Multi-generational teams: the appropriate leadership style to achieve positive team dynamics : Which leadership style should leaders of multi-generational teams adopt to achieve positive team dynamics in medium-sized to big multinationals located in Geneva ?

Over the course of many decades, the level of importance attributed to generational dif-ferences has considerably increased. In recent years, the topic of generations has been the focus of numerous academic papers, books, articles, and blogs. Companies are faced with the pressure of how they acknowledge such age differences in the makeup of the workforce as part of the Diversity and Inclusion strategy. The objective of this paper was to investigate the extent to which generational differences exist within the workplace in Geneva. It is aimed at addressing the question of whether team leaders can exert an influence on the team to positively impact its performance despite the differences that preside. Could there be a leadership style that can be most appropriate for a multi-generational team, with what recommendations to be offered? The topic of this paper has business relevance. Positive team dynamics lead to synergies within a team. Synergies are the backbone of the idiom typically associated with the term team: Together Everyone Achieves More. For instance, during Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) transactions, the bidder is willing to pay an extra amount for the underlying syn-ergies of the target company, this is reflected in what is called the goodwill. A company can continuously enhance its “goodwill” value, not only in the context of M&A, but also by focusing on the make-up of the team and acknowledging its characteristics such as age diversity which can be leveraged to boost the performance of the company at large. Primary data was collected through a survey and interviews of team leaders as well as Human Resources managers to gain insights into the generations at work in Geneva. The results demonstrated that generational differences do exist, but they are not as sig-nificant as often portrayed or assumed. A member of a year group might not have the values or expectations that are typical for their generation. It is thus recommended for team leaders to aim for an individual approach by aiming to understand the individuals forming the team rather than solely leading by generational groups. The three leadership styles that have been identified as fostering positive team dynamics are: democratic (participative), visionary, and coaching. Through such leadership styles, which can be employed as a mix, a team leader can create an environment that en-hances employee retention, mutual respect, accountability, trust, effective and open communication, participation during meetings, engagement, collaboration, cooperation, commitment, level of risk-taking, team effectiveness and overall productivity