The workplace demographics continues to change and for the first time, five generations are working alongside each other with people who have grown up in different cultures, economies and work environments. And, with the extension of retirement age of Baby boomers (born 1946-1964) more and more of that generation are at work. On a global scale, by 2020, Millennials (born 1982-2000) were three quarters of the global workforce.

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But in certain industries the retiring boomer generation leave a vacuum of lost talent, skills and knowledge. Covid-19, globalization, technology, and socio-political changes are all set to influence the way businesses operate in the future. In the current climate of a highly competitive businesses environment, the war for talent continues and CEOs are becoming increasingly concerned. Millennials need leadership development skills to successfully take over from that vacuum left by previous generations. It is now imperative for employers and organizations to invest in programs to develop and support these young employees as they are poised to become millennial leaders.

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Despite the work on diversity and inclusion, generational diversity and multigenerational workplace issue is one of the challenges which is often not addressed as a contributing factor when leaders face low productivity, de-motivation, attrition and low morale. Leaders fail to see (a leadership blind-spot), how different needs, expectations and working styles of multigenerations, when not embraced, and not leveraged, can impact business results, as illustrated in the Iceberg Of Ignorance diagram. And with the current market challenges of a global economy with a diverse workforce serving an increasingly diverse customer base, HR driven initiatives on leadership development where one-size-fits-all approach to employee engagement, recruitment and retention of key talents are fast becoming redundant.