Feeling out of sync with colleagues of other generations as you work on projects and in teams? Some people call this the generation gap in the workplace.

But here’s a secret — regardless of age, they’re probably a lot more like you than you might expect.

Today, 5 generations are in the workforce: Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Baby Boomers, and the Silent Generation. While some motivations differ, they do share similar desires. Employees of all generations, for example, want to work on teams with people they trust and care about.

Creating a team dynamic that works for everyone is essential — and it can be done.

10 Tactics for Leading Across Generations

How to Bridge the Gap of a Multigenerational Workforce

We’ve compiled 10 tactics to address the generation gap in the workplace and help leaders look past the stereotypes and effectively lead across generations. The approaches here are adapted from over a decade of our research, including our research on emerging leaders, which is based on data from thousands of Gen Z and Millennial young professionals around the world; our book What Millennials Want From Work; and our white paper What Makes a Leader Effective?, which polled Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials. These are the keys to successfully leading a multigenerational workforce.

1. Learn from one another.

Older workers often have significant experience that can’t be learned in school, and younger team members usually appreciate it when that wisdom is shared. But being told that something needs to be done a particular way just because it’s “how things are done around here” will open the door to pushback. Those who’ve been in the workforce for a long time should recognize that, just because things have been done a certain way in the past, that doesn’t mean it’s the best way for the future.

There’s a stereotype that younger workers think they should be exempt from boring work. Older team members may remember “paying their dues” earlier in their careers and have no sympathy. But what if, working together, you could come up with alternatives to doing repetitive work, or at least find ways to reduce it considerably?

Younger employees, many of them digital natives, may have ideas or technology options that haven’t been explored, and more experienced employees have the knowledge and expertise to make new processes work. That’s why some organizations, recognizing the need to bridge the generation gap in the workplace, are beginning to partner their older and younger team members in formal or informal reverse mentoring arrangements.

2. Foster wellbeing.

Want to keep your organization competitive in retaining employees of all ages? Consider our best practices that support employee wellbeing and leading across generations. These include helping young workers nurture a broad network of relationships both inside and outside the office, and encouraging regular exercise and time for mindful reflection.

Remember to lead by example. “Walk and talk” meetings can help marry business with exercise, while a daily “out of office” email reply after work makes it clear that team members aren’t expected to be on call 24-7.

Workers of all generations report that they’re more likely to stay with their organizations if flexible schedules are allowed and remote working is supported. Employees of all ages are willing to work long hours but also want to have a life outside of work. Whether raising families, preparing for retirement, caring for elderly parents, or pursuing personal interests, employees often feel that their organizations forget that they have lives outside work.

3. Share values and show respect.

We often hear that younger people are disrespectful of older employees and people in authority. We also hear complaints that older people show no respect for younger talent and ideas. Many people think that older and younger people value vastly different things.

However, our research has shown that different generations actually have fairly similar values. For example, “family”  is the value chosen most frequently by people of all generations. Other widely shared values include the following:

• Integrity
• Achievement
• Love
• Competence
• Happiness
• Self-respect
• Wisdom
• Balance
• Responsibility

The reality is that everyone wants pretty much the same thing, which is for their organizations to cultivate a culture of respect — they just don’t define it in the same way. Some would argue this is really the secret to teamwork and leading a multigenerational workforce.

Our research shows that today’s young professionals also prioritize value alignment between their personally held beliefs and their organization’s mission and driving principles. Clearly defining and communicating what your organization stands for is an important way to deliver upon this. Also, take steps to show that you value the perspectives of the youngest members of your team.

4. Be a trustworthy leader.

By and large, people of all generations value trust in the workplace. At all levels, they trust the people they work with directly — such as bosses, peers, and direct reports — more than they trust their organizations. And people trust their organization more than they trust upper management.

What do different generations expect from their leaders? Conventional wisdom says older generations want a command-and-control type of leader and that younger generations want leaders who include them more in decision-making. But our research says that effective leadership is less about style and more about substance. People of all generations want leaders who are credible and trustworthy, above all else.

