How to Bring Out the Best in Your Multigenerational Team, with Kamber Parker Bowden of Generational Performance Solutions
We’ve all seen the headlines.
“Gen Z Doesn’t Want to Work.”
“Young Professionals Are Entitled.”
“The Kids Aren’t Alright.”
It’s easy to buy into these narratives—especially when they’re everywhere from LinkedIn posts to primetime news segments. But are they accurate? And more importantly, are they helpful when it comes to building inclusive, high-performing teams?
Spoiler alert: probably not.
Why Flawed Perception Creates Exclusion
Let’s start with this: there have always been poor performers in every workplace, at every age. But when an older employee is disengaged, we often chalk it up to burnout or misalignment. When it’s a younger employee? We label it as generational. That double standard isn’t just unfair—it’s unproductive.
So why does this perception stick?
For one, expectations around work have changed. Gen Z and younger Millennials have grown up in a world that values flexibility, mental health, and digital fluency. They often prioritize balance, purpose, and transparency over top-down communication. These aren’t signs of a weak work ethic—they’re signs of evolving work values (and it’s not just young talent who are adapting to it!).
Let’s Talk About the Frustration
If you’re a leader who feels like today’s younger workers aren’t showing up with the same drive or grit you expected—you’re not alone.
We hear this a lot from clients:
“They want promotions without putting in the time.”
“They clock out mentally when things get hard.”
“They care more about their lunch breaks than their deadlines.”
These experiences are real. And they’re frustrating—especially if you’ve built your career on showing up early, staying late, and doing whatever it takes.
But here’s the key: what looks like a lack of work ethic on the surface often has deeper roots.
Younger workers may approach accountability, communication, or success differently—not because they’re unwilling to work, but because they’ve come up in a completely different world of work. One shaped by remote capable work, mental health awareness, a pandemic, and the rise of automation.
It doesn’t mean the standard should drop. It means the path to meeting it might look different.
The Role of Communication and Clarity
One of the most common reasons younger professionals appear to “lack work ethic” is simple: unclear expectations.
Without clear definitions of success, deadlines, or communication norms, new hires—especially those early in their careers—are left guessing. And when leaders assume that their teams “should just know” how to perform, misunderstandings happen. Our founder, Kamber, often says “Common sense is not all that common anymore”, and it’s true. You know what they say about assumptions…
What if we could eliminate the gray areas that come from assuming the work will get done without setting expectations?
What some leaders see as apathy may actually be uncertainty. What feels like entitlement might just be a call for clarity. And what looks like disengagement might just be feelings of exclusion.
The good news? Most of this is solvable.
What HR Leaders Can Do Right Now
Here’s what we recommend to shift from frustration to high performance:
- Improve your marketing. Marketing can do far more than just bring in new clients—it can impact your talent attraction and retention. Since most young professionals spend their time on social media (and based on our research, which claims nearly 70% are visiting a company’s social media page instead of your website before applying to a position), it’s no secret that social media should be part of your R&R strategy.
- Tighten your employer brand & job ads. Partner with your Marketing team to align your careers page and social media with real day-in-the-life stories, realistic job previews, and growth paths. Make sure your auto-replies reflect your communication standards.
- Tighten your hiring process. Use structured interviews, work samples, and scorecards tied to your values and success profile. Calibrate interview panels to reduce “culture fit” bias and improve consistency across generations.
- Define work ethic for your team. Instead of assuming everyone shares the same idea of what it means to “work hard,” get specific. What does accountability look like? What does great communication mean here? Spell it out for them.
- Define “work ethic” as observable behaviors. Publish a one-page Success Profile for each role: response times, handoff norms, quality bars, ownership expectations, and what “excellent” looks like in your context. Train managers to coach to it.
- Offer flexibility. Once you get specific with your expectations, pay attention to where the “how” has some wiggle room. Be clear about where you’re offering flexibility, and reward your hard-working team by trusting that they’re getting the work done on the schedule that works for them. (Major bonus points if you, the business leader, model a flexible work schedule as well. This will give your team permission to follow suit, which they desperately want.)
- Set flexible guardrails. Specify which outcomes are time-bound (coverage windows, client meetings) and which are flexible (deep-work hours, location). Then, incorporate into the corresponding policies. Model this at the leadership level and measure performance on outputs, not online time.
- Create space for feedback and adaptation. Today’s younger workers are incredibly adaptable—but they expect the same from leadership. Build feedback loops that help you spot where breakdowns happen and improve performance in real time. Leaders who allow their multi-generational team to be part of the improvement process will create a collaborative environment where ownership feels shared, and everyone feels included. For example, you can install fast feedback loops. Run short pulse surveys, stay interviews at 90/180 days, and post-mortems on projects. Close the loop with “You said/We did” updates to build trust across generations.
- Ditch the generational stereotypes. When we assume one generation is the problem, we miss the chance to create shared understanding. Lead the way in building bridges, not barriers.
Final Thoughts: Are the Kids Alright?
Yes—and they want to do meaningful work and work hard while doing it!
But like every generation before them, they need the right conditions, communication, and coaching to succeed. If you’re seeing performance gaps on your team, don’t assume it’s an age thing. Dig deeper. Align expectations. And lead with curiosity over criticism.
Because the real issue isn’t about one generation—it’s about how we work together.
— Kamber
About GPS x HR Experts on Demand
Generational Performance Solutions (GPS) helps organizations improve team performance with data-backed, multigenerational training and tools. HR Experts on Demand (HREOD) builds the people-ops foundation—policies, hiring processes, and manager enablement. Together, we align expectations, elevate communication, and turn culture into measurable performance.
At Generational Performance Solutions, we help companies build stronger teams and improve performance by leveraging generational data. We’ve seen firsthand organizations that understand how different generations work and communicate make smarter decisions, leading to better collaboration, retention, and results. Our data-driven approach helps businesses create workplaces where all perspectives fuel success. Whether through workshops, assessments, or strategy, we bring out the best in your people–now and in the future.
Kamber Parker Bowden is an award-winning speaker and author who equips leaders to drive performance across generations. Through GPS programs, keynotes, and workshops, she and her team turn workforce data into practical systems leaders and managers can use immediately.
Kamber’s keynote themes include leveraging workforce data to make strategic decisions, embracing intergenerational communication, driving performance across generations, reducing the cost of turnover, building loyalty among diverse age groups, and preparing for the future of work. Her insights help leaders adapt to changing workforce expectations and build high-performing multigenerational teams rooted in collaboration and productivity.
