Tina Dietz

A Gen X, a Millennial, a Gen Z, and two Boomers walk into a podcast. So let's see what happens. There's a drop of inspiration, a dash of creativity, plenty of communication, and there you have it, our executive elixir. This is Drink From The Well.

Welcome to Drink From The Well, fellow leader. I'm your sorceress of strategy, Tina Dietz. For the first time in modern history, there are four distinct generations in the workplace all at the same time. Some, like the boomers, are on their way out, while Gen Z are just starting to work their way in. Millennials carry weight as the biggest generation in the workforce, overshadowing Gen X who are still there, but seemingly invisible as usual, speaking from experience. This melting pot of age makes up the roughly 157 million people who are employed in the US alone. And as we all know, when you have a group of diverse people, differences are bound to happen. So how can a multigenerational team succeed? How can you lead in the best way? And what's happening among leaders and teams as we navigate for different generations all at the same time? Today, we tackle the challenges of leading a multigenerational workforce with our multigenerational panel. Let me introduce them to you now. Gabriela Moreno is a student at the University of Florida studying political science, mass communications, and history. Currently, she is the editor-in-chief of Rowdy, the largest student-run magazine in the nation. She's also the Assistant Director of the Phi Alpha Delta pre-law fraternity. Welcome, Gabi.

Gabriela Moreno

Thank you for having me. I'm really excited.

Tina Dietz

Dr. Valerie Rene Sheppard is a self-mastery expert and the CEO of the Heartly Center for Mindfulness and Self-Mastery. Using the wisdom in her international best-selling book, Living Happy to Be Me, Dr. Sheppard provides a self-mastery curriculum that was the subject of her 2021 doctoral dissertation. She received her PhD in consciousness and human potential from Gateway University. Thanks for joining us, Valerie. 

Dr. Valerie Sheppard

Thank you for having me, Tina. This is an exciting topic. I love playing on both ends of the spectrum and I can't wait to hear what your beautiful guests have to share with me.

Tina Dietz

Isokoy (Koy) McDermott is an award-winning executive speaker and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Leaders Inspire Leaders, an employee retention company focused on creating cross-generational communication and coaching millennial managers to unleash their full potential. Koy also hosts the very excellent Leaders Inspire Leaders podcast. Koy, welcome to the show. 

Koy McDermott

Thank you so much for having me, Tina. My goodness, you've put together such an amazing panel. I'm super excited to chat with everyone today.  

Tina Dietz

It is a bomb panel. I have to agree with you on that. And of course, Bruce Mayhew is a corporate trainer, coach, and conference speaker and he specializes in new leadership development and generational differences. As the President of Bruce Mayhew Consulting, he has over 20 years of experience helping clients achieve their professional development and leadership goals. I appreciate you joining us, Bruce. 

Bruce Mayhew

It's terrific to be here. I'm really excited to hear what everybody has to say.

Tina Dietz

Yeah, me too. Well, my wonderful panel, I'd like to begin by looking into our proverbial crystal ball and talk about what is one way you predict that workplaces are going to evolve in the next 20 years? Koy, let’s start with you. 

Koy McDermott

One way, and to keep it very simple, is going to be choice. And not only choice on the employer, which we have seen, but more so choice on the employee. There's going to be a lot of power with the employees to choose not only where they work, but how they work, and what's going to make them the most productive.

Tina Dietz

Thanks, Koy. Let's go to you, Bruce. 

Bruce Mayhew

It's a terrific question. I think that from a corporate perspective, we're going to see best practices become more about how we approach tasks versus how we do a task. So I think it's going to be more of those agile work environments that people are going to be embracing, as opposed to, “This is how we did it yesterday and this is how we're going to do it today.”

Tina Dietz

Brilliant. And Gabi, what are your thoughts on this?

Gabriela Moreno

I think there's going to be a fine line that we're going to manage to distinguish between how social media can be a personal platform versus a workplace platform and how we get to integrate a bunch of different styles of communication into one platform. So it's going to be interesting to see how we can distinguish that line just because I feel like, now, we're still trying to distinguish it and it's getting a little bit confusing. And that's why there's a lot of problems with social media. 

