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Authenticity and Self-Connection at Work
546 Plays7 months ago
Feeling like you can't be your full self at work? Struggling to balance your identity in professional environments? You're not alone. In this episode, we dive deep with Rex Wilde, LGBTQ+ speaker and consultant, to explore how authenticity in the workplace is being redefined by Gen Z. Learn how to bring your whole self to work and thrive in a more inclusive environment.
Learn more about Rex's work here: rexwilde.com.
Read the Vox Media report on Gen Z Identity: For Gen Z, Identity is What They Make It.
Recommended
Transcript
Exploring Gen Z's Unique Identity
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome, this is hashtag Gen Z, a podcast that explores Generation Z, who they are, how they're different from other generations, while also being an incredible blend of those who came before them. We explore what they think is cool, what moves them, and why they do what they do. I'm your host, Megan Grace, and it is so nice to have you here. In today's episode, we'll be exploring identity, authenticity, and self-connection at work. If you've been paying attention to Gen Z, you know they are all about diversity and inclusion, and they're also redefining identity and what it means to express yourself.
00:00:39
Speaker
A study by Vox Media and the Horowitz Research Group found a shift in mindset with Gen Z from being told who they are by society to wanting to be asked who they are when it comes to identity.
Gen Z's Quest for Identity Control
00:00:49
Speaker
This looks like two-thirds believing that society places a label on them related to their demographics such as gender, sexual identity, or race and ethnicity.
00:00:59
Speaker
More than 80% desire more ownership over their identity, especially as it relates to personal characteristics like personality, hobbies, interests, passions, and even ability. This sense of ownership also applies to their social characteristics, like their culture, community, or interpersonal relationships, such as their role within their family. However, there still exists a gap in the fact that some of their personal identities are being driven by societal labels, whether they are fully accurate to them or not.
00:01:25
Speaker
Even then, Gen Z is pushing back and redefining some traditional perspectives on identity, especially related to gender identity and expression. This study shared by Vox Media is truly fascinating, and I really encourage you to check it out and read into more detail. I'll be sure to include it in the episode notes so that you can dive in with all of your own exploration.
Rex Wilde on Workplace Inclusion
00:01:46
Speaker
But in this episode, I'm joined by Rex Wilde, a non-binary, LGBTQ+, speaker, educator, and business consultant.
00:01:53
Speaker
In March 2019, Rex produced the TransEnd Career Fair, the largest transgender career for in the world. This event, featuring over 75 businesses and 500 transgender and gender diverse participants, received national media coverage from CBS, NBC, and Telemundo.
00:02:09
Speaker
Originally from Southern California, Rex graduated with honors in sociology from Chapman University in 2011 and quickly advanced to become a leader in the LGBTQ plus community from running local and national campaigns for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to creating prominent workforce development program for the transgender and gender expansive TGX plus community in Los Angeles as the inaugural director of programs at trans can work.
00:02:32
Speaker
Rex's work centers the joy and economic empowerment of TGX Plus communities. With over 12 years of experience in facilitation and organizational change, Rex's approach to intersectional inclusion of TGX Plus folks has been renowned by organizations including Spectrum Charter, UPS, the Sundance Institute, and the California Workforce Development Board. Rex now works with organizations on strengthening organizational leadership through programs that center self-connection, authentic leadership, and intersectional inclusion.
00:03:02
Speaker
You can learn more about the work they're doing at www.rexwild.com. And I am so excited to welcome my friend Rex to this episode's discussion. So once again, we are joined by a great guest and I'm just so excited because anytime I get to talk to a friend that I've known for a while that like our worlds collide,
00:03:23
Speaker
And it turns into a podcast, so I get so excited. And one of those people is Rex. And Rex, I'm so excited to have you here to talk about a topic that, as you and I have stayed connected over the years, has really, I think, more and more prominence in the workplace. And while we're going to be talking about identity, I think really the heart of what you talk about applies to so many people in the workplace, including Gen Z. So welcome, Rex. Tell us a little about who you are and kind of the work that you do and how we can be excited to learn from you.
Generational Shifts in Gender Identity
00:03:51
Speaker
Thanks so much, Megan. It is so awesome to be here with you. And for those that don't know, meaning my name is Rex Wilde, I use they and them pronouns. And I'm a TGX or trans and gender expansive inclusion consultant. So I work with organizations all over the US and internationally on helping to bolster their trans and gender expansive inclusion initiatives, especially within their greater DEIV or diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging frameworks.
