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Forbes
04-08-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Value Of Generational Knowledge Sharing In The Workforce
Britton Bloch, Vice President, Global Talent Acquisition Strategy and Head of Recruiting, Navy Federal Credit Union. The contemporary workforce has become increasingly multigenerational. From Traditionalists to Generation-Z, each cohort brings distinct experiences, competencies and expectations shaped by their social, economic and technological environments. Acknowledging and integrating employees' generational differences is crucial for enhancing organizational learning, innovation and resilience. These qualities are imperative for future-ready organizations navigating disruption, technological acceleration and talent shifts. Let's examine each generation's unique place in the workforce, then consider actionable strategies to promote cross-generational knowledge exchange in organizations. The Working Generations And Their Contributions Today's workforce spans five generations, each one contributing its own knowledge and driving organizational evolution. While largely retired from the workforce, Traditionalists' influence still contributes to organizations' growth and legacy through board roles, consulting or other knowledge transfer capacities. Their criticality lies in institutional memory, long-term perspective and a disciplined approach to organizational stability. Baby Boomers occupy many senior leadership positions, and they possess extensive domain expertise, strategic foresight and a networked understanding of complex organizational ecosystems. These employees often function as institutional stewards, bridging past organizational norms with current needs through relationship building. Gen-X is characterized by independence, pragmatism and adaptability. Often referred to as the "middle child" of generations, they provide critical operational continuity by embracing both analog and digital systems. Gen-Xers are stabilizing agents in the workplace because of their ability to manage change, maintain skepticism toward hierarchical inefficiencies and embody cross-functional leadership. Now the largest demographic in the workforce, Millennials are distinguished by technological fluency, collaborative orientation and purpose-driven values. They prioritize equity, inclusion and flexible work environments. This generation's emphasis on feedback, mentorship and continuous learning has significantly shaped modern talent practices and organizational culture. Digital natives by upbringing, Gen-Z enters the workforce with expectations of immediacy, transparency and innovation. These employees' competencies lie in digital communications and adaptability to rapid technological change. Because they often have an entrepreneurial mindset, they challenge traditional paradigms and often seek flattened hierarchies and authentic leadership. The Value Of Age Diversity In The Workplace Generational distinctions are not inherently divisive. When effectively integrated, they offer complementary capabilities that can enhance organizational performance. Organizations striving to remain agile amid technological disruption, demographic shifts and evolving market demands need both legacy knowledge and new perspectives. Institutional wisdom, often held by more tenured employees, provides historical continuity, risk awareness and an understanding of complex systems. Meanwhile, insights from younger cohorts fuel experimentation and responsiveness to new trends. When capabilities across age cohorts are strategically blended, organizations are positioned to benefit from diverse perspectives, communication styles and approaches to problem-solving. Research indicates that such diversity, especially across generations, offers more robust ideation and decision-making processes. 3 Strategies For Capitalizing On Multigenerational Knowledge Multigenerational workforces are a strategic asset, but only when organizations foster intentional mechanisms for knowledge sharing. Three strategies can help unlock the collective potential of cross-generational teams: cross-functional teams, two-way mentoring and project-based learning. Cross-functional teams that span departments and generations foster both technical collaboration and social learning. By assembling individuals from diverse backgrounds, organizations foster real-time knowledge exchange rooted in shared accountability. This kind of dynamic tension, when managed effectively, leads to more balanced outcomes and accelerates capability building across the team. Multidirectional knowledge sharing through two-way mentoring remains one of the most effective mechanisms for fostering generational learning. Unlike traditional top-down mentoring that focuses on building up younger employees, reciprocal models enable experienced employees to stay relevant in a changing world. For example, established employees can help advancing team members adapt to leadership responsibilities, navigate organizational politics and hone strategic thinking. In return, younger generations can share insights into evolving digital platforms, collaborative tools and shifting social expectations. This exchange promotes mutual respect, breaks down hierarchical silos and supports a learning culture grounded in relevance and reciprocity. Project-based learning, particularly when designed to be intergenerational, provides structured opportunities for knowledge transfer, application and reflection. Unlike static training programs, projects place employees in dynamic, goal-oriented settings where learning occurs in the flow of work. These temporary ecosystems enable emerging talent to gain exposure to legacy expertise, while tenured employees observe and adopt emerging practices. When teams are tasked with solving real-world problems, the integration of generational perspectives drives innovation and practical insight simultaneously. Conclusion No single generation will lead the future of work. It will be defined by how well organizations harness the full spectrum of generational strengths. As workforce demographics evolve, the competitive advantage will belong to those who view age diversity as a source of innovation, resilience and organizational depth. By enabling knowledge transfer through cross-functional teams, two-way mentoring and project-based learning, companies can cultivate cultures that are equipped to navigate complexity and remain adaptive in an ever-changing world. Forbes Human Resources Council is an invitation-only organization for HR executives across all industries. Do I qualify?
