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What Gen Z Wants from Bosses and Leaders
1.2k Plays1 year ago
What does Gen Z want from their bosses and leaders? New research from Deloitte Digital points to exactly that. Amelia Dunlop, Chief Experience Officer, and Michael Pankowski, Analyst, from Deloitte Digital join the conversation to share insights from their latest research on Generation Z's perspectives on work, their bosses, and how to best lead them in the workplace.
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Hashtag Gen Z' Podcast
00:00:16
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.
Impact of Pandemic on Work Culture
00:00:30
Speaker
I'm your host, Megan Grace, and it's so nice to have you here. In today's episode, we'll be discussing how the global pandemic shifted work life and changed the rules for management and culture in real time.
Gen Z vs. Bosses: A Report Analysis
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Specifically, we'll be touching on discrepancies between Gen Z
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their bosses in the workplace, and how to address them. Delight Digital recently published research titled, Hey Bosses, Here's What Gen Z Actually Wants It Work, which encourages leaders to understand the differences between Gen Z and other generations instead of categorizing them as difficult, something that I can certainly get behind. If you manage or lead Gen Zers, this episode is for you.
Gen Z's Work Identity Perception
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According to the report, 61% of Gen Zers that are already in the workforce feel that work is a significant part of their identity.
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while 86% of bosses say that work is a significant part of their identity. The research also revealed that more than seven in 10 bosses are excited about the ways the workforce will change as Gen Z makes up an increasingly greater portion of it. We unpack what a leader can do to bridge these
Guests Introduction: Amelia & Michael from Deloitte Digital
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gaps. In this episode, I'm joined by Amelia Dunlap, Chief Experience Officer at Deloitte Digital, where she helps develop winning strategies that combine innovation, creativity, and digital strategy.
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Emilia loves helping clients create solutions and build the organizational momentum to turn the future they imagine into a reality. She also received Consulting Magazine's 2020 Top Women in Technology Award for Excellence in Innovation and is the author of the best-selling books, Elevating the Human Experience, Three Pass to Love and Worth at Work, and
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the four factors of trust, how organizations can earn lifelong loyalty. Amelia writes and speaks regularly about the human experience, creativity, and customer strategy, and contributes to Wall Street Journal's CMO Journal and Adweek. She also serves on the board of the McDowell Colony, a national nonprofit that creates space for artists. I'm also joined by Michael Pankowski, an analyst
00:02:30
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at Deloitte Digital. He's a thought leader on Gen Z and a co-author of the book, Engaging Gen Z, Lessons to Effectively Engage Gen Z via Marketing, Social Media, Retail, Work, and School. Michael also presents on Gen Z at global and national conferences, including PR Week Connect, PR Decoded, and SportsPro OTT Summit USA, and his thought leadership
00:02:53
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on this space can be found in Ad Age, PR Week, Forbes, Insider, and Money.com. Amelia and Michael will shed light about their experiences working together as a Gen X and Gen Z, and how to best collaborate across generations. They also share their key takeaways for leadership on how to work with the newest members of the workforce and for Gen Z to get the most out of their first jobs.
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Guests' Professional Journeys
00:04:13
Speaker
So I want to welcome my new friends, Amelia and Michael, to the conversation today. They join us from the Deloitte Digital team. And I'm very excited. I always love an opportunity to talk about one research and two Gen Z research. And so to have two wonderful experts join me in today's conversation is just something I'm over the moon about. So Amelia and Michael, welcome. And it's so exciting to have you here. Great to be here. Thanks for having us. Yeah, thank you for having us.
00:04:39
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Yeah, so would love to learn a little bit more about both of you. I know we've had a little bit of chance to get to know each other, but the listeners really want to know who you are. So tell us more about who you are, kind of your professional journey. This season is about work. So if you want to condense your your career journey down a little bit, but would love to learn kind of what you do on your team and how you got there.
00:05:01
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Great. So I'm happy to jump in and go first. And it's great to see your cat there, Megan. Welcome. I'm Amelia Dunlop. I'm the Chief Experience Officer for Deloitte Digital. And I wake up every day thinking about how we can make experiences just a little bit better for our clients, who we call customers, our workforce, as well as our partners.