5. Promote psychological safety.

Our research study with Y20 found that 41% of young adults (ages 18–30) want to lead in the future. The top personal barrier getting in their way: psychological safety.

A psychologically safe workplace encourages workers of all ages to make meaningful contributions. Young professionals want a sense of belonging at work and to feel accepted for who they are, including those characteristics and perspectives that make them different from others. They also want encouragement to learn and grow — without fear of repercussions for asking questions or making mistakes.

To promote psychological safety at work, consider asking your senior leaders to share stories about mistakes they’ve made, or use organization-wide meetings or newsletters to share “failing forward” stories that encourage risk-taking. This transparency makes it clear across generations that missteps are an opportunity to deepen learning.

6. Communicate change.

The stereotype is that older people hate change and younger generations thrive on it, but these are inaccurate assumptions. In general, people from all generations are uncomfortable with change and can experience change fatigue. Resistance to change has nothing to do with age; it’s all about how much someone has to gain or lose with the change.

The best way to manage change and be a successful change leader is to communicate. Send out memos, host meetings, or implement an open-door policy that embraces communication. Make your team feel comfortable with asking questions and voicing concerns.

7. Break down silos.

The ability to build bridges — across an organization’s divisions and across a multigenerational workforce — is important. Successful leaders must help everyone learn how to span boundaries.

Help your young leaders view boundaries not as barriers, but as opportunities for new ways of working and collaborating. Ensure they understand the social aspects of their role and how to work through and with others to achieve results, regardless of age and other factors. One way to break down silos and lead across generations: Set aside time for colleagues of all ages to share their stories, including how their personal background and social identity influence the way they work.

8. Do the right things to retain talent.

It’s as easy to retain a young person as it is to retain an older one — if you do the right things. Just about everyone feels overworked and underpaid. People of all generations have the same ideas about what their organization can do to retain them. Employees want room to advance, respect and recognition, better quality of life, and fair compensation.

An audit of leadership representation — and whether multigenerational voices and perspectives are included when important decisions are made — is one thing to consider. By engaging a diverse cross-section of young employees in your analysis, you can broaden your perspective when leading a multigenerational workforce. After the audit and review, you’ll be poised to take informed steps to level-up access and make your talent management processes a lever for change.

9. Create a learning culture.

Everyone wants to learn — more than just about anything else. Learning and development were among the issues most frequently mentioned by study participants of all generations. Everyone wants to make sure they have the training necessary to do their current job well.

Leading across generations includes creating a learning culture that prioritizes and rewards gaining and sharing knowledge. You can also help employees create a personalized development roadmap that provides a clear understanding of what the organization needs, how their performance compares to peers, and which improvements they must make to support success. Building the core leadership skills needed in every role and career stage is another way to boost employee motivation and learning.

10. Build coaching skills.

Almost everyone wants a coach. We’ve heard that younger people are constantly asking for feedback and can’t get enough of it. We’ve also heard that older people don’t want any feedback at all. According to our research, everyone wants to know how they’re doing and wants to learn how to do better. Feedback can come in many forms, and people of all generations appreciate receiving it. Building coaching skills and a coaching culture at your organization can help.

Equipping everyone to hold coaching conversations can help create a stronger organizational culture for workers of all ages.

Leading a Multigenerational Workforce or Team: Final Thoughts

Our research shows that, fundamentally, people want the same things, no matter what generation they represent. So the so-called generation gap in the workplace is, in large part, the result of miscommunication and misunderstanding, fueled by common insecurities and the desire for clout. Successfully leading across generations is actually pretty straightforward.

So let go of your assumptions about the challenges of a multigenerational workforce, and spend more time developing your leaders of all ages.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

Support your multigenerational workforce by scaling leadership development across your organization. Partner with us on an enterprise solution, such as CCL Passport, that supports learning and growth for your leaders at every level.

The post Tactics for Leading Across Generations appeared first on CCL.

As women attempt to advance from mid-career leaders into senior and executive positions, plenty of roadblocks stand in their path — but one of those barriers may come as a surprise: other women.