Tina Dietz

Oh, that's probably a topic we could do an entire other episode on, I would imagine. Dr. Valerie, let's go to you on this topic of one way that workforces are going to change in the next 20 years. 

Dr. Valerie Sheppard

So I'm not so sure this is a prediction as much as a wishlist thing. This is an item that I'd like to see, more humanity in the workplace. So I would like to see a focus on how we navigate the tensions between people interacting and the advent of technology, and how we manage that. I believe in the future, we're going to get more comfortable with the separation because of technology, people not quote unquote, coming into an office or being colocated. And there are some humanistic dynamics that are at a low point because of that shift. And we're seeing it all over the world. And there are problems in individuals as a result. I'm predicting that workplaces will take more responsibility.

Tina Dietz 

I definitely would put that on my wish list as well. And now we've got, across the board, different aspects that each of you have defined as a prediction for the future. Now, Koy, I'd love to back up and talk with you about an important distinction I heard you make between what a multigenerational workforce is versus a post-generational workforce and us wanting to move into this idea of being inside of a post-generational workforce. Can you clarify the distinction there for us? 

Koy McDermott

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I feel like with many things that we face, you've got what I like to call the iceberg effect, right? Things that are right on top, and then things that are below the surface that really is what's driving an individual. A multigenerational workforce is truly based on the tip of the iceberg, what you can see based on generations, based on age, those particular things. A post-generational workforce is really segmenting individuals and understanding that everyone is nuanced. We're now moving into a place where we're looking at different behaviors and values and characteristics, and we're looking at the total person as opposed to just looking at the tip of the iceberg. So in a nutshell, multigenerational is simply based on age, generations that have all been distinguished, post-generational is now flipping that perspective and saying, “The lens that I used to see my workforce through has not worked, and is no longer going to work.” And it's moving into this post-generational workforce where we are able to see an individual as a total individual and not just simply based on what we see on the surface.

Tina Dietz

We really do need to acknowledge that we are only at the tip of the iceberg. And that is an important thing, I think, for our audience to understand. Even though we're talking about some things that may be related to generation, there's so much more at play here. There's how you grew up, there's where you grew up, there's family influence, there's values, there's morals, there's your background culturally, there's so many things at play here. That being said, Bruce, I do want to talk with you about communication. Communication is one of the fundamental points that we talk about on this particular show. It's fundamental to everything in the workplace operating smoothly, and in fact, everything in our lives operating as smoothly as possible. So in the 20 years you've been working with companies around communication, what are some of the most common communication challenges that companies face that are, at least, in part, influenced by generational differences, acknowledging that there's other things at play as well?

Bruce Mayhew 

Yeah, and there really are so many things at play. But the generational components, for sure, impact, and a lot of it reflects on what Koy was just talking about. It used to be, years ago, that Boomers were the mass population in the workforce and everybody was kind of the same. And when millennials came into the scene, and they were a large population, they sort of disrupted things, and everybody treated every millennial like the other millennial. And we're really seeing now that people are individuals, regardless of what age group they're coming from. So when it comes to communication issues, looking at preconceived notions and biases around communication, or simply not being able to communicate effectively, is an important aspect. So I would say one of the main challenges around communication is treating everybody that you encounter or that you work with or that you lead as if they are you and that they're experiencing the same things that you used to experience as an employee and have come up through the ranks. But things have changed dramatically in the last 10-20 years. And what a 20 or 30-year-old has to deal with in a workplace environment today is very different than what a 20 or 30-year-old had to deal with in a workplace 20 or 30 years ago, right? The third challenge that I'll talk about right now is simply, like I said earlier, simply not being able to communicate well, yourself. So being challenged with difficult situations, and not knowing how to handle yourself in that situation or handle somebody else who's responding to that difficult situation. So a lot of times, people approach a difficult situation and they get into that fight or flight situation. And difficult conversations don't have to be conflict like that. They’re allowed to be uncomfortable, but they also are very allowed to be respectful. I think what we need to do is learn how to communicate in those challenging times as well.