00:04:16
Speaker
So I work with organizations anywhere from their corporate education initiatives all the way to helping with employee engagement as well as policy and procedures around including the trans community.
00:04:27
Speaker
such important work because you have such a beautiful journey that you share with people but like the work that you do is creating just like a good space for everyone regardless if you are identifying with the TGX community or LGBT community like just belongingness at work i think is something that everyone can get down with like we've all felt at some point in our life like oh maybe i don't belong here or i do and that rocks right
00:04:48
Speaker
And so what I love that you're bringing to this conversation is really, one, it's sharing about what you do, but then the application that people can take away in creating better environments for people. So let's just start with the basics, right? So why should we be paying attention to identity and specifically gender in the workplace? I know that's a big part of the work that you do.
00:05:09
Speaker
I think that what you said is so perfect just now because when we're talking about identity and even when we're talking about gender specifically, it really is something that applies to everyone. But it's interesting because when we're looking generationally, one of the things that we're seeing is really significant shifts around not only how individuals are identifying with regard to gender, but also how we even are understanding gender and gender norms in and of themselves.
00:05:35
Speaker
When we think about the workplace, right now we know that next year in 2025, millennials and Gen Z are going to make up about 60% of the workforce, and that millennials are right now twice as likely to identify as LGBTQ than previous generations, and we see about 12% of millennials identifying as either trans or gender expansive.
00:05:56
Speaker
Now, when we look at Gen Z, we actually see that Gen Z is 20 times more likely than the boomer generation to identify as trans, non-binary, or gender expansive. And there have been a couple of recent studies that came out, one of them showing that up to 20% of Gen Z identify as LGBTQ+, and another showing that about 30% of Gen Z identify as LGBTQ+.
Embracing Authenticity in the Workplace
00:06:19
Speaker
So the way that we are thinking about gender and sexuality and the amount of individuals who are identifying as gender diverse specifically is drastically changing. And so for me, when I think about our workplaces now, they are vastly more gender diverse than they've ever been before. But when we think about our workplaces five years, 10 years, even 20 years from now, they are going to be gender diverse in ways that I don't think we can really imagine. And I think that is just incredibly exciting.
00:06:47
Speaker
That's, I do think it's an exciting thing. And first of all, thank you for bringing all those stats to this conversation. I was getting tingles that someone else cares about quantifying things that we won't exist. We know this shift in identity and mindset of inclusion, of just being who you are, has shifted so much with younger generations. It's not that it didn't exist before, it's just so prominent now, or much more prominent. So one thing for bringing the numbers to back up what we have probably already been witnessing, observing, experiencing,
00:07:17
Speaker
I think that what you bring up is with this idea that identities and how we're expressing identities is different. It's not just like understanding identity, but that next level of, can I express and be myself at work?
00:07:30
Speaker
And I think that that comes around to at least my understanding. And really, I think you're the expert. So this is me just confirming what I think I know. But authenticity is a really big part of identity and that expression that you do have. What role do you think that authenticity is playing in our professional lives specifically? And how have you seen this in your work? And really, when we start thinking about Gen Z entering the workplace and being a larger portion of the workforce that you've pointed out.
00:07:57
Speaker
Well, when you talk about authenticity, we're talking about being able to be ourselves, right? And a lot of folks will say being able to bring your whole self to work. And so what does that mean to be able to bring your whole self to work? And I think that when we're talking about, for example, from a queer perspective and especially talking about anyone who falls into that greater community of LGBTQ+, so lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and then plus for the many other identities that exist within this wider umbrella,
00:08:25
Speaker
we're really talking about being able to show up in ways that historically folks who are LGBTQ haven't been able to. And so one example of that in the workplace could be someone, a colleague asks you, you know, how was your weekend? And you being able to say, I spent the time that time with my partner, right? And being able to identify who that partner is by name, by gender, et cetera, and being able to show up in that conversation authentically without having to hide the gender of your partner.
00:08:55
Speaker
And that's an experience that historically has existed in the workplace for folks across the LGBTQ spectrum.
