A room full of emerging professionals glean insights from a panel of expert guest speakers.
How do you navigate this multi-generational workplace? For the first time in history, four generations are working side by side, which makes it no surprise that bridging generation gaps was the topic of conversation at the recent Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce Emerging Professionals event. Brandman University’s Dr. Shelly Neal and Lindsay Racen were there to help lead the panel discussion as guest speakers.
The Emerging Professionals group in the Greater Irvine Chamber strives to develop those looking to climb the professional ladder through networking, philanthropic and learning opportunities. Dozens attended the event in Irvine to gain insight and analyze real-world case studies to understand how they can help unify their diverse organizations. Dr. Neal recently joined the Board of Directors for the Irvine Chamber of Commerce and is thrilled to have the opportunity to positively impact Brandman University’s local Irvine businesses and professional communities.
Dr. Neal and Lindsay Racen joined Hector Santa Cruz of Marriott Hotels and Matt Gilliland of Zillow Group, representing multiple generations by providing first-hand perspectives. Dr. Neal kicked off the presentation by highlighting the different values and attributes of each generation, from traditionalist to millennials, by discussing how these translate into the higher education space. She shared with the attendees that although there are clear differences between the generations, that this actually fosters engaging collaborations that produce results that matter.
Guest Speakers Lindsay Racen and Dr. Shelly Neal from Brandman University
Lindsay Racen then shared her unique perspectives from being a student, staff member and adjunct faculty member during her over seven years at Brandman. This included taken an in-depth look at the differences and similarities between younger millennials born in the 90’s and older sub-section born in the 80’s. Technology played a key role in how each of these sub-cultures interact with one another and how those experiences shaped communication styles. In addition, she noted that in some cases those born in the early-to-mid 80’s actually can serve as key links that can easily connect their younger counterparts with Gen X-ers to help bridge the gap in many cases.
Fellow panelists Hector Santa Cruz and Matt Gilliland continued the discussion by adding their perspectives from their diverse industries of hospitality, gaming, and real-estate. Their presentations gave unique real-world examples of the challenges and benefits of having multiple-generations within the same organization. There is no single recipe for uniting these different segments however one thing became very clear through the conversations which is that having four generations working side-by-side is just another form of diversity, which experts agree is a key driver of collaboration and ultimately success.