00:05:23
Speaker
And we do that from what we call the human experience perspective. And the idea being that none of us woke up this morning as a customer. Nobody woke up as an employee. We all wake up as humans first. And we try to bring more of a human-centered design approach to everything we do. And actually, two years ago, I published a book called Elevating the Human Experience, where I really explored what does it mean to show up in the workplace and feel
00:05:50
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loved and feel worthy and that authentic personal as well as professional selves. I think that's really led to that journey of meeting Michael and the research that we jointly led on Gen Z. Michael, over to you. Yes. I'm an analyst at Deloitte Digital. For the last five years, I've been writing, researching, and speaking on Gen Z. All throughout college, this is what I was doing. I co-authored a book on this. I wrote an ad age and PR week.
00:06:17
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And when it came time to get a job, I was interested in consulting. I met Amelia and I saw the book she had written and I was like, I have to work for her. So luckily I was getting that opportunity. And then we started, we did this Gen Z research together. We've been doing this for the last year and it's been fantastic.
00:06:34
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I love like this is just an intersection of people that I feel like I could talk to for hours about this, right? Like Michael, you really hit a corner like researching Gen Z and consulting like that is my intersection of things I love and then just improving the human experience.
Motivation for Gen Z Workplace Study
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I think that that's what is really going to lead us down a great path today. What we're here to talk about really is this recent research that you keep kind of teasing at.
00:06:59
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But I'm very excited to learn more about. So, you know, we know that Deloitte Digital has recently done a study on Gen Z and their bosses, which I think so many people are interested about. I oversee some Gen Zers in the work that I do, and I'm still learning as well. So what motivated Deloitte to be even pursuing this study? And then really, how did you go about engaging the participants? Tell us, give us a little bit of that background on the study you all conducted.
00:07:24
Speaker
Sure. So why don't I kick us off and then Michael, you can jump in. I mean, I really feel like it came from the conversations that Michael and I had when we were first talking about whether or not he might join us here at Deloitte Digital. And we realized that you don't elevate anyone's experience generally.
00:07:40
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right? You actually have to do something specific to understand the lived experience of the person on the other side of the table. And in this case, we're talking about, you know, Gen Z, who's entering the workforce really for the first time in the past couple of years. And I was fascinated to learn more about Michael's perspective, the research and work that he's led. And so we just kind of conspired for what kind of research might we want to do together to uncover that white space or what's different about this generation. So that's a little bit of the background. So Michael, do you want to share kind of what we then decided to do together?
00:08:11
Speaker
Yeah. And then finding that white space, we found there was not much research at all about on specifically what Gen Z wants from their bosses. And as Gen Z was starting to come into the workforce, make up an increasing percentage of it, we decided that was a very important area to pursue to see what we could find. Yeah. And one thing I'd also share is
00:08:33
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that may be relevant, Megan, is when I was, so Michael and I graduated from the same college. So we have, you know, fun college stories to kind of tell. But when I was a senior year finishing up my kind of undergraduate thesis, I actually wrote my thesis on the religion of Generation X.
00:08:50
Speaker
So I had done a bunch of research at the time as a college student on Gen X, Michael had done it on Gen Z. And so it was really fun to start to think about how do these two different perspectives kind of come together? So a lot of Gen X and millennials as bosses and then Gen Z as they kind of enter the workforce. That is such an awesome connection that you all have. I know when I meet people from my same college, I'm like, I immediately just like we get each other. So it's fantastic that you have that and you have that parallel experience from
00:09:19
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you know, different times in being in college, but having different or similar paths. And I love that you all found the space that you wanted to go to in this research was what they want from their bosses, what they want from work, because a lot of people tried to let's just say future forecast that, but we know that it takes a little bit of time of a generation being in the workforce to really, you know, try on some different hats, try on some different environments to say, this is
Five Workplace Challenges for Gen Z
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what I want.
00:09:44
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and kind of in that exploration. And really let's start to think about that. We've learned really what motivated your study, what drew you to this topic. Now let's get into what should we be gleaning from the study? What are the things that leaders and organizations should be concerned about when we think about Gen Z in the workplace based on what you found in your recent study? Yeah, so we found five core challenges that exist between Gen Z's and their bosses. That's important for bosses and Gen Z alike too.
00:10:13
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to know. Number one, empathy is more important to Gen Zers than their bosses think it is. Number two, Gen Zers feel they're not getting the mental health support they need in the workplace. Number three, both Gen Zers and their bosses feel that Gen Zers are underprepared for their jobs. Number four, work is less important to the personal identities of Gen Zers than it is for their bosses.
00:10:38
Speaker
And number five, Gen Z wants time off as a reward, but bosses, as of now, prefer traditional forms of recognizing employees. And we can dive into stats on any of those. That's the. So I think that the one that jumped out to me the most right when Michael talked about the top five was really that first one. And we really started to think about it as the empathy gap.