This “queen bee syndrome,” a term first coined in 1973, is often referenced during our women’s leadership development programs, where mid-level women mention feeling a lack of support from more senior women.

Rather than blaming senior-level women, our researchers wondered if there was another possible factor at play: Could it be that senior-level women are somehow penalized for supporting other women leaders?

Why Women Don’t Support Other Women: Gender Bias Matters

Building on our earlier research about the gendered use of the term “bossy,” and to better understand the reasons why women don’t support other women, we wanted to see how peers viewed both male and female leaders when they openly valued greater gender diversity in the workplace.

We looked at the results of 360-degree assessment data collected from leaders who attended our leadership development programs, and here’s what we found:

• Female leaders who show that they value diversity in the workplace receive much lower competency ratings than male leaders who show that they value diversity in the workplace.
• Men’s performance ratings actually increase when they show that they value diversity in the workplace, while women’s performance ratings decrease when they show that they value diversity in the workplace.

Next, our team examined what happens when women actually promote other women.

Researchers asked 2 groups of working adults to evaluate the competency of a hiring manager who interviewed candidates for a vacant senior vice president position.

One group was told that the hiring manager chose a white male candidate because he “had the highest scores.” The other group was told that the hiring manager chose a woman because she “had the highest scores and increases the racial and gender balance of our leadership team.”

As noted in our white paper, the second part of the study found that:

• When the hiring manager was a male, his competency ratings weren’t affected by his decision — the group of working adults gave him the same rating whether or not he was motivated by increasing his leadership team’s racial and gender balance, but
• When the hiring manager advocating for diversity was a female, her competency rating dropped dramatically. There seemed to be a perception that when a woman advocated for another woman, she was somehow showing favoritism.

Our conclusion: This could be the real reason that women don’t promote other women.

And there may be another factor at play as well. In a work environment where men are in the majority, particularly at the top, women must work harder to break in. It’s also possible that once they do, they may feel threatened by other women who could replace them.

Women Need to Support Women — and Men Need to Join the Conversation

Of course, to grow the ranks of women leaders, more women need to support women.

But women aren’t solely responsible. In fact, as our study showed, men stand to gain by advocating for diversity. Strengthening women’s leadership is not about excluding men, and women cannot succeed without men’s support.

But overcoming barriers to women’s leadership will take a multi-pronged effort by the entire community — including governments, the media, businesses, and organizations — plus men and women themselves, to make gender parity in the workplace a reality.

The truth is, everyone has a role to play to foster a more equitable workplace.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

Create a workplace environment where your team doesn’t need to worry about why women don’t support other women, and leaders of all genders support one another. Partner with us for customized women’s leadership development that meets your organization’s unique needs.

The post Women Pay a Price for Promoting Other Women appeared first on CCL.

Belonging — the belief that we are connected, supported, and respected — is a basic human need. It’s also a critical component of creating cultures that enable everyone to feel included at work. Belonging in the workplace can pave the way for greater individual and organizational performance, innovation, satisfaction, and persistence through challenges.

Most leaders have a rough idea of what belonging is, but the true importance and value of belonging at work is probably more complex than they might imagine. Beyond just “Do I fit in here?” having a sense of belonging in the workplace involves answering multiple questions, such as:

• Can I connect with my peers professionally? Socially?
• Do I trust my peers, supervisors, and leaders?
• Do I feel like my unique perspective and experiences are valued?
• Am I able to share my authentic self?
• Am I free from worries about fitting in?

The Value of Belonging at Work

Research suggests that in the workplace, both belonging and uncertainty about belonging both matter a lot, as they influence everything from job satisfaction and self-esteem to performance and wellbeing.

This is because when everyone consistently feels included and certain that they belong at work, people are more willing to take risks and more comfortable asking for (and giving) help. So part of the value of belonging in the workplace is that it actually helps to encourage more innovation in the organization and fosters innovative mindsets through open communication.

