that here? I'm not saying Gen Zers listening that you're all fragile, but the perception from an older person might be, man, you guys are snowflakes. Come on, get with it, get with the program. Come on. You need to build a little grit. We want to see grit. This is what the older people are saying, and you're probably overhearing it. 

Here's what I would say. To a veteran, if I need to correct them or offer them feedback, instead of telling them what I need to tell them, I think I am going to do much better if I earn my right to do it, not with a badge that I'm wearing, but with a relationship I'm building.

So I have a little acronym, Stephanie, that I'm using. You know how for years and years and years we've used that little phrase, this is a leg you got to stand on? So I'm taking the letters A L E G. And it's helping me as an old guy, okay? So the letter A reminds me the first step is to ask. Not tell. I need to ask, tell me what your thinking was when you made that decision. And it's not cliche that I'm asking this, I really want to know. Because I don't know why they were, I don't know why they were doing that ridiculous thing they were doing. But listen, when I ask them, instead of tell them, they feel valued. Don't you feel valued when somebody asks you a question? Oh, you want to know my thoughts? So if I ask instead of tell, they're feeling valued. 

The letter L is listen. It does very little good to ask a question if I'm not willing to do the due diligence to listen. And when I listen well to what they're saying, they feel heard. And Stephanie, the number one thing our surveys show that Gen Z wants in a workplace is to feel heard. We have a problem with giving them a voice on day one, but they go, why wouldn't I have a voice on day one? We would say, because you don't have an experience. They would say, maybe that's an advantage. You have 20th century experience. I have intuition on the future. That's a great point they're making. So listening is important. Now they feel heard. 

E is empathize. This is where I've had to work. If I'm listening, I need to find ways to communicate verbally, non verbally, and para verbally, meaning my tone. Oh, I'm understanding you. When I empathize, they feel understood. So I learn to say things like, Oh my gosh, I had no idea that happened. Or, Oh goodness, I can only imagine what you were feeling when that happened. Now that may sound very cliché to somebody that's old. But I'm telling you, when I do that, my 20 somethings on my team love it. In fact, I'm winning them. I'm getting choked up again. I'm winning them, not because I'm the founder of our organization, but because I'm listening to somebody that's 40 years younger than I am. 

But here's the cool…here’s the letter G in ALEG. So I ask, I listen, I empathize. Now I can do the very thing I wanted to do, which is to guide them, but I'm guiding them having won the right. through pocket change, not through position or, you know, I don't know, badges and so forth that I've earned over the, over the years. 

So I would say listeners, if you have a hard time offering feedback or even receiving feedback for that matter, we need to connect at a relationship level. And if we can do that, anything can be solved, I think in our, in our ministries. 

[00:18:59] Stephanie Gutierrez: And what I love about what you're saying there too, Tim, is it doesn't feel like you're trying to listen or to empathize to get something from them, to force them to do something. I mean, I hear in your heart, even as you're expressing through even, you know, your emotions that you truly care about them.

And I think when you care about something too, you always, you also recognize they have something to give. So how can we. How can we not just love people so that they'll let us lead? How can we love people and actually have that, what you're talking about, that mentality of like, what have I got to receive from you?There's something there. 

[00:19:36] Tim Elmore: I love your animation, Stephanie. Um, here's the first that came to my mind. I'm doing a brand new book on this called The Future Begins With Z and it's on how Gen Z is going to upset the workplace, ready or not. They will. They're going to upset missions. They're going to upset ministry. They're going to upset business, sports. Um, they want a game within a game with sports. It's not enough just to watch a game and you're going, what? Just watch the football game. 

So, um, here's what I've, here's what I would propose. I believe the age of authority is actually going down. Meaning without a title or position, they're going to have authority earned by, I understand social media. I understand how to monetize social media. One out of every eight Gen Zers is making money off of TikTok or Instagram or something. It’s crazy. 

So the age of authority is going down. So one reason we have a good reason to, to, um, listen to them is, um, they're going to have some insights that we don't have intuition on. But here's the, the corresponding reality. While the age of authority is going down, the age of maturity is going up, meaning they may fully mature 20, but at 26, 27, 28, and we get so angry sometimes as older leaders. That they're not ready. Stephanie, I have lost count of the number of university deans that have said to me, 26 is the new 18. Meaning what we once expected at 18. You're a man now, let's take responsibility. Let's take initiative. Or you're a woman now, let's go. They're not seeing it until later. And that just, we don't understand it. It's just, we just don't understand it. But I'm telling you, I don't think it's their fault. If they're not ready, what were mom and dad doing? What was the college professor doing? Come on, we're ready when adults and mentors in our life get us ready. 