00:11:02
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where Gen Zers prioritized empathy from their boss as the second attribute that they were most looking for. And where their bosses, who we in our study, which was 2000 members of Gen Z and 600 bosses of Gen X and millennials, prioritized it sort of a distant fifth. So we started to see that there was this gap that Gen Z really does want a boss to show up with more empathy.
Empathy's Role in Workplace Productivity
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And we can hypothesize why, right? Starting work almost
00:11:29
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entirely remotely, starting work during a pandemic, you know, having less kind of hands-on or in-person experiences. But that was one of the biggest challenges that really struck me as a leader of organizations that we do need to be thinking about what the perspective is from, you know, more empathetically for members of Gen Z. I find that that is so interesting because I've got a good friend, Sophie Wade,
00:11:50
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past podcast guest has done a ton of work in this idea, not just within the Gen Z and generational space around the importance of empathy in the workplace, but in general, right? And how empathy within organizations is so necessary, arguably more today than it ever has been. And I think the thing that you all are starting to get at is empathy is necessary. You're triangulating what Sophie has found in her research as well.
00:12:19
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What kind of sticks out to me, though, when you think about empathy is this idea that it requires understanding. It requires a motivation to actually want to know and be in it with somebody, which is sometimes counter to what we would consider productivity or all of those things. But to me, it's that investment in the person that you're working with that sometimes feels like it should be very obvious, but is clearly something that Gen Z is seeing from a different perspective
00:12:48
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than those who are potentially hiring them, onboarding them, managing and supervising them. And when that kind of runs out, what does that leave for individuals from Gen Z that are showing up to work? I think that, you know, I love that you all have condensed these kind of the findings into the five challenges and you've laid those out. What are some of really, if we don't address those challenges, because some people say challenge is a problem, challenge is something that,
00:13:18
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we're going to hit friction against. But I think we're probably all in the same mindset that it could be avoided. If we don't address some of those challenges, what do you think are some of the pitfalls organizations could experience or leaders could experience?
Gen Z's Identity Separation from Work
00:13:31
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by not navigating these challenges successfully. Well, I mentioned the empathy gap. One of the other ones that really caught my eye from the data perspective is that Gen Z's indicated that 28% of them have suffered, their mental health has been negatively impacted by their bosses.
00:13:49
Speaker
And that's something to kind of think about. So it's about one in three, right? So you mentioned you have Gen Z's on your team. I imagine many of your listeners also have Gen Z's on your team. So think about one in three feel like that they've had their mental health impacted. And there's two things I think are important about that. One is a comfort using the language of mental health.
00:14:09
Speaker
which is instructive, I think, for all of us in the workplace, but also the idea that it's the boss's responsibility to be thinking about that impact that they're having on their team members, their workforce, their colleagues. And to your point, it's not just about productivity. It's about the whole person.
00:14:25
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and how to think about that. So I think if we don't address these challenges, we're going to see, you know, more and more of that sort of mental health issues and then also how that impacts retention, motivation at work, you know, likelihood to kind of stay for the long term.
00:14:43
Speaker
Amelia to that point, the idea that mental health and then like, there's even this like link to one of your other challenges that you identified was this idea of identity of work, right? And maybe there is that piece of, maybe there is that piece of protecting their mental health by kind of separating identity from work a little bit more than previous generations. And again, that's just me theorizing. But Michael, I would love to hear from you, from your end, and you know, your very Gen Z perspective.
00:15:13
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And speaking for your peers in some cases, that if we don't, we as leaders and other people leading organizations don't pay attention and navigate these challenges successfully, what are we at risk of really?
00:15:24
Speaker
Yeah, I love how you focus on that personal identity point because I also see that as now, you know, growing up on social media, a very entrepreneurial generation seeing all the other opportunities we have both in traditional work and outside of that. I think if we aren't addressing these challenges, if we aren't viewing Gen Zers as full human beings, they have a lot of other opportunities that they can take on and they don't necessarily have to stay in those roles if they don't feel like their needs are being met.
00:15:52
Speaker
So I think in the short term, companies that don't address these will see a lot of turnover. And the long term, if your company is not one that Gen Z wants to work for, and Gen Z is making up a progressively bigger percentage of the workforce, it's going to be difficult for your company to thrive or even survive.