In addition, belonging is linked to increased persistence through challenges, bouncing back after failure, less likelihood to be thrown off by organizational shifts, and reduced employee turnover. For example, in a recent partnership with a leading global automotive organization, our researchers found that employee perceptions of inclusion, belonging uncertainty, and belonging at work were the strongest predictors of turnover intentions, burnout, and work-life balance.

In another study, building connection and belonging with other participants was also highlighted as one of the most valuable outcomes of engaging in leadership development training.

Luckily, research confirms that belonging uncertainty and belonging in the workplace can both be influenced by organizations and their leaders.

By intentionally working to decrease uncertainty around belonging, leaders invite employees to set aside worries, concerns, or stress. Then they no longer have to expend as much energy wondering if they belong at work, and they’re free to contribute to business objectives in a meaningful, productive, and fulfilling way.

The Impact of Uncertainty About Belonging in the Workplace

Belonging & Belonging Uncertainty: 2 Sides of the Same Coin

We often talk about belonging as a single concept of feeling that you fit in. However, feeling as if you belong is only one side of the coin.

Before we can fully understand the value of belonging — and particularly the importance of belonging in the workplace — we must first understand the other side of the coin: a term known as “belonging uncertainty.”

People experience belonging uncertainty when they aren’t consistently sure whether they fit in at work. This vacillating sense of security can arise from feeling different from others around you, either in appearance or cultural experiences. Belonging uncertainty is especially common if employees come from a background that is different from everyone else on the team.

These individuals may worry about being treated negatively based on stereotypes, or perceive subtle messages about who can (and can’t) be successful at work, causing them to feel less welcome and experience belonging uncertainty. Other team members who do not perceive such messages or feel such burdens do not experience belonging uncertainty.

Belonging uncertainty often leads people to hide aspects of themselves, or not put their whole selves out there. That makes it tricky to detect. But a key indicator is when someone seems hesitant to participate. When that happens, leaders have a clue that the environment might not feel very welcoming to someone on the team.

As leaders, it’s our responsibility to help lift everyone in the entire organization, however and wherever we can. Without intentional support, employees experiencing belonging uncertainty may feel almost as if they’re carrying around a heavy backpack, weighing them down and causing them to struggle to engage fully, think creatively, or bring their full selves to work.

The concerns that arise from belonging uncertainty can also cause people to interpret neutral events negatively. For example, imagine that 2 employees give a big presentation at a quarterly meeting, and neither receives any applause when they finish.

• An employee with low belonging uncertainty may not really notice or, if they do, attribute the lack of applause to an audience eager to get to the next break.
• An employee who does experience belonging uncertainty might jump to conclusions, interpreting the silence as feedback that their presentation was confusing or poorly received. They might even tell themselves they’re not cut out for their job or the organization.

Even if the second employee is able to counter those negative thoughts with positive self-talk, the mental energy involved in processing those thoughts and questioning themselves is a burden they face, on top of their work responsibilities and the stress of giving a big presentation.

For leaders, if one person on the team feels they’re carrying around a heavy backpack, while another is not so weighed down, it’s going to be much easier for the second employee to tackle their work challenges than the first. This is why leaders should work to understand belonging uncertainty and how the workplace feels to everyone on the team, providing additional support for those who need it.

How to Create a Sense of Belonging in the Workplace

3 Tips for Leaders

Here’s the good news for leaders looking for advice on how to build belonging in the workplace: Your efforts don’t have to involve big or expensive gestures. Leaders can incorporate the following actions into everyday work life to counteract belonging uncertainty and instill a culture of belonging at work.

For maximum impact, know that the most powerful experiences involve fostering all elements of belonging: connecting with peers, building trust, valuing all employees’ unique voices, and decreasing belonging uncertainty.

1. Create intentional opportunities for connection.

Consistency is key. When trying to foster belonging at work, most organizations begin with creating opportunities for employees to connect. Many of us have attended a company pizza party or team mixer as an opportunity to meet people and build relationships. While that’s a start, leaders can make those experiences more potent by prioritizing consistent, ongoing opportunities for connection over one grandiose but infrequent event.