Tina Dietz

Let's continue to build on this idea of communication and respect, assumptions, and the like. And Gabi, being the editor of Rowdy Magazine, you've certainly seen the online animosity between Gen Z and the Baby Boomers. That animosity is actually what inspired the title of today's show, Good Point, Boomer. So what assumptions about young people do you wish that older people would stop making?

Gabriela Moreno

Gosh, there's a lot. I think the main one would be the word privileged and that we should be okay with what we have because we are the first generation to have grown up in a digital age. And the digital world is a blessing and a curse because it has brought so many opportunities to communicate with so many different people from around the world. And it has brought us to have this deep understanding of other cultures, which I think is very special about Gen Z. That's what's really exciting about us taking on the next generation and kind of leading, even this country, because I think that's the biggest thing that we have that is beneficial. But it has also brought a lot of emotional stress and grief. No one is helping us navigate through it because not only are we navigating the world of being like a teenager and your early 20s and still trying to figure yourself out, we're also navigating a world digitally where we're seeing that whatever is happening in the world all at once is just being fed to us. And we sometimes feel really lonely in that world because yes, you can communicate with everyone, but there's also a sense of it's only you and a phone. So are you really communicating with people if you can't physically be with them? So we kind of have to adapt to it ourselves, or we're teaching ourselves. And it's something that's very stressful, and I'm still learning with it. But I'm not asking older generations because they're not going through the same thing that we're going through. The biggest thing is, yes, we are privileged, and you're happy that we have all of these opportunities. But there's also a mental health note that we need others to pay attention to because unfortunately, that's where a lot of devastations are happening. And it's because we're not being listened to. That was really dark at one point.

Tina Dietz

And that's okay, or as my kids would say, that's a vibe. We understand that, and mentoring young people is certainly something that we do here in my company, and I have two teenagers at home. So everything that you just said, I have heard reflected, the sense of being completely connected and yet isolated at the same time. And that creates this odd conundrum in this mental emotional space. So, Dr. Valerie, I'd like to get your insight and response on this. What do leaders who have been around for several decades, let's say, want their younger counterparts to gain as they navigate this working world, or even in life in general?

Dr. Valerie Sheppard

Thank you so much. And I just want to acknowledge you, Gabi. And I feel like it was a beautiful setup for what I do, which is focused on that transition for young people into this space of this whole world of technology and humanism and, “What is it that I need to do?” So it's the centerpiece of my work. It's what I love doing. So thank you for that. And it's a beautiful thing to acknowledge. And I didn't hear it as dark, I just heard it as humanism, the human side of your generation. What I would love, not necessarily speaking only to this generation because what I think I talked about is universal, and a couple of your guests, Koy and Bruce have mentioned this is that we have to get beyond categories and constructs of separation, as I call them. When we are dealing with a whole population of people based on a couple of nuggets that are descriptors of a category in which we've placed them, we are not at all getting to who that person, on an individual level, really is. And so the whole idea here is for the older generation, and others to get beyond categorizations, get beyond “othering,” where we make ourselves the in group. “Well, this is the way we do it. This is the way I was taught. This is the way it's always worked. Why can't they do it our way?” Hear ourselves saying “they,” hear ourselves making us the right ones and them the wrong ones. And the tool that I talk about is how can you get into curiosity? Where is your outer edge of growth? And how does the “other” actually have something to lend, something to demonstrate, something to share that actually moves the entire dynamic forward, you and them? So it's about collaboration and connection. As the older person, stop believing that my age and my tenure somehow give me the keys or the endowment. How can I believe that my tenure just means I've been on earth a little bit longer, and that it doesn't mean I still don't have opportunities for growth and expansion and evolution? And when we're in a workplace together to elevate ourselves back to the common mission and purpose can be an anchor point, can be a place where we could sit in meetings and say, “Okay, before we get talking, and everybody's isms come out, how about if we focus on what's the map? Where are we going? What have we accomplished?” If we start meetings in celebration of what people have brought to the table, regardless of their generation, like what have we accomplished thanks to what they contributed, it's a way to get people on to common ground. So for me, it's what your other guests, Bruce and Koy brought up, and I love it, is going beyond labeling, being curious about how can I benefit from what you bring? Not how do you benefit from what I bring all the time. How can I learn from you? And then can we celebrate the collective consciousness that we create when we come together as a team, as an organization?

