The Intergenerational Advantage — Four Articles on Culture, Communication, and the Future
Week 2 of Liam Polonijo's four-part series, The Intergenerational Advantage. Last week, Liam made the case that generations are cultures, not personality flaws. This week: what happens when we stop being curious about each other, and start filling in the blanks.
What Happens When We Fill in the Blanks
Article 2 of 4
By Liam Polonijo
Moving generational stereotypes Above the Line
When we meet someone from another generation, we often begin making assumptions before we know very much about them.
We notice the surface-level stuff — their age, communication style, clothing, energy, or relationship with technology — and our minds start filling in the blanks, sorting people into stereotypes almost automatically.
At Courageous Being, we use the Horizon, or the Line, a conscious leadership tool to help us notice how we are showing up in a moment like that, before the stereotype takes hold.
Below the Line, we tend to react from fear, defensiveness, judgment, or certainty. We reduce people to labels and assume we already understand their motives.
Above the Line, we become more curious. We slow down, question our first interpretation, and become willing to learn something we may not yet know.
Generational stereotypes operate Below the Line. Baby Boomers become stubborn, controlling, and out of touch. Gen X becomes cynical, guarded, and resistant. Millennials become entitled, sensitive, and dependent on praise. Gen Z becomes lazy, fragile, and distracted.
These labels are unkind, and that is a problem in and of itself. They are also incomplete. The same behavior can look very different when we become curious about the conditions beneath it. "Resistance" might really be experience recognizing familiar warning signs. "Cynicism" could be pattern recognition paired with the patience to get things right. A "need for validation" may be a desire for clear communication within the team. And "laziness" might just be a different definition of productivity.
Moving Above the Line does not mean pretending that every behavior is acceptable. It means separating the behavior we can observe from the story we are telling about it. Instead of saying, "They don't care," we might ask, "What does commitment look like to them? What experience are they drawing from? Have expectations been made clear?"
Curiosity can give us more information to work from. More information gives us better choices. And better choices make stronger working relationships possible.
Generational differences are real, but stereotypes turn those differences into conclusions before a conversation has even begun. The next time you notice yourself filling in the blanks about someone from another generation, ask yourself:
- What do I actually know?
- What am I assuming?
- What question could I ask instead?
That small shift could change the entire interaction.
In the next article, I will turn the lens toward my own generation and explore what shaped Gen Z, what we bring to the workplace, and where we are still growing.