So maybe we need to stop the blame game and say, let me now coach you up. So leaders listening, here's what I would say to you. You're going to need to listen a little bit more than you used to. And you're going to need to coach a little bit more than you used to.

[00:21:43] Stephanie Gutierrez: Hmm. That's so good. And you call that, I think, reverse mentoring in the book. 

[00:21:50] Tim Elmore: Yeah, I do. 

[00:21:51] Stephanie Gutierrez: Learning from them at that same time, which I really like because as you pointed out, they need mentors. 

[00:21:58] Tim Elmore: Yeah.

[00:21:59] Stephanie Gutierrez: But also they just understand things that we couldn't even imagine because of the world that they've been raised in.

[00:22:05] Tim Elmore: Yeah, it's so true. Um, if you don't know the term reverse mentoring that Stephanie just brought up, it's the final chapter in a new kind of diversity that's just on this subject. But, um, it means you sit down with someone from a very different generation from you, older or younger. You swap stories because you always find common ground when you swap stories, always. And then you take turns mentoring each other. 

So the older is clearly going to impart some sage wisdom that you picked up, not only from scripture, but from experience. But then you flip flop, you change hats. And now the older is learning from the younger on maybe, I don't know how to use that app to market what we're doing or to up our donor list or whatever. 

So I do this in our office with team members that are 30 and 40 years younger than me. And I love what I learn every time. And I found one more thing. When I listen and learn, they naturally want to listen and learn to me. I, you know, once again, I don't have to say, do you realize I've written a whole bunch of books here? I don't need to say that. I could just be old Tim that puts his pants on one leg at a time, just like you do. So anyway, I really love that assignment and I hope that listeners will take us up on that. 

[00:23:18] Stephanie Gutierrez: Yes. And I think I heard you speaking in, um, a podcast episode with Craig Groeschel and you mentioned, you said modern elders and young geniuses. And I thought, what a great way to kind of sum that up, 

[00:23:29] Tim Elmore: Yeah, it's such a good way to profile. 

Chip Conley first coined that term years ago, but it's, it's, it's a way of, in a very, very hopeful way, optimistic way. Modern elders are those people that are going to, you know, be in the crystallized intelligence phase, and we need to respect them because they have something to add. But young gen I'm surrounded by young geniuses. In fact, they're all younger than me now on my team, but I'm so grateful that they're there and that they have these crazy ideas. Uh, you know, it's always crazy until it happens, so we need to turn them loose and let them try it out and see what might happen. So, yeah. 

[00:24:08] Stephanie Gutierrez: Yeah. So I think, you know, you, you talk about this a little bit in the book as well, but, uh, about preferences and expectations, how each generation's coming into a team, a workplace, a relationship with certain preferences and certain expectations. How can we manage those? 

Because there is this piece of us that's like, I'm sorry, I don't care if you expect that, that's not happening here. And we all feel that a little bit, and you have preferences. I mean, some of the preferences of the younger generation, it feels like, how can we. How can you be expecting that at such a young age to have that kind of access? And yet, as you talked about, maybe there are ways that we can shift and change and make space for some of those as well.

And I'd love for you to talk about it from, from both angles, because again, you know, we've got listeners who are in that, you know, leading from older generations, but then we've got young people who are going, how can I manage the Gen X and the Boomer expectations?

[00:25:00] Tim Elmore: Yeah. No, that's a great question. So, I think it begins with the interview process. As you well know, that's very critical. Particularly. 

So, um, the three words I always talk to leaders about when it comes to this is two of them you've already got. So preferences, expectations, and then demands. There are some, Multiple generation folks in the interview that would have demands and you want to know, is that really a demand?

Or is that just the way you're talking right now? Because if it's a demand, we, we need to stop the interview right now. And I need to pray for you and say, go find another job. It's not going to happen here. That's going to be key that we need to have the courage enough to say, if that's truly a demand. Jessica or Josh or whoever, then you deserve another place to work because it's not going to work here. 

But let me go through all three very, very rapidly. The first one is preferences. This is the softest of the three. Some people might come in and say, I, I want this and I want that. And if you can find out it's a preference, well, that would be something that they would like, but it doesn't, it's not necessary. And it's good to call it what it is in the interview. Just say, I don't know if that's going to happen. It might, but just know it might not. And just know now. If it doesn't, I still need you to be a team player. Expectations are a little stronger. Um, I think, um, I've said on other podcasts this line, conflict expands. based on the distance between expectations and reality.