00:16:09
Speaker
you're kind of looking at both like the here and now of like Gen Z as options, I think that this generation probably has more options, whether it's traditional, traditional employment, like that nine to five working for an employer, or side hustle, or kind of like DIY and pulling it all together kind of jobs, but there's more options in the here and now but in the long term, it's kind of setting the trajectory of like Gen Z might not want to work for these companies
Gen Z's Entrepreneurial Mindset
00:16:34
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that
00:16:34
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historically have relied on let's just say younger career professionals or earlier career professionals to fulfill in some of those roles and realistically the work needs to get done. So I think that that's an interesting kind of play that it's going I think to challenge maybe more traditionally minded organizations to think differently about their newer professionals, newer hires, newer employees or recent graduates. Amelia, do you have something to add?
00:17:02
Speaker
Well, I just want to jump in on that because I think I agree with everything you both have just said. And Gen Z is going to be vocal about it. Right. So it's not just that they're going to leave your organization or vote with their feet and go do something else, but they're going to take to social media where they do their social media natives and have grown up with the idea of having a voice and they're going to tell other people about it, too. So I think it's not just you're going to lose out on that talent, but then you're going to have that kind of potential kind of brand damage of
00:17:29
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a very vocal population talking about your organization.
00:17:34
Speaker
Absolutely. And they know how to wield the internet probably better than anybody else to create a social movement. I mean, look what they've done with this Taylor Swift situation on tour, right? I say you always want Gen Z on your good side. That's always my goal. It's a force to be reckoned with, in my opinion, in a very good way. Something that I'm just drawing this connection to is some of the work that my research partner and I have done around what Gen Z is looking for in the workplace from a, let's just say, how they would describe their work environment. And loyalty and trust are very high on their list.
00:18:03
Speaker
And loyalty and trust, when I think about that, kind of connecting to the work that you all have done, it's built over time. It's built through relationship. And I don't think that employees are just necessarily going to all of a sudden be like, I'm loyal to this company because the paycheck, right? Because there's clearly a lot of places willing to give them the paycheck. And for the loyalty and the trust piece that requires that, that element of empathy, that relationship, that investment piece, because you don't just show up and trust someone on day one, right?
00:18:30
Speaker
And then the same concept of leaving I think is important that are they leaving on good terms? And as you've identified the loyalty piece of if they feel like their loyalty has been betrayed, what does that look like in the long term in terms of brand for organizations? And so I think there's a lot of just major implications for the study you all have done and how that's going to really fit into this like understanding Gen Z in this space.
00:18:57
Speaker
We've identified some of the challenges. I really love to know what are the benefits of this generation in the workplace? What are the things that this generation is bringing to the table that while we need to pay attention to the challenges or potentially the disconnects that we're seeing, where are the areas that we need to also pay attention to, the strengths, really the assets that Gen Z is bringing to the workforce? I think there's three things that really stick out for me on Gen Z. Two, we've touched on, I'm gonna add one more,
00:19:27
Speaker
One, very entrepreneurial generation. Two, very vocal. And three, relating to the two, very purposeful as a generation. And I think these all relate to growing up on social media, seeing the ills of the world and at a younger age, maybe not having as much of an opportunity to change these things, but still being exposed to them. Now getting to the age where they can make major change and they want to be vocal about it because they're used to their voice mattering on social media.
00:19:54
Speaker
So when they get to these companies, they're at the age they can make a change, they want a seat at the table, and they're going to at least fight for one, and if they don't get one, likely go elsewhere.
00:20:04
Speaker
Michael, I think that's a great point that some people will kind of sometimes misunderstand around an entrepreneurial spirit or mindset is that it doesn't necessarily always mean that this generation, every single one of them wants to go start their own business. But how do you harness what is, I think, very key in an entrepreneurial mindset is innovation and desire to create change. And that is probably what I see that personally.
00:20:25
Speaker
Um, I almost sometimes like to just be like, uh, you know, like rules are off. What do we want to improve and like hand that over to some of the, like the young people I work with to be like, we've been doing it this way for five years. Help me fix it. Um, and I think that that can feel scary at first and vulnerable at first for leaders, but really I think the payoff is really there to engage that entrepreneurial mindset within an organization.
00:20:48
Speaker
has so many benefits that leaders can be looking out for and seeing within this cohort. Amelia, what do you think? What are some of these greatest benefits or assets where you should be looking for these Gen Z employees and professionals?
