Hi!

Last month, our Reaching and Valuing Every Generation Comm Convo explored how generational dynamics influence the way we communicate, collaborate, and build trust across the industry.

Our panel of corporate affairs leaders -- all at different career stages -- examined how communicators can better engage stakeholders across generations, challenge assumptions about age and experience, and build stronger, more inclusive teams.

Our top 10 takeaways:

1. Treat generational stereotypes as a starting point to disprove. Nearly 40% of both baby boomers and Gen Z workers report experiencing age-based assumptions at work, and generalizations about any generation rarely reflect the range of individuals within it.

2. Take seriously the emotional toll that age-based assumptions place on younger colleagues. Gen Z reports experiencing the mental health impacts of incivility at significantly higher rates than older generations, and that weight shapes how people show up and engage.

3. Stay curious longer than feels comfortable. The pace of change in communications is too fast for any one generation to have all the answers, and pairing experience with genuine curiosity is the most durable foundation for effective teams.

4. Build teams that reflect the audiences you are trying to reach. If the people making communications decisions don't represent the range of audiences being communicated with, the strategies that come out of those rooms will show it.

5. Bring all generations into the planning process from the start. Consulting a younger perspective after a plan is already formed limits its value, and integrating different generational viewpoints throughout produces stronger strategies.

6. Earn credibility across generational lines through consistency and genuine investment. Experience alone does not establish trust across a generational gap. It is built through transparency, follow-through, and demonstrated interest in the people you work with.

7. Calibrate content to how a generation engages on a given platform. Transplanting a traditional pharma ad format (for example) onto a social platform misses how those audiences consume content, and creativity, credibility, and authenticity determine whether a message lands.

8. Use data and listening tools to stress-test generational assumptions. Whether through surveys, social listening, or AI-powered personas, structured feedback loops help identify where generational assumptions are quietly shaping strategy.

9. Recognize that younger generations setting workplace expectations is a form of leadership. What can read as demands from newer workforce entrants often reflects a clearer sense of what conditions allow people to do their best work.

10. Start having the generational conversation openly. Generational dynamics are often the elephant in the room, and initiating direct conversations across generations surfaces more usable insight than trying to manage the challenge from a distance.

Thank you to Kelley Dougherty (Teva), Mike Kuczkowski (Orangefiery), Kyndel McKnight (AbbVie), and Catherine Woodwell (Mirum Pharmaceuticals) for a candid and thought-provoking conversation. T2B Pro members may view the replay here.

Lynnea

P.S. - Our next Comm Convo, Fluent in Finance, Science, and Strategy, will look at how communicators can continue strengthening their business acumen and contributing as strategic partners across their organizations. We hope you'll join us. Register here.