The proportion of millennials and centennials in the workforce is growing every day. And yet, many of our younger employees find themselves lacking direction or purpose at work, hopping jobs and otherwise falling short on meaning and fulfillment. Organizations are frankly struggling to manage as many as five distinct generations in the workforce, not to mention sub-generations, like the so-called “Xennials.”

Over the years, there have been many calls for more mentorship and professional development in service of these many different generations. The truth is that every one of us has something to contribute. We may still have to figure out what that contribution is, but more often than not, people have at least a vague sense of their unique strengths and attributes. (For those who are as yet unclear, there are some great assessments out there that can help you.)

Knowing your strengths allows you to use them in novel ways in service of yourself and others. Advocating on behalf of your strengths allows you to add value and have an impact in the workplace. Waiting for someone else to guess what you’re good at is a recipe for delay and possibly disaster, because we are all busy people who make snap judgments.

In my work as an executive and leadership coach, I often see the same scenario play out: Organization X has a problem that might be solved through technology or innovation. Employee A (my client) is a young overachiever who has some wonderful ideas about the future. These ideas are presented to the wrong decision maker, in the wrong way, or at the wrong time — or, for any number of other reasons, the ideas just do not get the traction the employee was looking for.

And I have clients on the flip side: older executives who are fuming mad about this entitled millennial who shows up late to work, does his own thing, speaks up way too much when he shouldn’t and generally walks around with an air of entitlement or disengagement (separate scenarios but perhaps not so separate).

These vignettes represent just two forms of generational conflict that are present. The associated narratives are laden with ideas of fairness, trust, respect, being valued and valuable, and a slew of other deep virtues, values and beliefs that can really either drive someone or totally shut them down.

Don’t be the person who shuts things down. It just is not good for you, your team or your organization. In trying times, the best organizations leverage the available talent and create something where nothing was possible or imagined. This requires creativity, commitment and faith. And it requires psychological safety, which essentially means the ability to speak up in a safe space and share knowledge without fear of direct or indirect retaliation.

So, let’s explore a solution to all of this. What could possibly bring generations together, promote knowledge-sharing and improve both sense of value and psychological safety? It’s time to consider reciprocal mentoring.