Um, yeah, I'm going to say it again. Conflict expands based on the distance between expectations, what expected, and what actually happens, reality. So one, one easy illustration is if I tell my wife I'm going to be home at 7:00 for dinner and 10, it's not a big deal. If I get home at 9:30, we're going to have a conversation about that. And it's not because she cannot live without her husband for two and a half hour. It's because I created an expectation and life is about managing expectations. So find this out the earlier, the better. In fact, ongoing have these conversations because sometimes they come out. In anger or resentment and you go there's something brewing inside of you that we need to talk about so that's huge. 

And then of course demands I've already covered that but demands are this hardcore. I want to be the VP by 25 years old or whatever. And and you might want to go well, it's probably not going to happen if we ought to have that conversation now when the stakes are still low. So I do think it does work both sides. A Gen Zer might see an expectation on the part of a older boss or supervisor or even colleague. And I would just say we need to grow the courage to have the conversation about it. Don't. Withdrawal in the name of grace or forgiveness or whatever. I don't know. We hide behind biblical terms and it's ridiculous. Have the conversation and sit down and, and by the way, I would say own it. When you sit down and say, listen, I'm struggling right now. It's not you, it's me. I'm struggling right now with something that happened or something you said. I just need to understand. That's a very safe way to enter because you might find there's a great reason for what they said.

And you go, Oh. It really was my problem, wasn't it? But then if it's not, and it's a mutual problem, well, now you've got, got it out on the table and it's much easier to do it once it's out on the table. It's kind of like evangelism. Hardest thing about evangelism is the opening conversation. Once you get going, it's okay. The same thing with, with conflict management and confrontation. 

[00:28:41] Stephanie Gutierrez: Absolutely. So it sounds like they can really do some homework in investigating what are some generalities about generations kind of going into it, but then not creating stereotypes and saying, okay, I know some things. I read a new kind of diversity. I know a little bit about generations, but now I want to hear from you as to what those expectations of preferences are and outing it. 

[00:29:02] Tim Elmore: I would exactly do it that way, Stephanie. That's brilliant. In fact, in the book, I even say, my goal is not to stereotype, but to understand.

So there's some macro things to understand about Baby Boomers, right? And Xers. But there are also some about Millennials and Gen Z. So I really believe if you can go in saying, I've understood this in the past, would that be true about you? Or not so much? And let them go, yeah, absolutely. Or, no, I don't want to be stereotyped, that's not true. But at least you're asking the question. Once again, it's an ask, not a tell. 

[00:29:35] Stephanie Gutierrez: Well, and I wish I would have done this thinking back to, you know, some of our time on the field. I remember, so I'm, I was born in that interesting year that's like right between Gen X and Millennials. It was 1980. So I feel like I've got a foot kind of in both worlds. My husband's Gen X and we had an internship program down there at the church we served at for a number of years.

And so we'd had a lot of young Millennials come in. And I'm just thinking of, I would have known some of this stuff. Cause there was, I mean, they were hilarious and fun and they brought so much life and new ideas. So we loved it. And then there was other times where we were like, what on earth? Like a lot of feelings, a lot of emotions, a lot of needing to process things through that I don't think we had that expectation.

And then pastor we served was in the Boomer generation. So. Yeah. So interesting looking at how that all played out and it would have been helpful to kind of know like, Oh, they're, they're expecting something different from us and we're expecting something different from them. So you do the best you can, but when you've got language to put to it, just makes it so much more clear.

It goes back to that whole clarity is kindness. Oh my goodness. Like you said, it's not graceful to just hold it all in. It's graceful to have the conversation. 

[00:30:47] Tim Elmore: No doubt. Yeah.

In fact, something just came to my mind as you were talking. One of the differences in expectation between an older generation and a younger is career path. It is very common, not all the time, but common for a young 20 something to ask the interviewer or the employer: What do you see as my career path here? Well, Stephanie, I would have never had the guts to ask that question of John Maxwell back in 1982 or whatever. That was up to me. I gotta come up with that, you know, and hopefully I, you know, I can, I can earn my right to, you know, move forward. But they're asking because, and here's why they're asking. 

