Lessons Learned #8

Child welfare leadership must lead the way in fostering strong intergenerational professional relationships, which are essential for empowering younger professionals – especially those with lived expertise.

The Quality Improvement Center on Engaging Youth in Finding Permanency (QIC-EY) is producing a series of Lessons Learned to share fundamental insights about engagement of children and youth, especially in relation to permanency decisions. Each lesson brings to life insights and knowledge gained as the QIC-EY project progresses.

The Lesson

Child welfare leadership must lead the way in fostering strong intergenerational professional relationships, which are essential for empowering younger professionals—especially those with lived expertise—by creating a culture of mutual respect, open dialogue, and inclusion that strengthens the entire workforce and drives meaningful systems change.

In the child welfare workforce today, Boomers (ages 60-78), Gen X (ages 44-59), Millennials (ages 28-43), and Gen Z (ages 12-27) are all working together. Building strong professional relationships across these generations is essential to creating the conditions for the highest level of authentic engagement with children and youth and for welcoming lived experts into the work. Classic intergenerational challenges in the workplace often stem from differences in perspectives surrounding work-life balance, workplace culture and norms, inclusion and professional relationship building, communication styles and technology use, and expectations for what’s possible.

Application of the Lesson

Embracing and strengthening intergenerational professional relationships within child welfare requires leaders to recognize and address the unique, but not new, challenges that can arise from generational differences among staff. Making these relationships stronger is vital as younger professionals with lived expertise continue to enter the field and make themselves available for the important work of systems change. A little effort from leaders can go a long way in creating opportunities for more open and proactive dialogue surrounding the classic workplace challenges between generations.

As you reflect on the following areas of opportunity and your responsibilities as a leader in child welfare, consider how stereotypes and your own attitudes, behaviors, and assumptions might influence your interactions across generations. By fostering greater self-awareness, you can help your agency or organization bridge generational gaps and contribute to building a more integrated, inclusive, and effective workforce for professionals of all ages.

1. Work and Life Balance

There may be varying expectations regarding work-life balance, self-care and professional boundaries among different generations. In recent years, Millennials and Gen Z have begun to prioritize flexibility and the ability to balance work with personal life, especially post COVID pandemic. While older generations may still value traditional work hours and time in the office.

Get Clarity: To address these differences, it’s important to first gain clarity on how professionals in your agency or system feel about and value work-life balance. Normalizing conversations around these modern realities can help reduce tension surrounding this sometimes delicate, yet universal, topic.
Use Online Tools: One effective way to encourage these conversations is by using tools like online personality assessments. These tools can help teams better understand each other’s values and preferences, fostering more meaningful and empathetic relationships. For example, the 16 Personalities assessment is a useful starting point that can prompt discussions among team members, leading to greater mutual understanding and collaboration. Myers Briggs is another option that helps people identify and gain some understanding around how they take in information and make decisions.

2. Workplace Culture and Norms

The backbone of any organization, these elements can significantly impact intergenerational relationships. A culture that values respect, inclusivity, and continuous learning can help bridge generational gaps and foster a more cohesive child welfare workforce.

Define Norms: Norms around communication, collaboration, and professional development should be clearly defined and adaptable to accommodate diverse preferences and expectations. Consider developing training, guidebooks, or simply documenting how your professional organization defines these norms and how they were developed.
Set and Communicate Expectations: It’s crucial to set expectations and clearly communicate them around work, communication, and professional conduct (including the expression of personal style). Ensure that these expectations are understood and agreed upon by all team members to maintain consistency and mutual respect within the organization.

3. Inclusion and Professional Relationship Building

Professionals who have been working in child welfare for many years have likely created long-standing relationships with colleagues they have known over time. In contrast, younger professionals who are newer to the field may not yet have those relationships and may feel intimidated by the comfort and ease with which more seasoned professionals network and create connections. These dynamics, though subtle, can significantly impact how younger professionals engage.

Model Inclusivity: Leaders can model inclusivity and show interest in younger professionals by establishing both formal and informal mentorship programs. These programs foster knowledge sharing and mutual support between professionals at different ages and stages of their careers.
Facilitate Open Dialogues: It’s important to facilitate open dialogues and create forums for honest conversations about generational differences and their potential impact. Encourage employees to share their experiences and suggestions for improvement, which can help bridge the generational divide.
Create Team Building Opportunities: Consider creating opportunities for intergenerational team building. If you don’t already have one, an employee resource group focused on intergenerational connections can be a great way to foster a deeper sense of inclusion and belonging for professionals of different ages.

4. Communication Styles

Different generations often prefer different communication methods. Generally speaking, Millennials and Gen Z tend to favor digital communication tools like instant messaging and collaborative work platforms like Teams or Slack. In contrast, Baby Boomers and Gen X might prefer and expect face-to-face meetings or phone calls. Effective communication is key for professional relationship building, so identifying and addressing these discrepancies can help alleviate misunderstandings, frustrations, and inefficiencies.

Set Clear Standards: In a time when hybrid working is common and in-person time is limited, it’s vital for leaders to set clear standards for communication. Invite team members to weigh in on how the current communication tools and standards are working to ensure everyone’s needs are met.
Use Technology Wisely: Leverage technology to bridge communication gaps, but also ensure that training is available for those who may be less familiar with digital tools. Balance digital communication with in-person interactions, when possible, to maintain strong relationships.
Encourage Knowledge Sharing: Encourage team members who are more versed in different technologies to share their knowledge with other team members, either formally or informally. This can help build capacity and strengthen relationships across the team.

5. Expectations of What is Possible

A decision to work in child welfare is often driven by a desire to make a positive change for children and families. However, professionals at different ages and stages of their careers may have very different understandings of what is possible when it comes to achieving systemic changes. Younger professionals, who have fewer years in the field and more exposure to a digital world where things seemingly happen quickly, may become frustrated with the slower pace of change. On the other hand, more experienced professionals may be more risk-averse, set in their ways, and believe that change cannot happen quickly.

Create Space for Dialogue: It’s important to create space for open discussions about these differing expectations as part of the collective work. This can help align everyone’s expectations and keep the entire team hopeful and dedicated to the necessary work.
Celebrate Achievements: Recognize and celebrate the achievements of employees from all generations. Doing so helps build a sense of camaraderie and mutual respect, reinforcing the collective effort required to drive systemic change.

When leaders in child welfare set expectations, model professional relationship building and resist the urge to perpetuate the classic intergenerational challenges new levels of connection and partnership between professionals of any age can emerge. And, in turn, all professionals can work together in better harmony to elevate their skills and abilities to be even more effective at building connections with not only each other but also with the children and youth they serve.

You can find more information on QIC-EY’s Lessons here and if this latest lesson resonates with you, check out LL #5 that focuses on thoughtful approaches for engaging authentically with youth and young adults who have lived expertise as they engage in system transformation efforts.

Hear from the Expert

Shaquita Ogletree, Director of Federal Policy at Youth Villages and a member of the National Youth Engagement Advisory Council for the QIC-EY.

“We never know what can be changed if we don’t ask and we don’t share.”

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