Leading Gen Z - The Solution - Part 1!

It's June and the summer is here already!

Hopefully the sun is shining where you are and all is going well for you.

Over the last two newsletters I have laid out why Gen Z view the world of work differently and the ever changing and mounting pressures on leaders, especially those in middle leadership.

This month I'm going to start talking about how we bring those two challenging realities together into truly high performing multi-generational teams.

This newsletter, along with the last two, is the foundation of my 'Gen Z Protocol' and the coaching, workshops and training days that I run. So hopefully you find this interesting and can put it to good use.

My fundamental premise is that the world has substantively changed and we are in the middle of an inflection point that will continue for some time. This means an ongoing fast pace of change and therefore leaders need to be supported to be the very best they can be.

In times of change and turbulence we need good leaders more than ever, and these newsletters represent my view on how we can ensure we have them.

Currently we continue to have leaders who ask:

• How do I get my teams to do overtime like I did?
• How do I get them to stop taking offence?
• How do I get them in the office 5 days a week?

These leaders are wishing for a past world that, whether we like it or not, has already left us behind.

By accepting that the world of work, and the surrounding social context, has permanently changed, allows us to take the next important step and ask the important strategic questions, namely:

Why? and So what?

In essence we need to understand; cause, effect and how we adapt in response.

Let's take an example:

Some see Gen Z's demand for immediate feedback and justification, their need for constant learning, and their push for quick development and promotion, as a sense of entitlement.

However if we start the analysis with why are they behaving this way? we can see that Gen Z realise that their future is entirely uncertain, that due to their economic context and the AI revolution we are in the midst of, there is no way of them knowing where they will be in 5 years time, frankly no way of knowing where any commercial entity will be in 5 years time.

Gen Z understand that their, and all of our, skills and knowledge have an increasingly short shelf life. They know that if they are not learning, being developed, and taking opportunities they risk being replaced and made irrelevant before they even reach 30. For those who are less proactive, or less confident, they are simply demoralised by this, explaining some of the perceived work ethic issues that we see.

(NOTE: This is a very simplified explanation of the Gen Z context, see April newsletter for greater depth.)

So what? Their time horizon therefore drops and we start to see behaviours focused entirely on getting results now, hence leaders see the changes mentioned above that can be perceived as a sense of entitlement.

All of which means that the very basic model of management and leadership built around annual reviews, tied to goals which are rewarded by pay rises and promotions, often over the span of years, is broken.

That model will not work with a generation needing to move forward today.

With this understanding comes step one of the Gen Z protocol which is Acceptance.

Once we accept this change we realise that instead of calling them entitled we need to adapt our current work structures to ensure all of us, not just Gen Z, are on a genuinely meaningful and constantly rolling L&D programme allowing us to adapt to this fast pace of change rather than being overtaken by it.

Step 2 therefore is Adaptation.

One of the first adaptations that I suggest, which is very easy to implement and supports this need for constant learning, is that every leader take a free online AI training course every 6 months. Open AI and many academic institutions provide high value content which will allow leaders and their teams to stay agile and utilise the tools and systems available to them, and it is free...

Lets run that process again to reach our second adaptation:

Observation: Gen Z have a lower confidence level which appears to drop further in the first few years of work. (See LEVRA report referenced below for data)

Why?

The educational and parental context of Gen Z is highly collegiate, they have been brought up to think and operate in a collegiate way and this comes naturally to them. However almost every workspace they walk into is hierarchical and they are expected to just step into that and crack on like previous generations who went through a much more hierarchical approach to education etc. (NOTE: Here again I'm simplifying for brevity, there are a number of other factors knocking the confidence levels of Gen Z)

So what? When they experience this shift in style it tends to cause Gen Z's confidence levels to drop, from an already sub-optimal position, which negatively impacts their ability to successfully contribute to the workplace. (For the data on this see LEVRA for their recently publicised 2025 Human skills analysis and insights report.)

The adaptation?

Work on creating more collegiate opportunities within the workplace. There are many successful examples of this that would make this newsletter too long, but in short it is perfectly possible to create more opportunities for a genuinely collegiate approach without dismantling the entire structure of an established business. Working groups, project groups, employee advisory boards to name a few. There are great companies doing lots of creative things to bring people together and to learn from each other.

We can also assist the integration and learning process of Gen Z through ensuring an environment of psychological safety and introducing something I refer to as compassionate friction which helps to develop resilience. Something for another newsletter!

So to summarise, we start by dropping our assumptions, instead asking why? then so what? and then we adapt. We can do this for all of the issues we are currently seeing across Gen Z and multi-generational teams in general.

The next step involves looking specifically at how we lead Gen Z within this changing context. What are the behaviours leaders need to utilise, and the actions they need to take, in order to lead as we adapt?

