Practical Tools to Lead a Multi-Generational Workforce

For a lot of distributors, the toughest part of the job right now isn’t operations, inventory, or even sales. It’s people. More specifically, it’s the conversations.

The quick feedback discussion that doesn’t land the way you expected. The employee who seems disengaged, but you’re not quite sure how to address it. The difference in expectations between two employees that turns a simple situation into something more complicated.

Those moments are happening every day. And for many managers, they’re the ones that take the most time and energy.

“We have more access to information and resources than ever before,” Michaela Falconer says. “But the resounding message from people seems to be that managing people feels harder than it ever has before.”

That’s exactly what Falconer will be addressing at this year’s Spring Management Conference in Oklahoma City.

If her last GAWDA session is any indication, this won’t be theoretical. It will be practical and built for the kinds of conversations managers are already having.

Back at the 2022 Annual Convention, Falconer led a session on mental health in the workplace that centered on a simple idea: the small, everyday interactions between managers and employees matter more than most people realize. This year’s session picks up right where that conversation left off but shifts the focus to execution.

“This session picks up where we left off,” she says. “It’s really about the how.”

WHY IT FEELS HARDER RIGHT NOW

Falconer is direct about it. Even with more tools and resources available than ever, managing people has become more complex.

Part of that comes down to expectations. Some of the generational differences are real. For example, there is more expectation today around transparency. Employees want to better understand how decisions are made, how leaders handle stress, and how communication flows across the organization.

That wasn’t always emphasized in the same way in previous generations.

But focusing only on generational differences can miss the bigger issue. What Falconer sees more often is a wide range of expectations showing up within the same team.

Those differences show up in communication styles, feedback preferences, flexibility, and what growth looks like from one employee to the next. Without a shared way to navigate those differences, friction can build. And when that happens, even routine conversations can start to feel more difficult than they should.

GETTING OUT OF GUESSWORK

When those situations come up, many managers default to trying to prepare their way through them.

Falconer’s approach is to shift the focus.

Instead of trying to plan for every possible scenario, she emphasizes the importance of handling the moments that happen every day.

The quick conversations. The points where expectations don’t quite line up. The situations where engagement starts to slip. It might be a conversation you’ve been meaning to have for a week. Or something that comes up in the moment that you weren’t expecting. Either way, those are the situations that tend to matter most.

“We’re focusing on real-life situations where interactions get tricky,” she says. “Giving feedback, addressing disengagement, navigating different expectations.”

The goal is to move managers out of frustration and guesswork and into more effective conversations they can handle in the moment.

TOOLS YOU CAN ACTUALLY USE

Falconer’s focus is on giving attendees something they can use immediately. Tools they can bring back and start using right away.

That includes simple frameworks and conversation scripts that act as a starting point and can be adapted based on the situation. This isn’t about walking out with a few ideas to think about. It’s about having a way to approach the next difficult conversation when it comes up.

“They’ll leave not just thinking differently,” she says, “but actually feeling confident to manage those interactions in real time.”

And this isn’t limited to one level of the organization.

“If you have interactions in the workplace, this can be beneficial,” Falconer says.

Whether someone is leading a team, managing a branch, or working across departments, those same dynamics show up every day.

WHY IT MATTERS MORE NOW

The timing of this topic lines up directly with this year’s SMC theme, The Human Advantage in the Digital Age.

As more of the technical and operational side of the business becomes automated or supported by AI, the focus continues to shift. What separates teams is how effectively people work with other people.

For distributors, that shows up in everything from managing teams across locations to handling day-to-day communication within a branch. The technical side of the business still matters, but how well people work together is becoming just as important.

A FEW STRATEGIC SHIFTS

One of the more practical takeaways from Falconer’s approach is that this isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing things differently.

A lot of managers assume they need to prepare more or have everything mapped out ahead of time. Falconer’s message is that a few well-placed shifts can make a difference pretty quickly.

“It’s not about overhauling your leadership style,” she says. “It’s about a few strategic shifts in how you approach these interactions.”

For attendees, it will be welcome news. You don’t need a completely new system. You need a better way to handle the interactions that are already happening every day.

And when those improve, you’ll start to see it in how your team communicates and works together