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The Challenge of
Us vs. Them

The increasing diversity of today’s workforce—including multiple generations, decades of span in tenure, and more—is challenging leaders to turn “us vs. them” into “we.”

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Why is it important?

Why is it important?

Today, organizations are likely to have significant differences in the workforce. This may include three, four, or even five generations, employees with a few weeks or months of organizational tenure and others with several decades, and those who never completed high school and others with one or more higher education degrees. Some of today’s leaders have direct reports young enough to be their grandchildren. Others have direct reports old enough to be their grandparents. Each difference can lead to judgment, exclusion, and outright verbal, if not physical, conflict among co-workers. Whatever your role in the organization, you can contribute to the challenge or to the solution; there is no “neutral zone.”

Quantuvos often finds the leaders we coach are seeking to bridge these differences, to leverage the best that each person has to offer for the success of the team, the team members, the organization, and the customers they serve. This can only be accomplished in an environment of trust and belonging, an environment that allows each person to bring their best. In such an environment, people go beyond the roles they hold, relating to one another as unique individuals rather than as tasks to be completed.

Addressing the challenge of conflict that results from differences also requires an attitude of curiosity. Approaching others with a mindset that seeks to understand them changes the dynamic of the relationship. It conveys the message that the person you are approaching matters and that you are open to learning about and from them. Who is this person? What is important to them? What gets them excited about coming to work? What can you do to help them be successful? Each of these questions, when asked from a place of genuine caring, will help reduce the interpersonal barriers arising from difference. Each of their answers will provide insights that you can use to nurture increased belonging, engagement, collaboration, and productivity.

The challenge of us vs. them is real and costly if not navigated effectively. When people don’t feel they belong, that they are valued and respected, the first ones to leave are the most skilled. Those who don’t leave physically leave emotionally. Both turnover and engagement quickly hit the bottom line. Serving as a bridge between differences is the catalyst for reversing this impact.

To find out more about how you can meet the challenge of us vs. them in your organization, contact Quantuvos at Challenges@Quantuvos.com.

Related Podcasts

048: Intergenerational Conflict at Work

005: The Introvert Difference

008: Supporting Leaders of Color

051: Giving Voice to Women

064: Women, Leadership, and Success

072: DEI. Why?

087: Gen Z in the Workplace

091: The Accessibility Advantage

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