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Does Age Matter?

Written by: Paul Bridle

Article Overview: There is a lot of talk about age these days. People talk about the X and Y Generation, the Baby Boomers and recently I have heard the expression, igeneration!!! Then there is the ageism debate and Governments bringing in legislation to make employers employ people of all ages.

Does Age Matter?

I hear X generation do this, Y generation do the other and so it goes on. The truth is I have seen Baby Boomers acting like X and Y generation people and I have also seen what are referred to as X and Y generation, being more like Baby Boomers than people in their 20’s or 30’s.

Now I am not saying that there is not some significant differences between the way people were brought up in the 80’s, and those brought up in the 40’s or 50s. There are obviously some significant differences between the experiences of those generations in their ‘growing-up’ years. But to lump them all together and brand them as having a mindset, attitude, aspirations or anything else purely because they were born in a certain decade, I think is too prescriptive.

It is the same as the Personality Profiles that put you in one box and that describes you. I generally find that some core elements are right but the edges are very blurred because we have influences that effect the person we are and we can even change as we get older.

There is an expression, “don’t throw the baby out with the bath water” and I think that is what we need to be aware of in these situations. Personality Profiles are very useful (in fact there are some outstanding ones in the marketplace) but they should not be used in isolation. They are a mechanism to help narrow down and not prove a conclusive answer.

The same applies to age. Knowing the generation differences helps to narrow down the likely type of person, but it is not definitive by any means. We need to be able to look beyond the initial information (whilst noting it) and seek to find the real person.

I fly a lot, and travel on Air Canada because I use the Star Alliance network where I can. Air Canada has some older women working on their planes and I love it because they are really great people. In fact they are often great despite the company and not because if it. I can honestly say that I have seen X, Y, Millenniums, Baby Boomers and dinosaurs in people who would typically be classified as being Baby Boomers.

Paul Bridle

Leadership Methodologist

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Article Tags: 50s, air canada, alliance network, aspirations, baby boomers, bath water, conclusive answer, core elements, generations, isolation, mindset, nbsp, older women, personality profiles, planes, real person, rsquo, star alliance, x generation, y generation



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