inquiry + innovation
#OkEverybody ‘Gentelligence’ calls for embracing age diversity in the workplace By Carole Johnson
Tick Tock. TikTok. The sound of a clock or the latest social media craze? Both answers are technically correct. Which one you lean toward likely depends on when you were born.
gentelligence (jen•tell•e•jence) the ability to appreciate and leverage the insights of other generations to solve problems and create opportunities
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miamian magazine
Megan Gerhardt, a Gen Xer who studies and promotes generational and age diversity, was on deadline for an article she was writing. She frantically texted her Gen Z students. “What exactly is TikTok? Can I say something is ‘trending’ on TikTok? Does that even make sense? Help me out!” she pleaded. Within seconds she had her answers. Gerhardt’s natural tendency is to reach across the table, or, in this instance, grab her cellphone, and ask for help. Not everyone’s as willing to seek assistance. In fact, in her research, she has observed that today’s fast-paced digital world makes many employees afraid to tell their colleagues when they don’t know. As a result, walls go up, and workplace productivity shuts down. To raze these generational walls, Gerhardt advocates “gentelligence,” a term she has coined that she defines as the ability to appreciate and leverage the insights of other generations to solve problems and create opportunities. She is writing a book on this topic, due out later this year, with former students Josephine NachemsonEkwall ’18 and Brandon Fogel ’18. The working title is Gentelligence: The Revolutionary Approach to Leading an Intergenerational Workforce. Gerhardt is a professor of management and co-director of the William Isaac and Michael Oxley Center for Business Leadership. She also is director of leadership development for Miami’s Farmer School of Business.
No, Not OK Sparks flew last fall when after watching their Millennial predecessors (born 1981–1997) bear the brunt of being called “lazy” and “entitled,” Gen Zers (born 1998-present) hit back hard with #OkBoomer. Gen Z launched this preemptive strike against Baby Boomers (1946–1964) using the most powerful weapons in their arsenal — social messaging platforms TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram — to create a simple, yet biting retort to a generation they perceive as old-school and out of touch, Gerhardt wrote in an NBC.com article. “Don’t believe climate change is real? OK, Boomer. Want to call all young people ‘snowflakes’ and blame them for every ill in the world? #OKBoomer. The phrase has now gone viral, appearing in memes and merchandise being snapped up by the Gen Z crowd.” She is asking for a halt to hurtful hashtags. “These two feisty words represent Gen Z pushing back on the attempts they expect will be made to label and belittle their own generation as they take the place of Millennials at the bottom of the pecking order,” she wrote. “But in the process of defending themselves, they are unfortunately perpetuating the very age-oriented stereotypes they themselves don’t want to be labeled by.” Generational difference is one of the final frontiers