Chris DeSantis is a speaker, author, and consultant specializing in workplace interventions. With nearly 30 years of experience as an independent organizational behavior consultant, Chris is a trusted partner to some of the world’s largest companies in the professional services, tech, and pharmaceutical industries. When working with clients, his goals are to dig deeper, treat the root causes, and offer user-friendly solutions aligned with company initiatives.
Before becoming an independent consultant, Chris was the Director of Management Development and Training for the American Medical Association and a Human Resources Development Manager at Brunswick Corporation. Chris has a BBA from the University of Notre Dame, an MA in organizational behavior from Loyola University in Chicago, and an MBA from the University of Denver.
Chris is the Author of Why I Find You Irritating: Navigating Generational Friction at Work. He’s also the Host of the Cubicle Confidential podcast, where he and Co-host Mary Abbajay share advice on outrageous workplace questions, comments, and concerns.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- Chris DeSantis explains why he wrote a book about generational differences
- The four generations in the workplace and where their common characteristics come from
- Chris tackles a tough question about Gen X women versus Millennial and Gen Z women
- Chris’ advice to help older generations understand and accept younger generations
- Why it’s important to embrace lopsidedness and discard the “A-player” mentality
- Tips for navigating generational challenges
- What about people who are between generations?
- How generational differences can help us talk about diversity
- Why we should all think rationally and give others the benefit of the doubt
In this episode…
When it comes to generational differences, we’re all generalizing and fitting each other into categories — because it makes society easier to navigate. Based on these generalizations, we develop perceptions of others and judge them through the lens of who we are. However, these perceptions often cause friction in the workplace. So, what can you do to maneuver generational challenges?
Chris DeSantis says we need to embrace the differences. If we want to get rid of generational tensions, we should reserve judgment, think rationally, and give people the benefit of the doubt. We’re all complex human beings whose experiences and characteristics amount to more than just a generational category.
In this episode of The Lawyer’s Edge Podcast, Elise Holtzman is joined by speaker, author, podcaster, and consultant, Chris DeSantis, to talk about strategies for navigating generational differences in the workplace. Chris discusses where generational characteristics are derived, advice for accepting other generations, and how embracing differences can help create more diverse, collaborative workplaces.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Elise Holtzman on LinkedIn
- The Lawyer’s Edge
- Chris DeSantis
- Chris DeSantis on LinkedIn
- Cubicle Confidential podcast
- Why I Find You Irritating: Navigating Generational Friction at Work by Chris DeSantis
- Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd by Youngme Moon
- Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect by Matthew D. Lieberman
- Mary Abbajay on The Lawyer’s Edge Podcast
Sponsor for this episode…
This episode is brought to you by The Lawyer’s Edge, a firm based in the New York metropolitan area founded by Elise Holtzman in 2008 to help lawyers become skilled business developers and leaders so that they can grow their practices, retain top talent, and step confidently into leadership roles.
The firm offers customized coaching, consulting, and training programs such as their signature business development program, Lawyers Making Rain.
Now more than ever, it’s not enough to just do good work and hope your law firm will thrive. And no matter how smart and hard-working you are, it can be time-consuming and overwhelming to figure it all out by yourself.
To learn more about how we help lawyers become rainmakers and leaders, visit thelawyersedge.com or email us at podcast@thelawyersedge.com.