00:09:02
Speaker
Now, that can also exist in a way specifically for trans individuals in just being able to share about who they are, right? And being able to share about, for example, what their pronouns are, how they identify, et cetera. One of the things that we're seeing change especially is our understanding of gender with regard to non-binary identities. And so I myself identify as non-binary, meaning that I don't identify as a man or as a woman.
00:09:28
Speaker
I identify in what I often call a third gender category, and I use the term non-binary for myself. And with regard to that, I came out about 10 years ago as non-binary, but that was the first time I had ever even heard about the term non-binary before. And so so many of us in our generation didn't grow up with knowledge of the trans community in general, but especially of folks who were non-binary or categorized in this other third gender category.
00:09:56
Speaker
And so when we're talking about authenticity in the workplace from a gender perspective, we have to be able to talk about as well some of the systems that we see set up in our workplaces. And historically systems, whether it's in the workplace or otherwise, are really only set up to recognize folks who are either men or women. And so being able as well to ensure that we are creating structures that can help hold the reality of folks who exist that are non-binary as well.
00:10:25
Speaker
And I think that, you know, thank you for sharing that because I think that's so important that yes, we've in 10 years, right? Like there's, I think there's been so much advancement in knowledge and understanding and recognition. But also, also there's times when I'm like society, we're still really just struggling with like, just letting people express their gender in general, if it doesn't fit a very narrowly defined version of what that looks like to what society says.
Societal Expectations vs. Authenticity
00:10:52
Speaker
right. And even that is like feeling like if we get back to that concept of authenticity of like for someone that does identify as a man or a woman or non-binary feeling like you have to fit into a perfect box to fit in and in that perfect box for what that definition is is
00:11:09
Speaker
in my understanding, really, is that it kind of erodes the authenticity of how you feel about that identity. I know, like, as a woman growing up, like, I played a lot of, I don't say dirty sports, but like, played softball, and like, I was in the dirt, and I would, but I was like, still wearing a bow at the same time, like, it felt counterintuitive to what I was told about, like, girly girl.
00:11:28
Speaker
and like someone that's willing to play in the dirt and get like rough and tough about it, right? And so I still think we have so much advancement of like allowing people to just express their gender for whatever it looks like to them in society, let alone the workplace, because like we can barely handle like getting our jobs done and being nice to people, let alone letting them express individuality and identity effectively.
00:11:48
Speaker
Am I hearing correctly? There's just so much work, I think, that we can do in that understanding. But I think that comes to, if I'm wrong, tell me I'm wrong. That's totally OK. But that next piece of self-connection, as you and I've talked about, self-connection is a big part of even understanding what that identity is and feeling confident to be able to walk into that.
00:12:12
Speaker
and feeling connected to that identity to express it. Yes. Exactly. And so when we're thinking about gender in and of itself on the whole, it's something that impacts all of us, whether you are trans, whether you are non-binary, or whether you are cisgender, which means you're not trans, right? It's interesting because I was in a workshop, and this was a couple of years ago, where I asked folks to reflect on the first time that they learned about gender.
00:12:37
Speaker
And I had a cisgender straight man come up to me after this exercise and say, you know, I was thinking about it. And when I was a kid, I actually really loved being able to make flower arrangements because his mom had these beautiful gardens. And so he loved to pick flowers and put them into vases. And he also really loved baking because who doesn't like a plate of brownies at the end of the day?
00:12:59
Speaker
And so, but once he got into, you know, middle school, high school age, whichever it was, all of his peers started questioning his sexuality and started questioning his gender and saying not so nice things to him, right? Because they saw him enjoying flowers, wanting to bake and seeing that as not masculine. And thus he actually ended up going on this journey of questioning his gender and sexuality because of how other people responded to him for these things that authentically brought him joy.
00:13:27
Speaker
So when we are thinking about how gender can impact authenticity for all of us, regardless of gender, we do think about the ways that we often expect people to fall in very specifically defined boxes, regardless of what their gender is. So we say, if you're a man, you have to be masculine. And this is what that looks like. If you're a woman, you must be feminine. This is what that looks like. And often that can sever us from ourselves.
00:13:54
Speaker
So when we are talking about the idea of self-connection, we are talking about the repair of that severing. We are talking about being able to get back to and be in connection with what is truly authentic and what allows us joy on an individual level. So self-connection really at its core is the relationship that we have with ourself, the relationship that we have to our thoughts, our experiences, and just how we engage with ourselves in a really general way.