Forbes
23-07-2025
- General
- Forbes
Getting To The Heart Of Psychological Safety Through Character
Psychological safety emanates from interactions which reflect character I have been a fan of Amy Edmondson's pioneering work on psychological safety since we met as young scholars at an organizational learning conference decades ago. While my interests lay in the relationship between organizational learning and strategic renewal, she was tapping into a core underpinning of organizational learning: whether individuals and teams could engage in open and candid dialogue, feel safe speaking up, taking risks, and making mistakes. The benefits of psychological safety have been well-documented, as revealed by Project Aristotle, which found a correlation with a 43% increase in team performance, including a 19% increase in productivity, 31% more innovation, 27% lower employee turnover, and 3.6 times more engagement. Although the benefits of psychological safety are well-documented, the factors that contribute to it have been more elusive. Forbes Council Member Jeff Williams provides six practical steps to creating a psychologically safe environment, which echo many common prescriptions, including diagnosing where you stand, reviewing your policies and protocols, modeling psychologically safe behaviors, creating an organization-wide safety culture, discussing it, and holding check-ins. Although these are practical insights, there is a need to get to the heart of psychological safety, to explore why it has been so challenging for many organizations. Research at the Ivey Business School has revealed that the difference between weak and strong leader character is correlated with a 16% increase in psychological safety and an 18% increase in employee voice. Leader character may well be the bedrock for psychological safety. There are three key steps to unlock the potential character brings to enable psychological safety. Step 1 – Understand How Character Impacts Psychological Safety What has been overlooked in psychological safety is how character influences it. Because people have not understood what character is and how it can manifest in deficient and excess states, we have neglected a key aspect of both the diagnosis and the remedy. The 11 dimensions of character can manifest in deficient and excess states as shown in Table 1. Since people tend to judge their behaviors based on intention, while others judge them on their observable behaviors, they often fail to recognize that their character strengths are manifesting as excess vices, as shown in the right-hand column. Tasha Eurich's findings highlight the challenges associated with self-awareness, revealing that 95% of people believe they are self-aware, yet only 10-15% are. Table 1 - Virtues and Vices In our character workshops, we ask participants to describe leaders who exhibit strong integrity and drive but low humility and humanity. Words like bully, arrogant, tyrant, and jerk often top the list. By examining the excess vice states of drive and integrity in Table 1, you can see why. When someone has high drive and integrity that are not balanced by other character dimensions, these strengths can become dictatorial, forceful, uncompromising, belligerent, rigid, and dogmatic, among others. Because people often lack self-awareness and don't intend to behave in this way, such behavior becomes a significant blind spot for them. Let's connect the dots to psychological safety. When we ask people to describe what it feels like to work for or with someone who has these character imbalances, the responses are consistent, and, unfortunately, many have experienced it. Weaknesses such as humility and humanity, as shown in the left column of Table 1, offer clues. These deficient traits of humanity and humility are reflected in words like uncaring, vindictive, aloof, disinterested, and disrespectful. Combined with the excess vices of high drive and integrity, the person becomes challenging to work with and for. Returning to the core aspects of psychological safety, there is little chance of having open and honest dialogue, feeling safe to speak up, take risks, and make mistakes. In fact, research at the Ivey Business School shows an 18% gap between individuals with weak and strong character in terms of employee voice, indicating that people are less likely to engage when character is weak. Although Table 1 presents the character dimensions in list form, the behaviors in the middle column should be visualized as a wheel with the judgment dimension at the center. This is because judgment, what Aristotle called 'practical wisdom,' has its own set of behaviors and also plays a special role in regulating all character behaviors. We call this character-based judgment. There is no doubt that the words in the left and right-hand columns are strong. They are meant to leave no doubt that the deficient and excess states are problematic and undesirable. Because people often struggle to see themselves as anything other than their good intentions portrayed in the middle column, we ask them to imagine whether their typical lean is to the left or the right. For example, I am a very purposeful person (behavior associated with transcendence). It would be rare for me to be directionless, so my miss is not on the left side. It suggests my miss is to the right - being fixated. Although I would never describe myself as being fixated, my character development has helped me see that if others do not observe strengths in other dimensions, such as collaboration (being open-minded and flexible) and temperance (being patient and calm), they will view my purposive behavior in a more fixated way. Importantly, for me to have confidence in my character-based judgment, I need to ensure that I am strengthening my weaker character behaviors. This leads to the need for character development. Character imbalances not only influence individual and collective judgment but also impact individual well-being, often in distinct ways. For example, someone with high drive and low temperance may experience burnout arising from a relentless pursuit of perfection. In contrast, someone with high collaboration and low integrity may find that they continue to prioritize the needs of others over their own. Overall, there is reason to develop character beyond enhancing psychological safety. Research at the Ivey Business School reveals that the difference between weak and strong character is associated with an 8% difference in well-being, a 10% difference in resilience and job satisfaction, and a 14% difference in leader effectiveness. Step 2 – Develop Character To Increase Psychological Safety Unlike personality, which is considered semi-stable with no associated development paradigm, character behaviors are habits that can be developed but can also erode. Without a clear understanding of what character is and how it manifests in deficient and excessive states, it is understandable that most people will have weaknesses and imbalances. When it comes to