9. Managing Interests and Expectations

Whether generational or personality-based, written down in formal employment contracts or based on “unwritten rules” deeply embedded in the minds of both parties—identifying and understanding the interests and expectations of both employer and employee and using them as the basis for our goal-oriented negotiations are perhaps the most important and complex component of successful and effective leadership. But it is precisely the accommodation of people’s interests in the workplace that has become increasingly difficult in recent years due to their growing heterogeneity. We experience this diversity on two levels. On the one hand, it becomes clear when four—in exceptional cases even five—generations work together in a company. On the other, we see that even within the same generational cohort, there are often major differences in lifestyles and interests.