00:14:24
Speaker
I feel, one, thank you for sharing that story of that person because I know that it probably took a lot of courage of that person to even share that with you in that setting.
00:14:33
Speaker
can share it again because I feel like that's such a good example and I love that you framed like self-connection with joy, a right of like it shouldn't be attached to that and we it makes me deeply sad because there's probably people all across different identities that feel like they can't express the joy that they have of being themselves like whether it is arranging the flowers and baking like I want that kid at my house personally that would save a lot of chore time for me but like
00:14:59
Speaker
to take that away from a child, right? But let alone a human where we experience a lot of tough stress that, man, I wish that individual had the ability to go back and arrange some flowers and bake some brownies on a day that was hard, right? And I think it makes me sad that society tells people, sever your self-connection and your joy from the things that you love, because that's not the way that it is here.
00:15:26
Speaker
But I personally think that there's many people in Gen Z or at least that I'm observing that are telling society to kind of like kick it because they're still going to be a masculine man that arranges flowers. Right. And that's totally fine.
00:15:41
Speaker
And it's probably a beautiful flower arrangement. So that's just me being like, well, I'm thinking for framing it that way. Like I feel slightly healed for things in my own life. And I know that I hope other listeners feel like they can look at that connection or that piece of self-connection and say, oh, there's things that society has told me that I shouldn't do because of the way that I identify. So I just really appreciate that perspective. Thank you.
00:16:03
Speaker
And I think with Gen Z, it's really cool because part of what we're seeing right now is Gen Z saying, wait, I don't want to participate in that way. I want to be myself at all costs, right? We're seeing that in a way that other generations have not been able to access before.
00:16:19
Speaker
And part of that, I think, is because of the impact that many adults and folks of previous generations have been able to reflect on in their experience of saying, hey, wait, I wasn't able to arrange flowers when I was a kid, or I wasn't able to bake when I was a kid. And they are doing that correction, right? They are saying, no, I want to choose self-connection.
00:16:40
Speaker
later in my years. And then as Gen Z are being parented by those folks that are experiencing that self-reflection and who are repairing those things within themselves, they're able to influence their children, right? And they're also able to influence society in general to say, hey, everything should be for everyone. We don't need to gender activities. We should, again, allow people to access that, which brings them joy. And then we see Gen Z who is able to grasp onto that in a really different way than previous generations.
00:17:09
Speaker
I know one of the gender trends that I'm really enjoying right now is how pearls are just such a masculine accessory right now. All boys and men are wearing pearls, and I just think it is the best thing ever because when we grew up, that just wasn't something that would ever be associated with men in any way. And so I just love seeing how those trends are changing.
00:17:35
Speaker
It's so funny. I actually have a friend that this is just a weird tangent. I have a friend that I recently took a trip with and an amazing scuba diver, Marcus, if you're out there, this one's for you. And he lost his pearl earring or something in this scuba diving incident. I was going to see him a few days later and he texted the group. He's like, I lost an earring back for my pearl earring. And I was like, I was like, I clutched my fictitious pearls at that
Embracing Joy in Self-Expression
00:17:58
Speaker
moment. But I was like, don't worry. I got you. Like I will bring you that earring back. I will bring you a fake
00:18:03
Speaker
like, I had to be there because Marcus needed it, right? And it's one of those things that, like, he's totally going to be expressive of who he is, and I love that. And I really appreciate, like, just the amount of, I would say, like, confidence that you're giving people to just go find the thing that bring you joy. And if that's wearing a pearl earring, like, damn it, you better rock that earring. Boys, do it. Like, it's awesome. I've been doing it forever. But I know that you are a treasure trove of things that people could
00:18:32
Speaker
probably be doing to feel more connected. And while we're kind of focusing on the workplace, what kind of advice do you have for professionals, regardless of gender or generational cohort, to finding self-connection at work and to their work? And I want to say finding joy, because some people do not like their jobs. But we can still find that self-connection in making a place individually for ourselves. Yeah.