Tina Dietz

There's a lot of meat for us to unpack there. Something I heard you start to point to, Dr. Valerie, is this idea that we have to be curious about how we operate in the world. And sometimes we don't know what we don't know. So I want to go to Koy and have you talk about unconscious bias. How do leaders start to become aware of their own unconscious bias so that we can move into this space of curiosity and move beyond how we may have done things in the past?

Koy McDermott 

Absolutely. I love the topic of bias because bias is something that is not only extremely interesting, it's something that we all have in common. And it's one of the things that we don't really like to talk about because whenever we begin to talk about it, we start to see that we have bias, even in the smallest things. For example, the cup that I'm drinking out of today, I absolutely love. When I was making my tea, I searched for this cup. It brings me to so many examples that I have with my daughter, with regard to my coffee mug or my tea cup or maybe Saturday mornings, you've got a favorite bowl that you love to eat your cereal out of. I know I did when I was a young kid. And if we can get to the truth of the matter that we have bias, even in the smallest things, that is what's going to unlock us to get into the truth of the matter, that we have biases in larger things. And once we can get to the truth, then we can begin to unpack the fact that some of these biases we were allowing to stay unconscious. I say the word allowing because it is a conscious choice to begin to tell the truth to yourself. And it is also a conscious choice that now that you understand that these biases are there, to begin to move into active awareness so that you can either surround yourself with individuals who can help you to find your blind spots, reduce possible areas and/or situations where you feel as though you have not begin to understand how you could utilize this bias or perspective to be able to benefit the whole, and last but not least, it is beginning to truly dive in. I think that this is the most important part, which is the truth of what's going on and what's happening, not only in our world, but in the world at large.

Tina Dietz 

I would love for you, Bruce, for you to continue on with this particular conversation and add your thoughts on how we can raise this new generation of leaders without necessarily insisting that we're doing it our way.

Bruce Mayhew 

Yeah, absolutely. I love what's been said here so far, and I love the idea of curiosity as being a root component to moving forward, which is really difficult for people that have been in the workplace for a fair amount of time. So I think as we move forward as leaders, that curiosity component, for sure. And when I look at that curiosity component, I frequently reflect on what is preventing that curiosity. And often that prevention is fear, right? It's fear of my job, it's fear of my status, it's fear that I'm not going to be seen as a leader, which completely means that we need to transform the way that we're rewarding people, because a leader can no longer be the wealth of knowledge in an environment. We need to be able to count on each other in any situation to be able to put our collective best foot forward. If a leader is scared of their own curiosity and is being rewarded by keeping things as they have been in the past, then that is a problem for that individual, a problem for the team, and it's a problem for the company, right? So we have to recognize that a lot of what's holding us back is fear. And we have to redefine how we accept each other moving forward. But I also want to touch base on something that hasn't really been shared so far. I work with a lot of senior leaders. Frequently, when I ask them what they want from their new hires or the younger generation coming in, they want them, actually, to be self-sufficient. They want them to be able to not have to be told how to do everything. But to be fair to that younger person, or to any new person as part of a team, I think one of the challenges that leaders don't do in order to support their team in that environment is that that leader doesn't provide the foundation from which to work. So if I want somebody to be independent, I have to give them a foundation on which to be independent, which is the values of the organization, the goals of the project, how we collectively work with each other and treat each other. And when I give you that foundation of, “These are the values that we want to express together,” now I can actually depend on the decisions that you make moving forward within a project.

