# Leading change that lifts generations | Harriet Green OBE | TEDxGreekStWomen Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc-kkV1lI44 Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/Gc-kkV1lI44 Generated: 2025-12-09T17:14:53.298+00:00 --- ## Quick Overview Harriet Green OBE shares that bringing together diverse groups of people, especially older mentors and younger high-potential talent, in a shared, purpose-driven workspace like the one she created in Munich, significantly boosted retention, productivity, and overall success for her teams across 14 countries, including those in Asia and Europe. **Key Points:** - Harriet Green OBE spent most of her life passionately learning from and experiencing the unique differences of people across ages, cultures, creeds, and sexualities. - Research shows an evolutionary marker that stops young people from charging after those who came before them, especially if those older individuals are seen as having a 'rebel without a cause' gene or a 'rebel with a cause' gene. - When Green began working with a large IBM team across Asia Pacific (14 countries), half of the workforce was under 30, and the other half was more tenured, highlighting a generational gap. - She facilitated the creation of a 'youth board' of under-27s and a 'grandparents' group to bridge the gap, leading to an increase in knowledge transfer and engagement. - The success of this collaboration, which included mentoring and sharing experiences, resulted in increased retention and productivity, and also boosted the total engagement score by over five points. - A key outcome was seeing the younger generation feel valued, exemplified by their reaction ('Wow, this is how you tweak it') when applying new knowledge to old problems, like cooking recipes or buying food. ![Screenshot at 00:23: Harriet Green begins to explain her realization that the difficulty in problem-solving stemmed from the unique differences across generations, ages, and backgrounds in the workforce.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/Gc-kkV1lI44/00-00-23.png) **Context:** Harriet Green OBE delivered this TEDx talk at TEDxGreekStWomen, focusing on the importance of intergenerational collaboration and creating inclusive work environments to foster growth and retention. She uses her experience, including leading a large IBM division across Asia Pacific starting around 2014/2015, to illustrate how deliberately mixing older, experienced employees with younger, high-potential talent yields tangible positive business outcomes. ## Detailed Analysis Harriet Green OBE recounts her experience realizing that for much of her career, she had passionately sought to understand the differences across various groups—age, culture, creed, sexuality, physical, and cognitive abilities—and that research suggests an evolutionary marker can cause younger generations to be wary of older generations if they perceive them as rebels without a cause. When she took charge of a large IBM operation across Asia Pacific in the mid-2010s, managing 14 countries, she faced a workforce split almost evenly between younger employees (under 30) and more tenured staff. To bridge this gap and leverage both groups' strengths, she created a youth board (under 27) and an older 'grandparents' group. The goal was to foster mutual support and knowledge transfer across these cohorts regarding everything from technology and AI to business strategy and even daily life skills like cooking. The results were astonishing: retention and productivity increased, and overall engagement scores rose by over five points. Green emphasizes that the younger cohort felt empowered and valued, realizing they could apply new perspectives to established practices, and this cross-generational collaboration proved highly effective in solving complex business problems. ### Introduction and Problem Identification - Harriet Green introduces herself and states her lifelong passion for understanding human differences; she frames the problem around generational divides in the workplace, citing research suggesting natural resistance between younger and older cohorts. ### The IBM Initiative - Green describes her work leading IBM across Asia Pacific, managing teams split between younger (under 30) and more tenured employees; she initiated a cross-generational mentorship structure involving a 'youth board' and a 'grandparents' group. ### Tangible Results of Collaboration - The initiative yielded significant business improvements, including increased retention, productivity, and an overall engagement score increase of over five points, proving the value of diverse experience pools. ### The Power of Shared Experience - Green highlights how the younger members felt validated when they could apply their modern perspectives (e.g., on technology or cooking) to established problems, realizing the older generation's experiences were valuable context, not barriers. ![Screenshot at 00:01: Harriet Green taking the stage at a TEDxGreekStWomen event, standing in front of a backdrop featuring wooden crates and text related to 'Rising Through Life'.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/Gc-kkV1lI44/00-00-01.png) ![Screenshot at 00:17: Speaker gesturing while holding the microphone, illustrating a point about the diverse groups she observed in her professional life.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/Gc-kkV1lI44/00-00-17.png) ![Screenshot at 00:40: Speaker emphasizing a point with a clenched fist gesture, discussing the need to bring people together.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/Gc-kkV1lI44/00-00-40.png) ![Screenshot at 01:39: Speaker pausing briefly while discussing sharing ideas in the spirit of TED.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/Gc-kkV1lI44/00-01-39.png) ![Screenshot at 05:54: Speaker smiling and gesturing with both hands while discussing the positive outcomes of intergenerational support.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/Gc-kkV1lI44/00-05-54.png)