by Vu H. Pham, Ph.D.

The term “generation gap” conjures images of generations with relationship deficiencies, communication breakdowns and even conflicts. I’ve always encouraged my colleagues and students to question the phrase. Few of us ever hear the term “generation bridges”—which we know exist between elder and youth populations. Why do we frequently highlight the problems and seldom learn from the best practices?

During my last trip to Washington, D.C., Hung Quoc Nguyen, the head of the National Congress of Vietnamese Americans, asked me to give a little keynote to some Vietnamese American youth. Even though the youth served as a captive audience (forced to endure my purported pearls of wisdom), it was their unintended impact on the event that really hit me. What did they unknowingly do? They actually fueled the gathering of elders (and people like me who are deluded into thinking I’m still young). Sure, we gathered for the youth—to train them and mentor them—but we got to meet one another because of the youth.

The following events occurred to me as I sat down to dinner before my keynote, where I first met De Tan Nguyen (no relation to Hung Nguyen). His bold handshake and warm smile instantly conveyed his open attitude—signs of a good leader who exudes confidence, yet this openness struck a chord with me. We talked and I discovered that he is one of only seven Training Directors for the entire Boy Scouts of America. The organization has 304 councils across the U.S., each with its own CEO, and De Nguyen often travels around the country to train these large numbers of young scouts, as well as their leaders.

De Nguyen has trained people from many walks of life, across different cultures, locales and ages. Many people claim to be leaders but De Nguyen trains those leaders. I asked him about generational issues facing us in terms of leadership.

De Nguyen introduced several vital ideas for building the aforementioned “generational bridges.” Here are his three key issues and challenges to cross-generational leadership:

Leadership Issues
1. Diversity and Leadership
From bank managers to government officials, De Nguyen instantly raised the top question on his mind: “How do we deal with diversity?” He firmly asserted that in this 21st-Century digital age, only some leaders know how to deal with the diversity of online employees.

“Many corporations and organizations are brushing this issue aside or sweeping this under the rug. The world is getting smaller and more diverse. If you don’t deal with diversity, then you can’t go far in this world,” according to De Nguyen.>/p>

2. Technology and Leadership
Technology can enable or impede leadership. Baby Boomers and part of Gen X function as digital immigrants, whereas Gen Y and beyond move seamlessly as digital natives. According to De Nguyen, “Many of the BSA leaders were trained in the old school, so technology is a challenge for these leaders. For the last 25 years, our society has boomed with technology. Many of these people in CEO, VP and Managerial roles were not trained in this age technology.”

De Nguyen cited an example of a recently promoted friend of his. This friend was given the services of an administrative assistant, who wanted to buy him a computer, Blackberry and fax. He told her he just wanted a desk calendar. She asked how she would get in touch with him without a Blackberry. He said “just pick up the phone and call me.”

3. Family and Leadership
According to De Nguyen, leadership starts in the family, because that is where youth learn their values. He discussed how this transmission of values from the family has changed. Nowadays, according to De Nguyen, “There are many more single-parent families. In the 1940s, the family value system was tight. Families sat down twice a day to have dinner. Nowadays, some families only get together once a week to eat.” Contemporary youth learn more values from outside of the family than ever before. These challenges create further gulfs in the family, yet also broaden views of youth with outside influences—this can work both positively and negatively, depending on what sources and what values youth learn. If leadership no longer begins at home, then where can one get it?