Tina Dietz

That's very true, Bruce. Yeah, an important point because as you've been in a company for a while, there's certain assumptions, there's certain things you just take for granted, and bringing somebody on board, no matter how competent they are, no matter how much self-initiative they have, they still need that lay of the land. And as a leader, I know for myself, sometimes I want that process to go much faster than it naturally does. But when we do take the time, and gird our egos and gird our loins in terms of bringing somebody along, it makes all the difference. I want to go back to something that you were pointing at, dealing with fear in the workplace because we do talk a lot about psychological safety and belonging on the show. And I just wanted to flip over to Dr. Valerie and Koy and Gabi, starting with you, Dr. Valerie, if you could tell us a tip or a technique or something that a leader could potentially start with to help to cultivate lessening fear and increasing that sense of curiosity being allowed to thrive and grow inside of a workplace.

Dr. Valerie Sheppard 

My expertise is in self-mastery. I define it as mastering yourself in your life so that you can exquisitely manage whatever your life brings your way. For every single solitary person on the planet, fear is always a part of the equation of whatever your life brings your way. And the question is not managing fear. The question is managing yourself and the experience of fear. Fear is just going to come up but it's coming from inside you, it's not the situation. So the dynamic pieces to know what your triggers are, and so Koy brought this up a little bit, I think Gabi talked about it a little bit, success in your life, which also means success in your work, your choice of career, success is dependent on you understanding how you bring yourself, how you express yourself in any given situation. So when fear grabs a hold, one of the number one things, the first thing I tell everybody is breathe. When you feel yourself start to notice your triggers, Bruce went through a number of them, and they were mine as well in the workplace. So as soon as I start hearing that, “Blah, blah, blah,” she's out to get you, she's asking that question because she wants to make you look bad,” I start to sit back, and, “Okay, that's not necessarily what's happening in this moment.” And the thing that allows me to get control is coming into my breath. So the breath work allows you to move your focus from outside, what are they doing? What are they thinking about me? To inside, what am I doing? Who am I being? So when I focus on the breath, it turns my focus inside, I settle down, I allow the fear to move, it's just a wave of energy. The idea is, can I be settled in myself enough to allow the wave to move, and then I can get back into conscious control of how I respond? If we don't take that time, what we do is react. So instead of just going, “Oh, that was just a question. She's not trying to make me look bad.” If I stay in that energy, I might bark out my answer to kick her away, like, “Back up!” Instead, I can soften and receive the question. “Oh, okay. So let me make sure I understand your question. What is it that you really want me to provide?” And so the techniques I'm talking about are, number one, know your triggers and what they're about, so that when they happen, you can take a moment, and number two, go into your breath, quiet the fear response, and give yourself a chance to respond in the present moment.

Tina Dietz

Thank you, Dr. Valerie. We're all applauding on camera here to Dr. Valerie's response. Those of you, of course, can’t see us doing that. But Koy, would you like to add on to that? Other tips, techniques for this realm of reducing fear?

