How Much Is Generational Friction Actually Costing You? Giselle Kovary on the Hidden Price of Getting This Wrong

Written by: Clarity Recruitment
March 31, 2026

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Most founders and CEOs think about generational differences as a culture issue — something HR deals with, or a friction point that smooths itself out over time. Giselle Kovary would tell you that’s exactly the wrong frame.

Giselle is the Head of Learning and Development at Optimus SBR and the co-founder of NGen, a generational intelligence consultancy she built over 19 years before its acquisition in 2022. She’s spent more than two decades researching how different generations work, lead, communicate, and disengage — and she has the data to quantify what getting it wrong actually costs.

On this episode of The Next Moves, Joe sat down with Giselle to unpack the real mechanics of generational friction: where it shows up, what it’s costing your organization, and what leaders can do about it.

Key Takeaways

Generational intelligence isn’t about labels. It’s about understanding the values and expectations each generation brings — then adapting your leadership to get the best out of them. The goal is not to stereotype; it’s to stop making assumptions.
Communication is the biggest friction point — and it’s more than the medium. It’s tone, speed, interpretation, and what “urgent” means to a 55-year-old versus a 25-year-old. Misalignment here slows everything down.
Engaged employees are worth 2–5% more revenue growth annually. Organizations with highly engaged teams outperform industry average on both the top and bottom line. Disengagement has a measurable cost — it’s not a soft metric.
Engagement has three components — most leaders only track one. Discretionary effort (rational), pride in the work (emotional), and accountability. The third one is the most overlooked, and it’s where performance problems compound.
The job description is not a substitute for clear role expectations. And role expectations aren’t a substitute for a career development path. Leaders who skip these steps create the exact confusion they blame on generational differences.
For Gen Z specifically: onboard them like they matter on day one. Welcome them as you would a senior hire. Ask what they want to learn and what they can teach you. Set them up for early wins. This cohort wants to commit — they just need the right conditions to do it.

The generational conversation has been happening for decades. What’s changed is the stakes. With five generations in the workforce simultaneously, and return-to-office accelerating the tension, the cost of getting this wrong keeps going up.

Listen to the full episode featuring Giselle Kovary and explore more episodes with founders, CFOs, and senior operators on The Next Moves.