We need leadership actions which lean into the world that is, not the one we wish it was.

For this I have created the EMPOWER Framework:

E = Expectation Setting

“Assume nothing. Clarify everything.”

• Communicate and explain the detail and value of work expectations and behaviours early and often, from interview to onboarding to daily operations.
• Be detailed and explicit around flexible/remote working norms to avoid misinterpretation.
• Don't assume Gen Z knows what previous generations took for granted, coach them to make the most of your specific culture and context.

Why? Our current world is VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous), therefore setting clear and consistent expectations gives people security and confidence in the workplace.

M = Model the Way

“You can’t role model from your kitchen table.”

• Be visible. Be present. Be the behaviour you want to see.
• Early in our careers we learn by observing – show them, don’t just tell them.
• Consistency between words and actions builds respect and credibility.

Why? We are not returning to a 5 days a week in the office culture. However, we need to better understand and plan for when and why we need to be in a fixed location together. You cannot be a great coach, a great role model, without thoughtful and deliberate face to face time.

P = Paint a Vision

"For many people, especially early in their careers, vision isn’t about the five-year plan, it’s about knowing the next step leads somewhere worth going."

• Create meaning in the work, however small. Link team goals to tangible, motivating outcomes.
• Focus on near-term wins as well as long-term purpose.
• Vision isn’t lofty strategy, it’s direction with relevance.
• Gen Z are VERY purpose driven, this is something that can be harnessed to the benefit of Gen Z and the teams in which they operate.

Why? The number one word that describes what people are looking for from leaders in the current workplace is HOPE... (see Gallup - State of the Global Workplace: 2024 Report.) That tells you a lot about the current psychology in the workplace and why setting a vision is more important than ever for good leadership.

O = Offer Empathy & Compassion

“Compassion isn’t weakness. It’s leadership.”

• Understand their lived experience and communicate accordingly.
• Stay calm in the face of friction, respond thoughtfully, don’t just react.
• Compassion creates psychological safety and loyalty.

Why? I know I stretched the acronym a little to fit this in...😀BUT... leading with compassion builds trust, lowers defences and allows for true understanding. Too many feel that to show compassion to younger team members signals weakness. To which I say compassion is not about being permissive, it is about acting and communicating with context and humanity.

W = Work Across Generations

“Don’t let misunderstanding become division.”

• Facilitate intergenerational understanding – via team projects, mentoring, and integrated onboarding.
• Normalize face-to-face connection – remote-only deepens generational divides.
• Help every generation see the workplace through each other’s eyes.

Why? We distrust that which we do not understand, a human failing we are universally guilty of. As leaders it is our responsibility to ensure we develop that understanding and bring people together.

E = Engage Through Communication

“It’s not what you say that matters... it’s what they hear.”

• Clarify the communication rules: What’s formal? What’s informal? What does respectful look like within your culture?
• Gen Z grew up with dozens of communication tools so be clear about what’s expected and when within your context.
• When communicating a group message, don’t rely on a single message or method to communicate with your team, repeat, rephrase, and regularly check for understanding.
• Your availability, tone, and follow-through all speak louder than your words.

Why? Too many leaders complain that their people aren't listening. Sometimes there is an element of truth in this, but the reality is that good leaders flip this perspective and focus on understanding what is it that my people are hearing, and how do I better influence that?

R = Reinforce What’s Right

“Catch them doing something good.”

• Recognise and celebrate the behaviours you want repeated.
• Build a culture of recognition, respect and value, people thrive when seen.
• Rewarding micro-moments reinforces macro-performance.
• Remember, however cynical someone may appear, however awkward you might feel, underneath it all everyone likes to be told well done!

Why? Confidence is lacking, you build it by rewarding the behaviours you want to see. Repeatedly, publicly and most importantly sincerely.

Some of you reading this will say, quite rightly, well there is nothing radical in that, and you would be 100% right.

We have known what good leadership looks like for hundreds of years, in fact arguably very much longer. (Read Marcus Aurelius for some remarkably modern perspectives.) The difficulty is not in re-inventing leadership, it is in communicating the knowledge from generation to generation and then choosing how to apply the right suite of tools in any given moment and context.

The above is Part 1 of my solution to many of the challenges we face today, Part 2 will come in July. I would emphasise that all of this is in summary form, otherwise this newsletter would become far too long!

If people are interested I will dig into some of the elements in detail over the months ahead.

If you are still reading thank you for sticking with me this far! 😀

All of my work comes out of a lot of research but more importantly conversations directly with those leading today, so if you take a different view to me, have questions or have something to add, then please do get in touch I would love to hear your perspective.

Have a great June and if I can help you, or your team, learn more in these areas please do get in touch.

Haylor Leadership Good leaders change the world for the better

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