Welcome to gen-xyb™ High Tea:

A key resource for you and your organization related to cross-generational collaboration, development and advancement of women in the workplace.

BECAUSE every time a woman from one generational group doesn’t understand where a woman from another generational group is coming from, doesn’t take the time to find a common ground for collaboration, and women lose momentum to collectively move forward and upward…gen-xyb™ High Tea!

BECAUSE women represent half of the workforce, but only 4 percent of CEOs…gen-xyb™ High Tea!

BECAUSE across 10 major industries, women hold only 18% of leadership positions…gen-xyb™ High Tea!

BECAUSE the ability to retain current employees saves a company approximately three times their annual salaries…gen-xyb™ High Tea!

BECAUSE in the war for talent, it is getting much harder to hold on to great talent for extended periods of time, and we need to find new ways to show our level of commitment to talented individuals so they commit more to us…gen-xyb™ High Tea!

BECAUSE we are missing out on the power and leverage to address these issues through cross-generational collaboration…gen-xyb™ High Tea!

Too few organizations tap into the richness of cross-generational collaboration within their organizations. While many organizations are continuing to make inroads in developing and advancing women in the workplace, the reality is that the pace has slowed in recent years. There is still much work to be done. gen-xyb™ High Tea provides the opportunity to focus time and attention on cross-generational collaboration, development and advancement of women. Giving women the opportunity to take charge of their careers together enables them to achieve greater success together, which in turn enriches and sustains the success of the entire organization.

The gen-xyb™ High Tea program focuses on cross-generational collaboration, development and advancement of women in the workplace. Using a cohesive, structured and facilitated process, gen-xyb™ High Tea provides a roadmap for women at all levels of an organization to drive their continued professional growth. Organizations sign up to send pairs of women to participate in the year-long program. The two women in each pair must come from two different generational groups. Each program, bringing together pairs of women from different organizations and industries, is limited to 25 pairs of participants.

Running for eleven months, the program is anchored around ten in-person working sessions that take place in a “high tea” setting that are complemented by other key touchpoints to maintain ongoing group momentum and connectivity. The gen-xyb High Tea program covers a range of topics that are key to the strategic development and advancement of the women’s careers.

The organization that invests in sending pairs of women to the gen-xyb™ High Tea program will see results in the areas of:

  • Bi-directional transfer of assets (knowledge, insight, expertise and experience) among the women participating
  • Innovation through exposure to different ideas and ways of thinking that participants from each generational group bring to the table
  • Development and advancement of women forward and upward at multiple levels in your organization as the participating women aid each other in career growth and advancement strategies
  • Increased engagement and retention by taking care of your current “best” list as well as your “next” list (the wealth of untapped talent that lies in the next generation)

As a participant in the gen-xyb™ High Tea program, you can finally…

  • STOP letting your career drive you and allowing randomness steer your career progression.
  • START taking a strategic approach to the ongoing management of your career. Acquire skills that you’ll use again and again throughout your career, and learn how and when to apply them as you journey together with other participants through this roadmap to professional growth.
  • STOP trying to do it alone.
  • START to develop a cohort of trusted colleagues within and outside your organization to be your champions, partners, advisors and supporters.
  • STOP worrying that you aren’t ready for the next opportunity, or that you aren’t positioned as well as you’d like to be to take advantage of it.
  • START to build a solid career infrastructure built on developing your brand, strengthening your relationships/network, taking more calculated career risk, and other key related areas.
  • STOP being concerned about what the “other” generation has that you don’t.
  • START to tap into the richness that comes from understanding, learning from and leveraging the contributions that women from different generational groups can bring to the table. Embrace the generational divide and make it your asset. Recognize that, to achieve success both today and tomorrow, vesting in other women is as important as vesting in yourself.

Illustrative Process For gen-xyb™ High Tea

  • One welcome and orientation call with each pair of women prior to the program kickoff session
  • Kickoff session to launch the program
  • Nine additional working sessions (typically 3.5 hours in duration)
  • One session double-headers as the annual Alumni event, bringing together the women from past and current program years
  • Three coaching calls with each participant during the course of the program – some in their pairs, some individually
  • Unlimited access to the program leader during the course of the program
  • Access to distribution lists of all program participants and guests during the program
  • Membership in the gen-xyb™ High Tea group on LinkedIn

Illustrative gen-xyb™ High Tea Topics

  • Cross-generational perspectives
  • Your leader identity
  • Turning risks into opportunity
  • The critical skill of envisioning
  • Story as a skill for leaders
  • Intelligent failure as a learning strategy
  • Leveraging your strengths
  • Competency and stereotypic bias
  • Negotiation and asking for what you want
  • Networking and developing relationships
  • Communications, gender and generations
  • Resilience, transitions and your brand
  • Understanding and sourcing your power
  • Insight into compensation and rewards strategies
  • Conflict management

What People Are Saying

  • "I have known Daniella to be an excellent communicator and she knows how to bring the best out of people. When she told me about the gen-xyb™ High Tea program, I immediately knew that this would assist me, my company and the staff involved. In a short time, I have seen my one candidate - a competent, yet shy individual - grow into a more confident woman, who is not afraid to take a chance and recognize her value in my organization. As someone that I believe is a manager of the future for my company, this is an excellent investment to my succession strategy. My other candidate was more level headed and confident in her ability, but had an issue with dealing with confrontation; she now understands as a Manager in the business, she has the right to ask questions and the ability to do so, without confrontation being an issue. This has led to clarity when managing staff and clients, leading to an increase in our customer service, both internally and externally. Both of the candidates are thoroughly enjoying the program, meeting other women in business, growing in their networking skills, communication skills and indeed building their own confidence to take on the difficulties in business and in life. I am sure they would join me in congratulating Daniella on a superb program that gives results!"

    Sue Duckett
    Managing Director, Bibby Financial Services (Midwest), Inc.