6 Things Gen Z Wants From Their Leaders
According to Pew research Gen Z is on track to be the most diverse, well-educated generation yet. That’s exciting news for the future of our world. Anyone born between1997 and 2012 is considered Gen Z. They are currently between 9 and 24 years old. They are the first digital natives. They grew up with the internet, social media, cell phones and all of the other latest technology. One of my favorite parts of my job serving as a creative director is that most of my team has always been young. Because let’s face it young people have way more knowledge than most when it comes to new technology and other creative endeavors especially in the church. I love that I get to work with young people every day that have fresh ideas and are always interested in innovating and finding new ways to do things. There are no broken soundtracks in their mind of “this is how we’ve always done it” because they’ve never done it. That naturally leads to innovative thinking. Gen Z are the future leaders of our world and our churches I can’t think of a greater privilege than leading these people and helping them become all that God has created them to be as they change the world. Here’s some thing I’m learning about leading Gen Zers.
They are looking for a place to be developed
Let’s face it most of the jobs that we’re hiring for today don’t require a college degree. Those are nice, but not necessary. The skill sets we are looking for can be learned on You Tube. That means the Gen Z employees we’re hiring today have access to more information than any other time in human history. They will be the smartest generation ever. The old business model was all of the employees look to the boss as the expert and as the person with the information they need to do their jobs. Now the employees are smarter and have more information and skills to do the job needed. Therefore our job as leaders is not to become the expert in the skill set, but to become experts in developing people. The people have the skill sets. Our job as leaders of Gen Z is not to grow our skill sets, but to grow people. Our job and what they want is to teach them things we’ve learned through experience and things you can’t find on You Tube. We need to lead by example with empathy and compassion and perseverance. All of which takes time, intentionality and patience.
They want face to face
This seems contradictory, but multiple studies have shown that Gen Z would prefer working in the office at times as opposed to working from home. One of the clear characteristics of Gen Z is the need for belonging and wanting to emotionally connect with their co workers and bosses which can’t happen when working remotely. Just like most things in our world today there has to be a balance and a flexibility to do both. But don’t assume that just because Gen Z are digital natives that virtual is ALWAYS their go to. That includes meetings, church, etc. Just like most things in life there needs to be a hybrid and a work schedule may not fit perfectly in a box. And that’s ok if we want to lead into the future. That means company rules and HR policies need to be redone. We have to be ok with leading a team that can function 100% remote sometimes and 100% in person other times. Flexibility as a leader is a super power.
They need clarity
Author and speaker Brene Brown says, “Clear is kind.” Gen Z has seen more violence and wars and mass shootings and tragedy than any other generation. There are so many things we can’t control in the world. But as a leader we can gain confidence and trust with our teams if we can provide a safe, clear work environment. That means we need to over communicate job responsibilities, expectations and even what is considered a job well done. Leaders are 9x more likely to be criticized for undercommunicating than overcommunicating. Those who say too little come across as unclear and uncaring. When you're tired of your message, it's just starting to land
They want to be empowered
Our jobs as leaders is to solve problems. Gen Z wants to solve problems too. One way to empower our teams is to let them solve problems instead of giving them directives. For example, instead of telling your team ok we have this event coming up I want this many emails to go out, I want this many social media posts with this information, I want this promotional video to air on this date, I want this video announcement to say this, etc. etc. You get the point. Instead of giving a detailed marketing plan instead tell your team what the problem you’re trying to solve is and let them come up with the plan. Instead of giving all of the directives simply say we have this event coming up and we need a thorough marketing plan to make sure we are communicating all of this info. You’ll be amazed how much better their plan is than the one you would have come up with is.
My all time favorite leadership quote is “You can have control or growth, but you can’t have both.” Craig Groeschel
They want instant feedback
We live in a world we can get instant feedback on anything we do. If we post something on social media we immediately can get likes and interactions. We can take COVID-19 tests in our bathrooms and know the results in 15 minutes or less. I have a feeling that wasn’t the case for the Spanish flu in the 1800s. We live in a rapid world with rapid results. As leaders it’s our job to give feedback in a timely, consistent way.
They want diversity
Pew research tells us that Gen Z is the most diverse generation in history.
48% of Gen Z individuals are considered “racial or ethnic minorities.”
In comparison to a study of American millennials in 2002, only 39% of Millennials were considered the same.
83% of Gen Z candidates said that a company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is important when choosing an employer. They are on to something.
A McKinsey study revealed that companies with the most ethnically diverse executive teams were 33% more likely to outperform their peers.
Gen Z is not willing to be a part of organizations and churches that don’t look like the world that we live.
Diversity to Gen Z includes age, religion, gender, race, physical ability. Perhaps more than any other generation Gen Z understands what Jesus was teaching us in the Gospels. It’s our job as leaders and the ones who are doing the hiring to make sure we aren’t letting our own biases interfere with our role as leaders and in turn deterring top Gen Z talent from wanting to be a part of our organization. Millennials talked about diversity when they were Gen Z’s age, but Gen Z is actually doing something about diversity. Gen Zers are activists. See Greta Thunberg. She didn’t just post about climate change but she did something about climate change as a fifteen year old.
Gen Z recognizes that HR policies and social media posts don’t change things, but people change things.
As leaders we have an opportunity to create diverse environments that can not only inspire Gen Z, but perhaps change the world for the better.