At The Estée Lauder Companies, 650 young employees mentor over 300 senior executives across 22 countries. A 23-year-old shares AI technology insights with a global president while learning strategic thinking in return. It’s not just mentoring – it’s smart logic with a serious hit of pure magic, and it’s rewriting how we learn together.

Here’s the thing – we’ve been living with invisible age walls for far too long. We shuffle seniors into “their” corners, park younger people in “theirs,” and wonder why everyone feels disconnected. But something crucial is happening. Bidirectional mentoring—call it reverse mentoring, mutual learning—is smashing these ageism barriers to pieces.

What makes this absolutely electric is where minds cross-pollinate.

Traditional mentoring sees “wise elder teaches eager youth,” but these relationships create entirely new ways of thinking that profoundly inspire both generations – “intergenerational.”

Imagine a young employee’s AI insights dancing with a senior leader’s customer relationship mastery. Suddenly, breakthrough innovations are born. A 25-year-old’s grasp of automated systems, combined with a 58-year-old’s deep knowledge of building client trust and creating customer service solutions, is something neither could have dreamed up alone.

The 65-year-old who survived three economic crashes brings perspective no MBA program could teach.

The 26-year-old who speaks digital fluently offers skills that can transform organizations overnight.

The energy in these “goodwill mentoring partnerships” is absolutely contagious. There’s an incredible rush of discovery, as harmful age assumptions get happily demolished and familiar problems suddenly appear in a different light.

Seniors thrive about feeling innovative and plugged into what’s happening now. Younger people beam about gaining confidence, strategic thinking, and understanding how businesses really work.

Here’s what’s truly revolutionary – these relationships are quietly dismantling every ageist stereotype we’ve held.

When you watch a 30-year-old and a 65-year-old tackle problems as equals, sharing insights and building solutions together, it becomes impossible to cling to tired old ideas about what each generation can do.

Wise, progress organizations are catching on fast. They’re seeing innovation explode, knowledge sticks around because people are not ready to retire, teams gel like never before, and cultures become genuinely inclusive.

Companies embracing this discover something amazing – it helps them keep seasoned talent engaged while making younger employees feel truly valued. When experienced professionals feel appreciated as both teachers and learners, they stay energized and productive. When younger employees see real pathways for sharing knowledge, they become deeply invested.

Estée Lauder proves this works beautifully.

When older and younger people actively want to engage and learn, you get authentic respect instead of forced politeness. Celebrating both life experience and fresh perspective is invaluable.

This is how we change and heal age segregation.

We’re forging real alliances between generations, reciprocal mentoring, creating communities where knowledge flows freely, and discovering that the most dynamic learning happens when we embrace what everyone brings. Age doesn’t matter.

Thanks – Michael (he, him)

Please share this Daily with your tribes.
This is also important – Your Career Isn’t Over – Age Inclusive Opportunities.

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