Being able to connect with colleagues twice a month is more impactful than a large, once-yearly occasion, even if the opportunities are small, because it serves as a booster for belonging at work. Whether reserving time at the beginning of meetings for team members to share something about themselves or facilitating cross-group coffee chats, creating space for people to connect with peers in a meaningful way on a regular basis is a promising way to support a sense of belonging.

Leaders can also build trust, an important element of belonging, by creating both social and professional opportunities to connect. Offering opportunities to share hobbies or personally held customs encourages employees to bring all parts of themselves to work, and begins to build a foundation of trust. Organizations might offer voluntary Employee Resource Groups to create spaces for connection, for example.

• TIP: Build small, ongoing opportunities for connection into your team or organizational culture. If you consistently focus on building leadership trust and create time for colleagues to make connections with one another, the impact compounds over time. You might set aside a few minutes to express gratitude publicly at the start of every team or department meeting, and create space for others to do the same. Or you might ask colleagues to bring questions as icebreaker activities, or set aside time to share wins and give kudos to teammates. Regardless, finding a sustainable way for employees to connect with each other authentically and consistently is key.

2. Flip the script on uncertainty and failure.

Normalize making mistakes. When people lack a sense of belonging, it can be an isolating experience. Akin to dealing with imposter syndrome, belonging uncertainty causes employees who feel they don’t belong to think they are the only ones experiencing those thoughts.

But in fact, most of us — at some point in our careers — have questioned ourselves and our abilities. When colleagues are willing to share their own uncertainties or even failures publicly, they normalize the feeling and help take away its power. This message can be particularly effective when it comes from colleagues further along in their careers. It can be powerful when a senior leader tells a younger manager their challenges and how they overcame them. Others have the same doubts, and it can be helpful to realize that they’re not alone in their worries and that their concerns might dissipate over time.

You might even consider keeping and sharing with colleagues “a resume of failures,” following in the footsteps of the story about a Princeton professor who created a CV of missteps. Rather than bulleting your accomplishments, list every job you didn’t get, every grant that wasn’t funded, and every idea that was rejected. The resume of failures will likely be much more extensive than your real resume — and more beneficial, too. Failures might have initially reinforced a sense that you don’t belong, but often upon reflection, we realize that we learned more from our failures than our successes. By typing them out and sharing them with your team or newer colleagues, you can reinforce the reality that everyone has to overcome hurdles — and that falling short of expectations doesn’t mean someone doesn’t belong in a role or doesn’t have what it takes. It means they have an opportunity to learn and develop.

• TIP: Normalize failure and frame uncertainty as common and temporary. Encourage a culture where employees can speak openly about handling stress, uncertainty, or setbacks. Encourage senior leaders to help bust myths around mistakes by reinforcing that failure is transient and to be expected. Model open and candid sharing of lessons learned, because that signals a willingness to make yourself vulnerable and encourages innovation, rather than sabotages it.
• TIP: Explore mentoring as a way to provide support during transition points. During times of transition, like onboarding, promotion, and new managerial responsibilities, could senior members of the team help reinforce and support other members? For example, if a new person joins the group or if someone is promoted, invite a more senior colleague to step in to share his or her experiences with the new manager. Coaching and mentoring programs can be used to develop new leaders, not only helping to support and onboard them, but also enabling both parties to benefit from mutual trust-building and an enhanced culture of belonging at work.

3. Show humility by not assuming others’ experiences.

Create opportunities for others to share. Leaders who consistently create space for connection and share their own self-doubts are more likely to have employees who feel psychologically safe at work, and subsequently are more comfortable sharing their experiences with belonging and belonging uncertainty. This is particularly important for employees who are most often overlooked and underestimated.

Power dynamics can often come into place in group settings, with those who hold more senior positions or privileged social identities taking up the most “airtime” in meetings. For example, one Catalyst study found that 1 in 5 women leaders feel overlooked or ignored during group video calls. Individuals from historically underestimated groups often report similar experiences.

