ESCP ALUMNI magazine #202 - Juin 2023 - 42

Campus ❙ École
embrace diversity. The human brain is wired to opt
for what's familiar, what conforms to social norms -
which means committing to diversity takes serious
effort. Teams that think and work alike certainly solve
problems very efficiently, but they do so without questioning
the way they do it. Diversity brings conflict
and friction - and friction between different ideas
ignites creative problem-solving. "
EQ, such as communication, empathy, active
listening, and the ability to motivate and lead
are essential for placing teams' common goals,
rather than their differences, at the centre of the
workplace conversation.
Yet just as stereotypes surrounding gender, ethnicity
and ability can seep into the workplace,
the classic caricature of intergenerational tension
at work tends to involve hard-headed Baby
Boomers or early Gen Xers, who didn't grow
up in a digital landscape, pitted head-to-head
with lazy or burned-out Millennials. There might
be a grain of truth to this, but it belies the bigger
picture about what's likely to happen in the
workplace in years to come.
Businesses and
organisations
need the energy
of the next
generation to
tackle some of
today's greatest
challenges
and to share
their unique
understanding
of the problems
we're facing
today.
42 ❙
EQ: shaping a positive mindset in an
uncertain world
By 2025, roughly 75% of the world's workers will
be Millennials, with GenZ hot on their heels.
While today's under-25s are at ease with social
media and digital tools, they also report significant
levels of eco-anxiety, mental health and
depression, having grown up in a context of climate
change and social justice movements. For
Véronique: " Younger workers need to be particularly
encouraged to train their emotional regulation and
regain a positive outlook. Businesses and organisations
need the energy of this generation to tackle
some of today's greatest challenges and to share their
unique understanding of the problems we're facing
today. To achieve this, current Baby Boomers and
Millennials will need to develop their own EQ to
support their younger peers. "
Easier said than done, of course. As social animals,
humans are all born with a certain amount
of emotional intelligence - but developing one's
EQ requires consistent mental effort, not dissimilar
to learning a foreign language. Véronique
agrees:
" From unconscious bias to overt discrimination, there
are thousands of reasons why it is so hard for us to
ESCP Alumni Magazine numéro 202 ❙ JUIN 2023
Creative problem-solving, or the art
of bringing teams together
So, what can this positive friction look like?
A recent study spanning Boomers, Gen X,
Millennials and Gen Z at work found that coaching
was by far the most effective way of promoting
intergenerational contact. Mentoring,
discussion groups and 'shadowing' can help
with each generation's sense of satisfaction,
allowing younger team members the chance
to discuss and reevaluate while reflecting older
team members' affinity with directed leadership
and teamwork.
Similarly, taking cues from colleagues who've
lived or worked abroad can help team members
to reframe their interpretation of certain behaviours
- a complementary skill known as cultural
intelligence or 'CQ'. Instead of reinforcing and
sharing negative stereotypes about Millennials'
" lazy " desire for flexible working hours or
Boomers' " corporate " attitude to feedback and
hierarchy, it's important to look at the cultural
context that led to these attitudes. By adjusting
our expectations and appreciating that each
generation has its own approach to achieving
satisfaction at work, we become better able to
understand what motivates us individually: a
hallmark of strong EQ.
From workshops and team-building sessions to
diversity training and HR policy, management
can certainly play an important role in fostering a
pro-EQ environment at work, but for Véronique,
it's up to individuals to take a conscious interest
in developing this essential skill. " I'm definitely a
fan of team building programmes and personality or
team profile questionnaires, which - as cliché as it
may sound - are often very useful in helping people to
appreciate differences in other people. When it comes
to unconscious bias that can cause friction when it
comes to gender and ethnicity, diversity and human
rights officers can play an important role, but given
that EQ's first step is self-awareness, it's fundamental
that we each question and fight against these
biases within ourselves on a personal level, so that we
consciously embody the changes we seek to make. " ❙
ESCP ALUMNI magazine #202 - Juin 2023

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