The truth is that it is still a tomato. And no matter what generation a manager is leading, we are people.

Having said that, psychologically speaking, there are a few things that we need to keep in mind so that we can approach the different generations with respect and consideration in order to increase our power and influence with them.

Operation principle: Highly successful managers work the dynamics of knowing, liking, valuing, respecting, risking, and trusting to increase commitment and alignment in order to integrate the various base assumptions into the corporate culture.

The four most influential generations that “cook” a corporate culture are:

• The traditional: people born before 1950.
• Baby Boomers: women and men born in the mid-20th century.
• Generation X – Commonly known as Generation X. The generation born after the post-WWII Western baby boom ended. The term generally includes people born in the 1960s and 1970s, ending in the late 1970s and early 1980s, usually no later than 1982.
• Millennial’s – Those who came to this earth after Generation X. There are no precise dates as to when the Millennial generation begins and ends, some people use birth dates ranging from the late 1970s to the early 2000s.

Basically, the minds of different generations are wired differently so we see and approach the world of business from different points of view, even though we walk the same land.

Here are some things managers need to keep in mind when working with the different generations:

traditional — that’s me, born in 1943. We tend to operate in the “Theory X” world. Donald Trump is an example of this generation. Competitive, motivated, traditional on a personal level, he expects to be respected due to our age, difficulty in understanding the new world of social networks.

• A key to work with us: Keep in mind that we have been on the roller coaster of the rise and fall. We appreciate you respecting our experience. Please do not take our tendency to be short-tempered personally. We are having a hard time absorbing all the novelty and hyper-stimulation of today.

baby boomers — can be obsessive-compulsive, which can lead to slow decision-making and complaining and talking about details that may not be that important. We may exhibit “weird” rituals to deal with feelings that they are being threatened in some way. The perceived threat can be seen in the form of fear that their family will abandon them; fear that your partner will detach; fear that their children will not love them “enough”; irrational “catastrophic expectations” that they will suffer some harm at the hands of even people they know, appreciate, value, respect and love. Baby boomers are often referred to as “The Troubled Well”.

• Key to managing Baby Boomers: listen carefully. Don’t make fun of them; his sense of humor is limited. Give them freedom, but not so much that they feel abandoned by you.

Generation X — are ambitious, having grown up in the shadow of the Baby Boomers. They may feel alienated and disenfranchised by the cultural icons of their time. The “X’s” often don’t know where they belong. They are certain that they are going to be like the authoritarian generation of Baby Boomers, and by making that decision they are doomed to become exactly that.

• Handling “X”: Tread carefully and be a sympathetic ear. You don’t want to push them too hard or they will rebel. Be sure to acknowledge their efforts or they will be resented.

millennial — that he tends to suffer from a “narcissistic injury” which can result in forms of insecurity about his worth, and a irritable habit of inability to accept and learn from criticism (admit that I am speaking traditionally in that judgement!) .

• Tread carefully and have a kind word to Millennial’s or they’ll fly the hit faster than a spring chicken. People of this generation grow up in the shadow of the Baby Boomers. They can easily feel alienated and disenfranchised by the cultural icons of their time. They don’t know where they belong. They’re sure they don’t want to be like the bossy Baby Boomer generation, and that’s probably what they’re becoming.

There you have it: a quick, sketchy look at the generational corporate culture in which you’re leading. And that’s exactly why he must develop his “people skills,” his emotional intelligence, if he ever hopes to have significant power and influence in his company.

Ignore this brutal fact at your peril.