But that's just part of the solution. In "Generation X: Stepping Up to the Leadership Plate," Gilburg argues that to effectively manage Gen Y, CIOs need to get Boomers and X-ers to acknowledge the biases they've formed and how that can get in the way of managing an incoming generation that requires strong, focused leadership from them both. To that end, she offers suggestions for how CIOs can get their Boomer and X-er managers to collaborate with their increasingly Gen Y staff.

Of course, it's important to remember that generalizations about the generations are just that. Age defines a demographic, not a person. We are, after all, talking about millions of individuals here, each with his or her own unique set of work and life experiences.

"You have to pay attention to individual personalities," says Cummuta. "Knowing the individual is far more important than thinking about what generation they belong to."

Don't think of it as bridging a gap; think of it as aligning the generations. And alignment is something that CIOs have had a little practice with.

Senior Editor Steff Gelston can be reached at sgelston@cio.com.