They're wanting to know, do you see me as a worthy investment? Am I currency or a commodity? I think Gen Z often feels like we treat them like commodities and just raw material that you use and abuse and then turn loose, you know, you'll, you'll leave in two and a half years anyway. But if we treat them as currency, well, we, we value currency, don't we?

Let's think about it. A hundred dollar bill isn't valuable because of the paper it's printed on. It's paper. It's because there's a hundred on that thing. You know, this is valuable. If we could begin to see Gen Z as currency, To invest in and to, you know, Oh my gosh, you're going to be so useful and you're going to get big, you're going to grow just like a good investment grows over time. If I treat you well, well, now we do come up with a career path possibility. We don't demand it, but we offer it. I'm telling you, we're going to, we're going to keep them longer. If we believe in them, we expect a lot of them and we invest in those young job candidates. 

[00:32:24] Stephanie Gutierrez: That's so good. So Tim, a question came to mind as you were talking there in terms of the global implications of this. So yes, the predominant, uh, part of our audience, I would say would be English speakers, a lot of Americans, but we actually have people from all over the world. So for…I don't know if you've done research into this…but if we're thinking about, um, mission teams where they might have people from, not only from different generations, but also from different cultures, different countries as a part of their team, how applicable is this when you start mixing in generations from other cultures?

[00:32:56] Tim Elmore: Yeah, there is a difference for sure. So, um, I think everybody listening would know that most Asian cultures would value the respect and the honor thing. Uh, often honor and shame both are bigger players in the, in the, in the game that then perhaps the Western hemisphere where America is going, whatever, whatever. So, so that would be a difference. And I think it's important on the continent of Africa to know how they would view that Asia, Latin America, et cetera. However, I'm more and more convinced as time marches on, the world is becoming flat, not literally, but as Thomas Friedman said, flat in a sense that the internet and the television are the great equalizers. So, so here's a good example of this. I was in Singapore some years ago and I had a teenager say to me, Dr. Tim, I have more in common with teenagers in America than I do my own parents here in Singapore.

[00:33:54] Stephanie Gutierrez: Wow.

[00:33:55] Tim Elmore: What they meant was, I realized there's a cultural similarity in my family, but more and more I'm on the same websites, I'm getting the same products, uh, the same Apple products, to be clear. And, uh, it's more and more, wow, we're seeing similarities. So leaders listening, just know the younger the person, the more you're going to see similarities all the way around the world, um, based on generation, not location. Um, it's quite wild to me. 

[00:34:24] Stephanie Gutierrez: Well, and new missionaries are going to naturally, for the most part, come from those younger generations that you don't, you still have some sure maybe Builders or Boomers launching out. I remember we had a gentleman who was, uh, he and his wife were in their seventies when they became missionaries for the first time, but that was unusual. That wouldn't be the most common. 

And so you're saying the, the gap gets more and more narrow as the generations progress. So with Gen Alpha, you're going to find a lot more in common with Gen Alpha around the world than Builders who might not even have the same name if you were looking at them from a different country 

[00:34:58] Tim Elmore: No, that's a great, great, great point. And to your, uh, point, you just mentioned you're kind of in between Gen X and Millennials.

I'm that way with Gen X and Boomers. So I'm just one generation. So we're called Tweeners. Tweeners are people five years at the end of one generation or five years at the beginning of another.

We're going to have characteristics probably from both that, and I bet you see that in your life and I see it in my life. 

[00:35:23] Stephanie Gutierrez: I kind of love it. I feel like I can very much understand both sides. It's really nice. 

[00:35:27] Tim Elmore: You can become all things to all men to be "First Corinthians 9” biblical.

[00:35:32] Stephanie Gutierrez: I mean, empathy all over the place.

[00:35:34] Tim Elmore: That's right. 

[00:35:35] Stephanie Gutierrez: Okay, so for people listening who want to start weaving this into their teams, do you have any suggestions for some team activities that they could do to help close that generation gap, start conversations, bring the teams closer? 

[00:35:47] Tim Elmore: Yeah, absolutely. So there's a few simple ones in the book. Let me just name a couple. 

Well, one, we talked about reverse mentoring. I definitely would love to see you challenge your team, whether you're at the top of the flow chart or not, or organizational chart, um, challenge your team to mix generations one on one and, and build friendships that wouldn't ordinarily happen. 