Break the mold by scaffolding opportunities for all employees to share openly and honestly with you. When they do, remain open and choose your words wisely. What may seem innocuous to you doesn’t always seem that way to others. For example, if someone on your team opens up to you, and you respond with, “Oh, I know exactly how you feel!” you may think that you’re showing empathy, but that could come across as failing to acknowledge their personal experiences.

Everyone has their own lived experiences, so it’s important that leaders not downplay or invalidate others. Here is where a well-placed silence can be powerful. Don’t cut off potential sharing by moving on to another topic too soon.

Also, be mindful to not push employees to share their personal lives with you. Your job is simply to provide the space, not force anyone to share. Finally, discourage employees from speaking for others by asking everyone to focus on their own experiences. Give people a platform to share their own experiences and perspectives, so others don’t end up talking for them and the whole team can learn valuable lessons.

• TIP: Don’t assume you have the answers. Compassionate leadership starts with listening, and leaders sometimes make false assumptions about employees they don’t hear from, relate to, or understand. Instead of jumping to the conclusion that someone is “just shy,” for example, consider other explanations. Foster a trusting relationship over time, so employees can feel comfortable opening up at their own pace. Build an organization that values different perspectives by modeling (and training your team in) inclusive leadership practices and active listening skills. Particular things to practice include listening for understanding, remaining present in the moment, withholding judgement, and speaking less to hear more.

Better Leaders Focus on Building Belonging at Work

Leading with a focus on building belonging at work requires humility and bravery. Without a focus on equipping leaders and teams with the knowledge about how to create a sense of belonging in the workplace, organizations will never be as strong or productive as they could be.

At CCL, we believe in equipping leaders to cultivate organizational cultures that truly support everyone in the organization — ensuring people are better than just okay. We’ve created a downloadable collection of leadership resources on compassion, wellbeing, and belonging with actionable tips gleaned from our research.

The bottom line: belonging in the workplace is about more than just fitting in. True belonging is built on a strong foundation of trust, connection, and freedom from uncertainty. Fostering a sense of belonging at work acknowledges that everyone brings value through their different experiences and perspectives, and that some individuals might also be burdened with concerns. It’s a critical component of employee wellbeing, too, because when leaders consistently commit to fostering belonging at work, individuals and organizations thrive.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

Take a meaningful step toward increasing belonging at your workplace by starting a conversation with colleagues on your team or at your organization. Download Our Belonging at Work Conversation Guide now.

The post How to Build Belonging at Work appeared first on CCL.

For years, many caregivers sought to achieve a “balance” that allowed their work responsibilities and family demands to peacefully coexist. Surely, many felt, it must be possible to excel in or, at the very least, feel satisfied with both realms.

Commonly touted solutions often suggested simple fixes to this complex problem: if only they could define boundaries, communicate more effectively, or find the right support, then work-life balance would naturally fall into place.

But then COVID hit, and the collision of work and home life created a tipping point. The pandemic’s shift to homeschooling and virtual work led many working parents — especially women — to take a step back in their careers, or to leave the workforce entirely. Exhausted caregivers left their jobs in record numbers, and organizations are still feeling the effects today.

While offices have reopened and women’s employment numbers have since bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, senior organizational leaders continue to grapple with how to attract, develop, and retain women leaders (and ways to support working parents or other caregivers in general).

For those with caregiving responsibilities whose jobs can be done from home, many say that they want to continue working remotely at least some of the time. A study from the Pew Research Center reveals that 71% of employees who work from home at least sometimes say this helps them balance work with their personal lives.

Increased flexibility in the workplace comes as a long-awaited relief for working parents who struggled even before the pandemic to juggle both parenting and leadership responsibilities.

Is the idea of “balance” more attainable at last?

Organizations Must Lead the Way to Support Those Balancing Caregiving & Leadership

Certainly, flexible work arrangements help, but the golden notion of “balance” probably still feels beyond reach for many caregivers and working parents, and for good reason: we consider work-life “balance” to be a faulty metaphor.

It’s simply not possible for parents and caregivers to be fully present for their employers and their families all the time, while also taking care of their own health and wellbeing.

And the truth is, caregivers shouldn’t be forced to seek this equilibrium without organizational support.