Koy McDermott 

That is the only thing that I can do is to add on because Dr. Valerie crushed it. It has so much to do with us. Within my business Leaders Inspire Leaders, we focus on the “I” a lot. And it's not from the sense of being selfish, but more from the sense of understanding that everything that is going on and that is happening has to do with what someone created. If we can focus on the “I”, and understand that our one change, our one shift is so powerful, and that “I” brings us into inclusion, adding on to what Dr. Valerie was mentioning, before bringing yourself back to the breath, bringing yourself back to the “I,” back to the self. We can also speak about fear, in regard to it being the fear of the unknown. A lot of times, if not, in fact, all of the times, dare I say, it's that fear of, “Well, I don't know what's going to happen when I actually let go and I allow myself to just simply be free.” And ultimately, inclusivity is not something that just happens in the workplace. We've brought it to the workplace. But inclusivity is something that happens all day, every day. I love this theme of curiosity, being curious of other individuals and being more inclusive. If we can come to the table speaking about the things that we have in common, the things that are similar about us, whether it's the fact that we love traveling, whether it's the fact that we love tea, because I feel like Bruce might be drinking some tea as well, whether it's the fact that we love jazz and Mozart, if they're the things that we can come to the table with and bring that are the same, then we can begin to actually honor our differences. And that's where a lot of organizations are going wrong today. They want to come in, immediately talk about diversity, immediately talk about the things that make us different, immediately talk about the things that are divergent. And what that does is it puts everybody on guard, whether they are on guard because there is a level of, “Well, I don't have that.” There's that comparison that comes about, whether they're on guard because maybe there could be some envy there, whatever it is, let's slow down on the diversity piece until we can get the inclusive piece down. Let's focus on the “I”. And after we get the “I,” then we can begin to find everything else. My book of faith says, “Before you worry about the speck in your brother's eye or sister's eye, worry about the log in your own.” So focus on self, just as Dr. Valerie said, and remember that inclusivity is something that happens all day, everyday. How can you become curious not only about different things, but about different individuals, different religions, different languages, different foods, so that you can also create additional commonalities, so that inclusivity can become a whole lot easier?

Tina Dietz

We're just going to pause there to breathe that particular piece of wisdom in as well. Gabi, I want to go to you. And as the editor-in-chief of the nation's largest student run magazine, you manage a team, you manage a staff. So is there anything else that you'd like to add on, particularly since you are Gen Z working with Gen Z that you have found really works well in managing your team?

Gabriela Moreno

Well, I just want to bring up what Koy and Valerie said about the “I.” I think it's something that I started to learn with Rowdy. I think, as a leader, which I put air quotes on that because I think the term leader has been, sometimes, not defined properly. I think people think a leader is someone, yes, who leads, obviously, but I think they think that that one opinion and that one idea is what's right. And it's not, there's a difference between being assertive and bold and there's also a difference between you're asserting only one topic or one idea. And I think that's where bad leaders come, and their idea could be great, but it also doesn't make your team be themselves and you are leading people to kind of lose themselves and lose their “I.” And that's one thing that I have with a team of 90 people that I'm trying to do, because we're all using this publication, not only for creative outlet, but for discussion and an open discussion with our audience, who we care so much for. I think the best thing that we're doing is that I value that open discussion, and I don't want them thinking that I'm a leader, that only my ideas are the one that counts. I want to open a discussion where everyone's ideas count. So now it's like, I'm not a leader, I'm a friend. But I'm a leader when it comes to maybe making a decision on what the name of that article should be. But it's not about me demeaning your idea or me thinking like, “Oh, I don't think your choice is right on that.” I should value your choice. If I have some differences, we honor those differences. And I think that's really important because despite any generation, the one thing that we have in common is wanting to be heard. And I think if you take that voice away from someone, that just makes you a bad leader and it says something about you.

Tina Dietz

Yeah, 100%. 100%. We can put that on a billboard. Yeah, if you're taking somebody's voice away, you are not really a leader. Not in any sense of the word. Well, we have covered a tremendous amount of ground here. I'd love for, as we wrap up, each of you just to leave our listeners with a little bit of wisdom. If there's one thing that they could do in the next week to forward this conversation in their own workplace, either for themselves or for their team, what's something that they could take action on? Gabi, let's start with you.

Gabriela Moreno

I think my biggest piece of advice is, at the moment, we also have to remember that we are a community, and the importance of forgiving, letting go, but then also learning from everything that just went on and trying to make the change, trying to give 100%. Just don't let go and just forget about it, give 100% and actually put change into something. So I think being active, but also having that sense of forgiveness and being able to let go and not hold a grudge, I think is my biggest advice.