Uh, number two, we have a little, uh, exercise called Ditch the Niche. So Ditch the Niche is where you purposely form task forces or teams or agile teams, you know, that have a sunset six months later, but you get people from different generations on it. And you ask or inquire, how do you view this? So one simple one is when we were getting ready to release this book, A New Kind of Diversity, um, I asked Gen Zers, Millennials, Gen Xers, Boomers, how would you market this to your demographic? Well, I got different answers from all of them, you know, so it was very helpful. And then we got in a room and we said, Ooh, that would cross over here. And I didn't even think about that. And so ditch the niche purposefully puts different people together and based on generation and really gives them permission and empowerment to share from their angle. Don't try to be like me. In fact, please don’t. Be different. So that's a, that's another one that, that I have really, really enjoyed, um, over time. 

One, one thing we often do, it's just anecdotal, but we do a lunch and learn, uh, meaning every week we meet together to have lunch, but we're going to learn something. And it could be personal or professional growth. Well, we will sometimes do a little activity called share your superpowers. So it's true that everybody has different gifts and talents, spiritual gifts, whatever. But the superpowers I have found more and more often come from the generation they're from. I mean, Cam is going to have superpowers on our team with TikTok that I do not have. Okay. So that's a fun exercise, even though it's not specifically if you're 25, do this, sharing superpowers very, very often is informed by our generation. 

[00:37:57] Stephanie Gutierrez: You know, and it's making me even think too, it would be fun to have people call out superpowers in other people as well. Like, I, I think I'd love to know what people from other generations are seeing in me that I might not recognize or that they, and that they value.

[00:38:14] Tim Elmore: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah,

I agree. I agree. And I can tell you just after 30 minutes of talking to you, I love your warmth. Um, I just see grace all over you. I really do. I really do. And it's just been a few minutes. Which is so Jesus like and you're so, um, approachable now, granted you're interviewing me, but I mean, I just love how you set this up to be very, very easy. That's a superpower. I wish everybody had that superpower, but they don't. So anyway, I see that in you, Stephanie. 

[00:38:47] Stephanie Gutierrez: Well, thank you, Tim. I appreciate that. And as I was saying to you before we started the interview, I said, you, you were like the triple threat where like you speak well, you write well, and you have something really good to say. I mean, you know, I think having all those three together is pretty important.

And what I loved even in our conversation today is that you showed your heart. I think there's a lot of people who speak on leadership or in business. Um, and they have heart, but it doesn't always come across. So thank you for being in this space and being willing to talk about personal things and about how much this means to you deeply.

I think, I think it's important. I think it's really important. So you've got lots of superpowers too. Man, what a fun way to end this conversation. I like this. 

[00:39:27] Tim Elmore: Good. It's been a, it's been a joy to be with you and I'm hoping that, um, listeners, you're at least thinking something good, even if we didn't say anything good, that you can do better with your, with your team. 

[00:39:37] Stephanie Gutierrez: Tim, I can promise you, you said plenty of good things, many good things. People who are taking notes will have plenty to reflect on after this. And in fact, I'd love for you to share how people can continue to learn more. I know we mentioned the book, A New Kind of Diversity, which is excellent. There's a generational quiz.

[00:39:55] Tim Elmore: Yeah, that's right. Yeah. 

[00:39:58] Stephanie Gutierrez: Can you share a little bit more about that? 

[00:39:59] Tim Elmore: Sure. Yeah, there is a generational quiz. It's free. It's 41 questions and you'll get a report back saying, Oh, you're pretty good with X. You're not so good with Gen Z or something like that. And then it gives some steps that you could take. So that's fun. That is, uh, inside the cover of the book.

It's a QR code. But even if you went to Maxwell Leadership, it's free. Uh, this was a Maxwell leadership, um, published book. You can find that quiz there. Uh, but the best way to find me, um, I do a monthly or actually twice a month article on this topic, uh, that I send out for free. So timelmore.com is how you can find me there. And, uh, and then of course, growingleaders.com is the organization I started. It's all about the next generation and habitudes and things like that.

[00:40:43] Stephanie Gutierrez: Yes. And you host a podcast as well, 

[00:40:45] Tim Elmore: Yes, absolutely. Yeah. So it's a monthly. Actually twice a month. I don't know why I keep saying monthly, but, um, it's, it's a lot of fun.

And we have these kinds of conversations, Stephanie. It's so fun to just dig in with a colleague or with a guest and find out what they're learning about leading different generations. 

[00:41:04] Stephanie Gutierrez: Well, Tim, I know you gave our listeners plenty to think about, to pray about, to dig into today. So thank you again so much for joining us. We 

[00:41:13] Tim Elmore: It was my joy. Thanks for having me.

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