psychological safety, it is not simply a matter of assessing whether an environment is psychologically safe, but diagnosing imbalances in individual character that contribute to it. In 'Towards a Model of Leader Character Development: Insights From Anatomy and Music Therapy,' co-authored with Corey Crossan and Cassie Ellis, we describe five levels of leader character development, with Level 1 being the ability to discover and assess one's character and that of others. Assessments such as the self and 360-degree Leader Character Insight Assessment and the VIA Character Strengths Survey are helpful tools. In Level 2, we describe how character can be activated through priming, reminding, and reinforcement, using music as an example. We have created a Spotify playlist featuring songs for each of the 11 dimensions, as suggested by workshop participants. There are other practical reminders, such as images and poems, and many creative ways people have found, including how Corey Crossan paints her nails in the corresponding colour of the character dimension in Table 1 that she is exercising. The value of understanding how to activate a dimension of character is to consider what it may take at any moment to speak up when it doesn't feel psychologically safe. For example, a leader may need to activate their humanity, humility, and collaboration to encourage others that it is safe to speak up. I learned this lesson when a colleague told me I was intimidating, after a meeting in which I had not even spoken. Because I saw myself as collegial and cooperative, it turns out that I lacked the self-awareness to realize that someone might view me as intimidating. Having witnessed the nodding heads of many executives when I share this story, it revealed to me how, with some awareness and capacity to activate character, we can shift these moments. I realized I not only need to activate collaboration, humanity, and humility, but I also need to strengthen them. The most challenging work arises in Level 3, where daily practice is required to strengthen a behavior. With 11 character dimensions and 62 associated behaviors, a daily practice is incredibly challenging. I realized my daily yoga practice was an essential way for me to exercise becoming more patient and calm (behaviors associated with the temperance dimension). Strengthening my temperance has been another dimension that helps to ensure my other strengths in transcendence, drive, courage, and judgment do not manifest as excess vices and undermine psychological safety. For example, my passionate behavior (transcendence) and decisiveness (judgment), when not supported by strong temperance, can silence others. Where I see my decisiveness as the beginning of the conversation, others can experience it as the end of the conversation. One of the reasons Corey Crossan and I created the Virtuosity character development mobile app was to curate a set of daily exercises for the 62 behaviors that comprise the Virtuosity character development system. Level 4 is a natural extension of Level 3 because it considers how the development of a behavior depends on and influences the character behaviors of others. In my own experience, once I discovered how my patience and calm depended on strengthening other dimensions of character, such as humanity, humility, collaboration, and transcendence, I began to put less pressure on my temperance. Essentially, I became less agitated and frustrated with others and began to see different possibilities. One of the reasons that people question character is that most of us don't imagine that character development needs to hold up under every context, which is Level 5. Our strength of character needs to be reliable in both crisis and calm, personally and professionally. There is plenty of research in sociology pointing to how context shapes action, such as the famous Stanford Prison Experiment, where students who had been randomly assigned to roles as guards began to abuse those in the role of prisoners within only five days. However, context need not be that dramatic to influence character. Consider how many people blame compensation and reward systems in organizations for their behavior. In character workshops, the proverbial light bulb goes on when they consider what that reveals about character. Connecting the development of character to psychological safety, it is not simply that individuals can strengthen their character to reap the benefits associated with the quality of conversation that enables candid dialogue and risk-taking, but character development also demands that individuals begin to transform the context within which they operate, which may undermine psychological safety. Step 3 - Rely on Character to Cultivate a Psychologically Safe Context In 'Making Leader Character Your Competitive Edge,' published in MIT Sloan, Bill Furlong, Rob Austin, and I describe that character is embedded in the architecture of the organization. This means that creating the conditions for psychological safety isn't just about interactions between people, but also the context that either enables or hinders it. Reflecting on Level 5 of character development, context can often undermine character. However, too often, the blame for the lack of psychological safety is placed on the context, such as what gets rewarded or punished in organizations. For example, reward systems often overweight drive and underweight temperance, with a focus on results at any cost. And because people are often selected and promoted based on this likeness, a vicious cycle emerges where the context undermines character and character undermines context – people cut corners. Few will speak up to question decisions. It is not simply about whether there is psychological safety to do so, but whether they possess the strength in integrity, justice, and accountability to speak up. The anatomy of failure in every organization, whether it be Enron, Wells Fargo, Volkswagen, or Boeing, is a system that embodies imbalances of character as I described in my Forbes article 'Lessons From Boeing on Elevating Character Alongside Competence.' When individuals and systems exhibit character imbalances, the organizational culture often reflects those imbalances. In my Forbes article, 'Seeing How Character Eats Culture For Breakfast,' I make the point that culture will reflect the character of its members. Furthermore, leaders with strong character will ensure that the organization's systems and processes reflect strong character. Psychological safety is vital, but it can be challenging to achieve. Many troublesome issues that weaken psychological safety stem from character imbalances. The good news is that the solution is straightforward. Character is the key missing element. Since character can be assessed, developed, and embedded in organizations, it can be measured and managed. Addressing psychological safety truly depends on character development, particularly in leaders who set the tone and shape the organizational culture.
