You talk about adapting your management style to the needs of each generation. But don’t you think good management, getting to know people as individuals, and treating everybody respectfully cuts across the generations?

Learning about the generations doesn’t mean managers don’t need to get to know people as individuals. That’s still required. But what it means to “treat people respectfully” varies from generation to generation. Many Gen-Xers would say that respectful treatment means being direct and straightforward, while someone with WWII Generation values–no matter their age–might define “respectful” as using good grammar, “Sir” or “Ma’am,” and “please” and “thank you.”