00:18:59
Speaker
First, I think that self-connection is going to be really individually defined for everyone. So we're all going to have a different version of what self-connection looks like for us. So when we are thinking about what does self-connection look like in general, and then what does self-connection look like at work, we have to approach it from a really nuanced individual lens since that will be as vast and diverse as all of us are as people. And so part of it, though, is being able to have
00:19:24
Speaker
the time and ability to get to know yourself in a greater way and to have the opportunity to be able to get into a more self-connected place. And so that could be anything from spending five minutes in the morning meditating or journaling. It could be reflecting on what are the things that you really enjoy about your work, what are the things that are really challenging about your work, and having extra cognizance around that.
00:19:49
Speaker
There are so many different ways that you can approach that. But one exercise that I give to folks is when we're thinking about, let's say from a leadership perspective, is to ask yourself three questions to use as a reflection exercise in order to have a start creating a better relationship of self connection. And so those three questions are first, how am I relating to myself as a leader today?
00:20:17
Speaker
Why am I relating to myself this way?
Self-Connection and Leadership Reflection
00:20:19
Speaker
And then what does that tell me about a core need or belief? So for example, what that could look like is how am I relating to myself as a leader today? Perhaps you are feeling really empowered and excited and you are really positive and motivational towards yourself.
00:20:34
Speaker
or perhaps you're actually really judgmental and frustrated and having a lot of negative thoughts towards yourself, right? Let's take the negative thoughts as the example for the rest of these questions, which is, okay, so you've identified, you know, I'm being really self-deprecating.
00:20:49
Speaker
Well, the next question is, well, why am I relating to myself this way? And that might be anywhere from, well, maybe it's a need, a form of self-protection that you're actually having. The reason that you are having those negative thoughts is you think that somehow that is gonna be helpful to you, right? Perhaps it's because you think that you're gonna be more self-productive that way, right? And that if you are going at yourself from a perspective of saying, hey, you just need to get this done, blah, blah, blah,
00:21:18
Speaker
then maybe it's your way of trying to be more productive in that way. Now, once you've answered those, then you can ask yourself, what does that tell me about a core need or belief? And so if it is that, you know, you're being really mean to yourself that day, it actually even counterintuitively is kind of a form of self-protection, it might tell you that you just have a need for feeling safe and feeling in control.
00:21:43
Speaker
Right? And that's this need. Now, once you have that need, that's a lot of information for you to be able to then identify what you want to do with that. Right? Is there a way that you can help yourself? Because let's say talking to yourself in a really negative way is actually super out of alignment with your values. And you're starting to notice that actually, it reflects how you end up talking to the folks on your team.
00:22:06
Speaker
right? And that might not be something that you want to do, then it gives you really that important purview on how you can shift and adjust so that you can actually practice behaviors or practice thoughts that are going to be more in alignment with what your values are so that as you're interacting with others, you can have a more positive environment of product. That is amazing. And I just can imagine that your clients when you do this with them, they are like, how dare you walk in here and tell me literally everything about me. And you just knew me.
00:22:36
Speaker
Uh, two seconds ago, but it's so true. Like what you described is something that when we allow ourselves to go down this thought process, we deeply become disconnected to who we are. Right. And there's so much, again, that pressure between the individual and then society or what an organization or a different like environment puts on us and how that can peel us away from who we are. So I really love the way that you, I'm a big fan of things that come in threes because they're usually easy to remember.
00:23:05
Speaker
And you gave us a really one, two, three, something that someone can do in less than five minutes when they're going through either a positive or a negative mindset to reframe and find that connection at work. And so if you're listening and you're feeling a little disconnected, please use that three-part framework, Rex. It's just such gold. So there's not that individuals can do, right? As individuals, we can practice this three-question framework that you provided us.
00:23:33
Speaker
You know, sometimes we can only operate so much on our own, like we're parts of teams or organizations, unless you're out here doing like what I call Rodeo, which is being a self-employed individual. But like, what can you do as organization and company leaders to help employees?
00:23:50
Speaker
find or team members find and practice self-connection at work. So they do think there's an interplay of like the larger environment and the individual that leaders have the ability to shape for their friends that are within the company. So I think when we're talking about organizationally, first we want to talk about what we can do as individual leaders. And the reality is that we want to set the example for what everyone else on our team can be doing. And so we are doing that work as a leader ourselves.