Bruce Mayhew

I certainly want to reflect on the stuff that Gabi has been talking about, just the whole concept of leadership has evolved from 50 or 60 years ago. Leader used to be the boss. And we're still hung on that boss definition. We have to let that go. If somebody was going to start next week in changing the environment that they're in, I think they need to accept that we need to start training everybody to be a leader, regardless of what their position is within the organization. They have to understand what leadership is. And leadership means that I might be in charge this minute, and Gabi will be the next minute, and Val will be the minute after that. So it might be a trade off within the project that might last a minute or a day or a week but we trade leadership back and forth.

Tina Dietz 

Koy, let's go to you.

Koy McDermott

We've seen the stories of lottery winners who are now homeless. Nothing truly changes, you’re unable to sustain those things until you change. Focusing in on that mental well-being is something that we all have control over, we all have the power to do, we all have an opportunity to truly focus on self because burnout, not only is it real, it doesn't just happen from work. It can happen from anything and everything that we do. So when you're focusing on that mental well-being, begin to, as Dr. Valerie was saying, understand your triggers, and also understand what recharges you. What brings you rest, what brings you peace? How do I tap back into my joy? How do I refill my cup? Because a lot of us are giving from our cup instead of our overflow. And that is also beginning to cause resentment and shame and guilt and fear and all of these other emotions that come with it. It's not about being selfish, it is about focusing on self so that you can truly give what you have.

Tina Dietz

And Dr. Valerie, let's complete that line of thinking with you.

Dr. Valerie Sheppard

Thank you. Wow. You said at the beginning, this was a powerhouse panel, and the nuggets are just coming from everyone. It's so beautiful. I'm so grateful to be a part of this. Thank you so much. My last tip: learn to dance. And what I mean by that is to dance with the dynamics that are coming up within you. That's where it all starts. Learn to be forgiving and loving and nurturing and caring of you as the catalyst, the epicenter of what you create in the world. Learn to dance with the dynamics in the outside world where there are people who aren't going to see things the way you see them. Don't come from a perspective that maybe you even can understand, but nonetheless, are bringing their own brilliance and magnificence into the equation. Koy talked about inclusivity happens all the time, and we've gotten a very fractured world. There are some aspects of what you're bringing to this dynamic that I would love to spend some more time on and to kind of pick apart and play with and see if we can take from my point of view and your point of view and others points of view and create magic. There's something that we do in acting, it's called suspend your disbelief. Suspend the disbelief that I don't know how to dance. Maybe you just need to start. Suspend the disbelief that that person because they're older, they're going to tell me everything. Maybe not. Maybe they just want to be heard, just like you want to be heard. Suspend the disbelief that people are out to get you. Maybe they're not, maybe they just want to help you succeed, but they don't know how to do it in a way that is nurturing and caring to you. And so doing this dance of the dynamics, can I play with it? No matter where they come from, can I come from a place of, “We are going to create this together, and I am going to bring the best of me to dance and play with the best of you. And let's get on with it.”

Tina Dietz

There's been so much humanity present here today in the conversation about a post-generational workforce and moving beyond the dates we were born and into who we are truly as individual human beings, collectively, culturally, and all of the dances that we dance in the different communities that we belong to. Now is the time to maybe even listen back to this episode again or go back to the episode on psychological safety where we talk about getting out of midbrain dominance so that you can be a more high-functioning leader and be able to examine your own bias without fear and allow that to come out into your team so they, too, can reduce the amount of fear and increase the amount of curiosity that they are feeling. I hope today that you have felt more opening and more freedom to reach out to the other people in your community, in your workplace, in your family, on your team, and start having some of the challenging conversations with compassion and curiosity so that we all can have an overflowing cup from which to give. And in that case, I wish you all well. I look forward to being with you next time as we journey together and as we offer you a Drink From The Well.

Please share this episode with another leader and follow us on your favorite podcast app. Then journey over to DrinkFromTheWellPodcast.com for transcripts, show notes, and all the wisdom in today’s episode. We’re always here to refresh, inspire, and entertain you anytime you need a Drink From The Well. Drink From The Well is an original production of Twin Flames Studios and our magical team, including Alayna Carley, Darek Blackburn, Nadia Cox, Stephen George, and me, Tina Dietz.