Coaching Up & Down the Generations, by Lisa Haneberg, ASTD Press, 2010.

The title of this book caught my eye at the recent ASTD TechKnowledge conference in San Jose, California. There are lots of books on multi-generations in the workforce but I had never seen a “how to” book on using coaching to bridge these common generational gaps.

It’s an excellent book for both professional coaches and leaders alike. Haneberg identifies an issue that is often hinted about in today’s workplace but rarely offered a solution. And that is how to help the four generations now working in today’s world connect, communicate and finally learn from each other. Haneberg calls this “Up & Down the Generations” to illustrate that this kind of collaboration goes both ways – from oldest to youngest and (just as importantly) from youngest to oldest. Haneberg gives an excellent review of state-of-the-art coaching strategies and techniques to accomplish exactly that. This is a great book for every leader and every coach I know.