00:24:16
Speaker
It is automatically going to be reflected in the way that our team members are going to be able to interact with each other and also interact with us. So first, I think it's setting the example. But the second is really being able to encourage social and emotional learning opportunities for staff.
00:24:34
Speaker
on a structural level. So our organizations, we should really be giving time, whether that is through specific staff development time or time off, et cetera, to be able to encourage specific social and emotional learning opportunities for folks
Promoting Self-Connection in Organizations
00:24:49
Speaker
to be able to have the opportunity for self-reflection and have the opportunity to self-connect in a greater way.
00:24:56
Speaker
And the third is really being able to encourage open and honest dialogue with a value for vulnerability. Obviously, being able to do these type of self-reflection tools, it's a lot of vulnerable work and it can be pretty itchy for some folks. But being able to encourage open and honest dialogue and giving the value of vulnerability into your workplace can be something that also really helps to bolster that opportunity for others.
00:25:27
Speaker
So what I'm hearing is do the work and be vulnerable and empathetic to others. Like that's just like two small things, right? Just two small ones? Yeah, I would say so. It's casual small things. I think everyone can align with having either worked for someone that was deeply empathetic and cared about them.
00:25:46
Speaker
and was willing to show them a good path towards what it means to be a part of an organization. Whether it's a coach, a teacher, a boss, you name it. But conversely, we've also had people that stand out in our minds that are terrible role models for what it's like to be vulnerable, empathetic, and supportive to other people. And I really do think the concept of being a good human to others is such a free thing we can do, but it requires so much honor.
00:26:13
Speaker
of ourselves to understand who we are. Like that interaction between the self and others is so difficult, not difficult. It's just complicated, right? And so I think bosses, organization, company leaders, wherever you are, like there's so much that there is that pressure. Yes. There's always a pressure to perform, but like performance is always going to be under skirted by like the people that are part of that, like people that are part of the team and making sure that that's a place that can be full of inclusion, but also
00:26:41
Speaker
that connection and to who people are and making sure that they feel safe and welcome and they belong there. It's just simple stuff. I feel like you and I are this basic human stuff. But I know that there's a lot of people that struggle with that, and that's why they keep you employed.
00:26:56
Speaker
And I think it's like a really normal thing that of course people are going to struggle with us this because the other reality is, you know, considering our busy lives, especially in our workplaces with a million tasks that people have on their plate, etc. No one is going to live in a 100% 100% self connected place all of the time.
00:27:17
Speaker
It's just not possible, right? We're human. And so giving ourselves as well the opportunity for grace and understanding around that and letting go of that myth of perfectionism around all of this is a really important thing as well. If we are going to live with the goal in mind of allowing self-connection to be something that also helps with our connection of others, right? Because when we hold ourselves to those too high of standards, it actually ends up creating the exact thing that we don't want, right?
00:27:47
Speaker
higher levels of pressure and stress and all of that when really what the goal of all of this is, is to allow ourselves to live in greater opportunity for ease, joys and connection with both ourselves and with others. Absolutely. So Rex, if you don't mind, you know, there's been some really great concepts we've had about like what individuals and leaders can do.
00:28:07
Speaker
I'm a big believer in learning from the younger generation. I think in a weird way, they teach us things that we all knew we needed to know. They're just saying it really loud for us. What are some of the things just very high level that you have learned from Gen Z about this concept of self-connection or authenticity? Some of those lessons you can share with us, because I know that you are very good about keeping a pulse on this younger generation.
00:28:31
Speaker
and kind of the mindsets that they have. So what can you share with us about how Gen Z is kind of doing this and leading the way in some cases? I think one of the things that I find most amazing about Gen Z is their willingness to really figure out what works for them on an individual level and celebrate the individuality of others.
00:28:51
Speaker
One of the ways that we're seeing that from a perspective of folks who are trans and gender expansive, for example, is the amount of language that we're seeing developed where folks are finding either identities or identity-related terms that are going to reflect who they are on an individual level. And so part of that is, for example, creating new language.
00:29:13
Speaker
Now, obviously, with regard to language, we've always created new language every generation has. And language is always going to reflect the people in the culture of the society of that time. And I think that Gen Z is doing that in a really phenomenal way, whether it is coming up with identity terms that feel really congruent with them, being able to develop pronouns that feel inclusive and authentic to them on an individual level, et cetera.
