A reader writes: "I lead a team with a mix of Gen Z and Gen X colleagues, and small communication choices keep causing friction. A younger employee texted me she was running late, and I read it as too casual, while she believed it was considerate of my time. How do I help my team align without making either side wrong?"
Your question immediately brought me back to a recent piece in The Conversation that describes almost the exact same moment. Ultimately, both thought they were being respectful.
The piece uses that moment to argue that Gen Z communication comes from a different learning environment. Many entered the workforce during the pandemic and missed the in-person reps that traditionally teach people to read a room. Gen Z also brings more openness about mental health and personal wellbeing, which older colleagues can read as oversharing.
In my own work with teams, I see the same dynamic. Each person carries an invisible rulebook about what these tools are for, and that rulebook is where the loudest tension lives.
My advice for people leaders is to make the rulebook explicit. A short conversation about when a phone call is expected, what counts as timely, and how to read a room in your culture prevents the misunderstanding. Clear expectations and direct feedback give colleagues a shared way to interpret each other's intentions, so a text about running late gets read as a heads-up.
I would add that this conversation works best as a collaboration. Ask your team what respectful communication looks like to them, and put the default rules somewhere everyone can find them.
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