If your organization is reconsidering how it’s supporting working parents and caregivers, you’ll want to ensure that you’re creating an environment where all your employees can thrive by offering equitable family leave policies, hybrid and remote work options, and ample growth and development opportunities.

For companies to support working parents and attract and retain top talent, they must be willing to acknowledge the juggle between parenting and leadership responsibilities, connecting leadership and employee wellbeing. It starts with managers who can create environments where others thrive — reducing stress and burnout while increasing morale and productivity, yielding people who thrive and a workforce that is flourishing. ​​

Here are some specific actions that organizations can take to signal they’re serious about supporting working parents — and all employees who are caregivers.

Supporting Working Parents, Caregivers & All Employees: 5 Tips

Specific Actions That Organizational Leaders Can Take

1. Offer fair and inclusive family leave policies.

Workers now have more bargaining power. Companies don’t want to lose talent, so employees can often enact change by calling attention to archaic and inequitable leave policies, courageously asking for the support they need from their organizations. While these conversations are useful, we still believe the onus and impetus to adopt more inclusive leave policies should fall on employers, not on employees. Specifically:

• Organizations are charged first with recognizing that families come in all shapes and sizes. To create more inclusive policies around time off from work, “maternity leave” policies should be reframed as “parental leave” — or even better, caretaker or family leave — to reflect an expanded definition of caregiving. Providing care for a family member isn’t limited to biological mothers and new babies, and caregiving for children often includes fathers, grandparents, adoptive parents, spouses or partners, etc. Leave policies should also cover an employee taking time off work to care for any family member — including aging parents, sick partners, adolescent children, those with special needs, etc.
• Further, managers should normalize actually using the available leave to focus on caregiving. Simply renaming your maternity leave policy to a “parental leave” policy is not enough; senior leaders should also actively encourage new fathers and domestic partners to take the available leave (and model this behavior themselves where applicable). This signals that your organization is serious about enabling employees to bring their whole selves to work and helps combat ingrained stigmas and societal expectations that a mother’s role as caretaker is more essential than a father’s.

When organizations offer inclusive family leave policies, they’re better able to compete for talent and retain strong performers. That’s why both company language and culture should be explicitly and intentionally inclusive, so that taking time away from work to care for a family member seems (and actually is) equally accessible.

2. Be a champion for flexibility by extending it to all employees.

Flexible work policies aren’t effective (and can actually be quite harmful) when they’re only available to a select group, or in specific scenarios. While many talent managers might acknowledge that a new parent on their team just returning from leave might need additional flexibility in their schedule, it’s important that managers remind employees that flexibility is available to everyone.

According to research, people without children sometimes feel they’re expected to pick up extra work while colleagues with children are granted increased flexibility. This dynamic not only inequitably burdens employees without children, it also creates an environment that positions flexibility as an organizational weakness instead of a strength. But the opposite is actually true.

In addition, many employers realized in the early days of COVID that they don’t have to trade flexibility for productivity. On the contrary, studies revealed that productivity actually increased as many employees shifted to remote work. With this in mind:

• Don’t assume that your organization should resume the same work arrangements after the pandemic as before. Many things have changed in recent years, so carefully consider the necessity and impact of return-to-office announcements. Evaluate the potential impact to all your employees, including those who are balancing caregiving, parenting, and leadership.
• Offer employees as much autonomy as you can in determining work schedules and locations, including remote and hybrid work options. Regardless of whether they have children, employees who have the freedom and flexibility to schedule when and where they work are more productive with the time they have. You’ll improve employee retention post-pandemic with flexible work arrangements that enable a greater sense of control, leading to more engaged, productive, and loyal employees.

3. Support Employee Resource Groups.

Also known as “affinity groups” or “business networking groups,” Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are formed by employees who share common characteristics. Within these informal groups, members provide one another with support, career development, and professional networking. In recent years, such groups for caregivers have gained popularity, as working parents and others struggling with balancing family, caregiving, or parenting and leadership challenges found they needed a network for support and advice.

