Voices of Leadership: Discovering the Communication Strategies Generation X Leaders in the Hospitality Industry Use to Manage Multigenerational Teams’ Group Development

Abstract

The workforce has become increasingly age-diverse. Over the past few years, four to five generations have become part of the workforce (Smith & Garriety, 2020). This phenomenon posits the need for more literature on effective leadership and management of multigenerational teams. The researcher hopes to address this need and help resolve the current problem of generational differences and the potential tensions that may arise from this by studying the communication strategies of Generation X leaders in the hospitality industry when managing a multigenerational team’s group development. The study is grounded on tenets of the Strauss-Howe Generational theory and the Communication Accommodation theory as well as Joshi et al.’s (2010) generational identity concept and Wheelan’s (2016) Integrated Model of Group Development. Following a phenomenological research design, the researcher interviewed ten Generation X leaders from the hospitality industry. Study results revealed different communication-based and generational adjustment-based leadership strategies that can be used to manage a multigenerational team during the five stages of group development, underscoring the importance of recognizing generational differences and the importance of communication when working with a multigenerational team. The findings also revealed other potential factors outside of generational differences that leaders must consider and address when leading a multigenerational team. Finally, the research also showed that multigenerational team leaders either adjust to the different generations or do not make any adjustments, reflecting their use of the convergence and maintenance communication accommodation strategies.