It is being shaped by four, all working side by side with very different expectations, values, and definitions of success. Boomers are staying in the workforce longer than expected. Gen X leaders are carrying the weight of managing up and down at the same time. Millennials dominate management roles. Gen Z is challenging long-held assumptions…
Thank you again for attending my session entitled Clash of the Generations: Managing the New Workplace Reality! Hopefully you walked away with at least a couple of ideas to test out when you get back to your respective school district! In addition, as promised, here are the slides including the one-page chart entitled Leading each Generation…
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Workplace demographics have been undergoing dramatic change during the past several years and with the arrival of Gen Z, more and more organizations are looking for guidance on how to navigate those shifts. I wrote Clash of the Generations: Managing a New Workplace Reality in the hope that it would be a useful tool for…
Just as more seasoned workers need to embrace the enthusiasm and new ideas of new recruits, younger employees also need to learn how to see things from the perspectives of their more seasoned colleagues. In some cases, for example, a workplace veteran might take a suggestion as a personal affront by the younger coworker: the…
During a recent training class I conducted for a client in Seattle, a Millennial employee vented to me that what she heard most often from older workers was “No, we can’t do it.” She was frustrated by their apparent lack of openness to new ideas, particularly in one situation in which her proposed solution to…
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I’m excited to share that my latest book is in to Wiley, my publisher! Clash of the Generations: Managing the New Workplace Reality will hit book stores 10/24/16! Woo hoo! When I started this journey late last year, it felt pretty overwhelming. I remember typing “Chapter 1: The New Workplace Reality” and thinking to myself only 64,994…
A great deal has been written on how companies need to prepare for the knowledge exodus as Baby Boomers retire in droves and for the great shift in the workplace population that will ensue. However, the reality is that Boomers aren’t retiring in the numbers originally expected. In recent years, the average retirement age has…
Disruption didn’t create today’s leadership problems. It exposed them. In Clash of the Generations, Val Grubb breaks down why capable managers stall, decisions escalate, and executives end up babysitting instead of leading—especially in fast-changing, multi-generational workplaces. This isn’t a book about generational stereotypes. It’s about leadership behaviors that no longer work. The book introduced the ideas that now define Val’s work on stages…
Outleading Disruption Val equips leaders to stay ahead of change, make better decisions under pressure, and turn people leadership into business results. See Val In Action SPEAKING Hosting a company-wide meeting or off-site event? Hire Val as your keynote speaker to engage, motivate, and inspire your employees. With her confident, easygoing, and intelligent style, Val…
Mid-year Check-in: Are You Still on the Right Track?
Val Grubb helps organizations stop babysitting managers and start seeing real leadership that gets results through their people. Drawing on her experience launching Oxygen for Oprah and IAC for Barry Diller, Val works with companies and associations to build leaders who think strategically, communicate clearly, make better decisions, and deliver results. Watch Video Contact Val…
Elevate Your People Leadership: Where Better Leadership Meets Better Business 12-week LIVE program for individual participants Register Now Executive Summary Great Leadership = Stronger Teams + Better Business Results This isn’t just another leadership course – it’s a high-impact, results-driven experience built for leaders who want to elevate their people skills and their business outcomes….
An employee’s motivation is a direct result of the sum of interactions with his or her manager. —Bob Nelson You may have wondered recently…How to be a great leader for Generation Z? If you aspire to be a great people leader (and of course you do, because that’s why you’re reading this!), one of your…
Influence, not power, is the key to your long-term success as a leader. An approach based on understanding your team and tailoring your communications to address their needs and concerns will enable you to build an environment of trust, respect, and shared interests. You can then develop (and implement) a plan that is more likely…
Overview of Val’s keynote at the SHRM Annual Conference and Expo, September 2021, Las Vegas: “Purpose and Automation a Key Part of Workforce 2030,” by Paul Bergeron for SHRM, September 28, 2021. Val’s work cited in “Older Workers Deserve Your Company’s Love Too,” by Grant Freeland, Forbes website, February 20, 2020. Val’s work cited in…
“BCW Launches Workforce Of The Future Initiative.” September 2025 “Biz New Orleans: Meet Val Grubb & Associates.” August 2023 “Leadership Lessons: Silence your Inner Perfectionist.” City business, April 2023. “Leadership Essentials: Empathy.” CT Employment Insights, volume XI, issue II. “6 Strategies for Upskilling Tomorrow’s Workers Today” Volume XII, Issue 1. September 2022. “Leadership Essentials: Credibility.” HR…
Part of your job as a manager is to help your employees succeed. But success isn’t defined solely as a matter of financial success; people are also driven by non-monetary factors, especially purpose. By understanding what purpose means for your employees and helping them achieve it in their work, you can help them find more…
UPCOMING EVENTS BLOG: Part 1: Mid-Year Reset: How to get S#it Done Between Now and the End of the Year BLOG: Part 2: Improve Your Time Management and Focus to Improve Your Work—and Deliver Real Results BLOG: Improve Your Time Management and Focus to Improve Your Work—and Deliver Real Results BLOG: Want to Stop the…