Your organization can help ERGs become even more impactful through your support. Here are a few ideas:

• Assist ERGs in being inclusive and in achieving specific goals; for example, providing resources, learning opportunities, and connections with other working parents or caregivers throughout the organization.
• Share ERG goals and immediate wins with your executive leadership team to encourage senior-level sponsorship and engagement.

4. Offer flexible opportunities for leadership development.

When working parents and other caregivers are feeling challenged by work-life conflict, leadership development can give them new skillsets and mindsets to adapt and show up in the ways they’d like to — both at work and at home.

For example, our flagship Leadership Development Program (LDP)® introduces participants to the idea of a button with 4 holes as a symbol for holistic leadership. The button helps participants remember that leaders are most effective when they understand how the 4 elements of their lives — self, family, career, and community — are woven together in an interconnected way, working in tandem to strengthen their leadership and enrich their lives.

• Offer training and professional development opportunities that build capacity and resilience. Incorporating vertical development as well as horizontal development can aid those who are balancing caregiving and leadership through the process of reconciling colliding perspectives.
• Avoid overwhelming their already full schedules. Acknowledge training as an important business priority, and provide participants with the space and time needed away from work to focus on their development, as well as to integrate the learnings into their daily routines. Working parents and other types of caregivers need options for how they engage in leadership development opportunities, including the format that best fits their needs. Whether it’s face-to-face training, virtual development programs, asynchronous learning, or a combination of formats, providing flexible development opportunities in a variety of modalities will help your employees balance parenting and leadership demands, while improving engagement and retention of your talent.

5. Support employees who choose to “power down” and stay the course.

Some caregivers, particularly women, may choose or be forced to step away from their careers entirely for a period of time to focus on child-rearing or other family needs. This was common before the pandemic, and data shows that COVID accelerated the trend, as it disproportionally impacted women, with remote schooling in particular causing many women to step back from their careers or leave the workforce, either temporarily or permanently.

• When an employee expresses a desire to step back, leaders can signal support for working parents by supporting this decision and also offering an alternative. Caregivers may not need to leave their organizations entirely, if they can adjust the demands of their roles. People managers can show compassionate leadership whenever and wherever possible by providing opportunities for parents or caregivers on their teams to reduce their hours temporarily if needed and enable them to stay connected through professional networks. To ensure caregivers avoid losing momentum in their careers when doing this, managers should have candid conversations about what the “powered down” period will look like, when it might end or be reviewed, and how they can support working parents or caregivers when they do ease fully back into work.

Learn 10 specific tips for juggling parenting and leadership in our book, Kick Some Glass: 10 Ways Women Succeed at Work. Co-authors Jennifer Martineau and Portia Mount explore the “power down” alternative for mothers to accommodate childbirth and child-rearing, balancing caregiving and career. The “power down” advice is widely applicable as a way of supporting working parents and caregivers in general.

• Organizations can also pair younger employees with more senior mentors and sponsors who are willing to provide guidance and support, as well as advocate on their behalf. While mentoring at work is beneficial for all employees, such programs can be especially critical in supporting and retaining talented women leaders. Learn more about how and why sponsoring and mentoring women leaders is so important.

Help Caregivers Bring Their Whole Selves to Parenting & Leadership

While many companies around the world have publicly made claims about supporting working parents in the past few years, many have not followed through and lack measures that actually change their policies, processes, and culture.

To show your internal and external stakeholders that you’re genuinely committed to making real and sustainable change, your organization must evaluate your current practices and make upgrades where necessary — including addressing outdated leave policies to better support those struggling with caregiving, parenting, leadership, and workplace responsibilities.

Properly supported working parents and other caregivers will become better, healthier leaders at work, at home, and within their communities — leading to positive impact for your organization that’s much greater than an annual retention report might reveal.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

If you’re interested in supporting working parents and enabling caregivers at your organization to stay and thrive, thereby attracting, retaining, and engaging more talent, sign up for our newsletters to get our latest research, tips, and insights on leadership.

The post Supporting Working Parents: 5 Ways Organizations Can Support Parenting & Leadership appeared first on CCL.