00:29:42
Speaker
But as well, we also see that reflected in how people are expressing themselves with regard to gender and not going like, oh, I'll just go to the men's section and get this. I'll go to the women's section and get that. But going, want to know what? I love that from the men's section. I love this from the women's section. And I'm going to create something that's on my own. And so I think all of those things go back to reflecting Gen Z's
00:30:05
Speaker
absolute ability to be able to just find what is going to work for them on an individual level and to celebrate that individuality. I think that and yeah I see it a little bit differently because they do so much like
00:30:18
Speaker
a time with students but like what I love is that yes that that individuality but also the recognition of the individual is a part of a collective so like they're still a part of an us like as a group of humans whether that's like a student organization or a class or a community group that they're a part of that like they want that individual to feel included and not like an individualism of like everything's about me and I'm special right it's
00:30:43
Speaker
that person has figured out who they are and what I love is that Gen Z rallies around those people like regardless like the individuals take care of one another and in their community whatever their community is and they allow that person to be that individual while supporting whatever that individual
00:31:02
Speaker
is identifies as expresses as and so like that's something that I love is yes there's that like I don't know how they're so individually aware at such a young age like I'm very proud of them I still think I'm just trying to figure it out but then the like this idea of being individually expressive and supportive of other people in a way that's like I'm not going to try to change you I just want you to be a part of us and I think that's really beautiful yeah
00:31:27
Speaker
I think it goes to this idea of them saying, the more that I get to celebrate me, the more room there is for me to celebrate you too. Like they're not taking away anything from anyone by allowing someone that's different than them or the same to celebrate that. Like they're like, there's enough room and enough space for everyone to be themselves. Exactly. I love that. They're so good.
00:31:53
Speaker
Um, well Rex, this has been so helpful. Like, I don't know what I was, I knew that this was going to be insightful, but like I feel like in some cases, like more joy in my life, which I think is great, right? Um, but
00:32:07
Speaker
I've just taken so much from this and I think people that are listening are going to be able to take away just really, I wouldn't say it's always simple. I don't think that it's not necessarily difficult in the same degree, but like you've given people some really direct, simple things they can do to potentially find self connection themselves a little bit more, practice it within the people that they lead and the organizations that they lead. But I'm sure people want to follow up and potentially know where they can kind of keep up with you. If people want to keep up with the great work that you're doing or find ways to work with you, what would you suggest people do to kind of hang out with you?
00:32:36
Speaker
You can either find me on my website or on LinkedIn. So my website is rexwild.com or you can just go ahead and find me rexwild on LinkedIn. And I will include both of those in the show notes so people don't have to search too hard. But Rex, thank you again for being here. Again, it's always I was able to catch up, but I also love being able to intentionally learn from you and your willingness to share all of this with the listeners. So thank you. Thank you so much, Megan. It's been such a fun time.
00:33:10
Speaker
Another thank you to Rex for sharing such important insights about an identity, inclusion, and finding self-connection at work. I think everyone can relate to feeling pulled away from something that's an important part of who they are or feeling that they aren't being true to themselves, whether it's related to gender or another identity or just something that's incredibly important to us. Feeling disconnected from who we are is difficult and exhausting.
00:33:32
Speaker
However, there's ways that we as individuals can find connection to ourselves and help others do so as well, especially for positions of leadership or impact for others. And Gen Zers are great teachers and role models of how to do this. So there's much we can learn from this younger generation about finding connection to who we are and expressing that with confidence and joy.
00:33:53
Speaker
There are some more great episodes and guests coming up in season six, and I promise you won't want to miss it. If you haven't yet, hit subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts so you can get notified when new episodes become available. And while you're at it, share this episode with a friend or a colleague. Sharing is caring when it comes to knowledge like this. And I'm always looking for new topics to explore and guests to chat with. You can share your suggestions and thoughts through my website, Megan M.Grace.com. That's M-E-G-H-A-N-M-G-R-A-C-E.com.
00:34:23
Speaker
And you can also find me on Instagram, threads, and LinkedIn at Megan M. Grace. And a big thank you to my friend Leah Kramer for editing this episode and bringing it all together. And one more thank you for you. Thanks for stopping by for this episode and this season so far. Let's continue the conversation and we'll chat soon.