00:21:01
Speaker
Well, I'm smiling because I feel like you've touched on it. And a lot of what I do is really around the field of strategy and innovation. And the fact that Gen Z are about to make up about a third of our workforce, I love the fact that they don't have preconceived notions or what we might call orthodoxies for how things have always been done around here. And to be able to tap into a much more creative mindset
00:21:25
Speaker
um, you know, less, less about the kind of existing rules, um, and really kind of much more kind of problem solving. So I often like to say like, whenever you're in a, you're in a room and you're, you're challenged with, okay, well, what's the future of the workforce or what's this problem going to look like in 10 years? You absolutely have to have Gen Z in the room and at that table because they are that future of the workforce. Like how, how it's, it's inconceivable that we'd be trying to solve those issues without, um, uh, kind of Gen Z kind of in the room, very active in the conversation.
00:21:54
Speaker
And I think that it's giving them the voice. I've never once said, hey, you Gen Z'er, I want your opinion. And they're like, no. There's always this space of like, if you're going to give me the microphone, I will share about me and my peers. Never once have they turned down the opportunity to advocate for something either for themselves or other people. And sometimes I feel like the silliest consulting I give people is they're like, how do I understand Gen Z? I'm like, just go ask the ones you work with.
00:22:16
Speaker
to start like as a starter could be a helpful place get to know those people and probably be really helpful. But I think that as you pointed out this idea that like solving for problems without involving the people was potentially a misstep that we've had for the last two generational cohorts was this idea of like leaders are paid to know things and learn things about
00:22:36
Speaker
their people and we thought we knew a lot about millennials. We thought we knew a lot about Gen X, but we were doing like a lot of guessing. And so I love where we're at with this generation to be able to do exactly what we're doing with like our resident Gen Z Michael to be like, tell us about your life, like share about your experience. How do we improve it? And bringing that into the space. And so I think lessons learned of the past, welcome the people into the conversation to provide some creative problem solving and see what goes from there.
00:23:05
Speaker
Yeah, I just want to say in terms of harnessing that entrepreneurial energy, I want to give Amelia a shout out because she did it perfectly by bringing me in and allowing me the opportunity to do this research, to speak on this topic. And I think it relates to like, you know, big companies, there's a lot of work that has to get done that's not going to be personalized and that just is what it is. But anytime leaders can give Gen Zers those
00:23:26
Speaker
entrepreneurial opportunities on the side that both help the business, but allow a young employee to feel more autonomy than they otherwise would, more responsibility and allow them to run with something. I think they'll see huge benefits on that. Absolutely. And that's, I think, something that as earlier career professionals, those are the things you remember when someone believed in you and you had that autonomy to go do something.
00:23:47
Speaker
especially for something that you've been training for for, you know, maybe all of college or those first few years in a new role. And so I really think that that's a good nod to good leadership and fantastic to see that within a boss that you have.
00:24:02
Speaker
Michael, I've got a more distinct direct question for you, and I hate to put you on the spot for your entire generation, but that's what happens sometimes.
Challenges of Hybrid Work for Gen Z
00:24:09
Speaker
As someone who is a Gen Z professional, you've also been very involved with this research. What of the findings resonated the most with you in your career so far? Where did you see the most seen in some of the findings from the late study? Well, we found that
00:24:27
Speaker
half of Gen Zers feel like they haven't been trained well enough to be successful when they enter the workforce. I wouldn't necessarily say I felt unprepared, but I will say starting in a hybrid environment, not getting to pick up on some of those soft skills that would have been obvious for previous generations, like how to interact with clients in a meeting, stuff like that, that when you're with your team every single day, you pick up naturally. I and a lot of my coworkers didn't get those opportunities.
00:24:54
Speaker
However, so I can see why Gen Zers starting hybrid or virtual would feel underprepared. However, Deloitte does a great, and this is not an advertisement, they just do well here, they do a great job with what they call moments that matter, as in when they bring everyone together, they go for high touch, memorable, high value experiences that allow people to learn a lot, meet a lot of people, so that we are getting a lot of benefit as young employees, even if we can't be together every single day.
00:25:24
Speaker
I've heard that from other people. So not just you, Michael. I've heard it from other people in passing as well, that there's a lot of good work that's done, not only in your onboarding, but your continual development, which I think is really important.
00:25:35
Speaker
And it's great to see here that you have seen yourself in that. And I want to bring up that point that you made around what might seem obvious to previous generations. That is a big trap that we get into a lot of times of saying, like, why don't these young people know this? Like, why didn't they learn this? And you pointed out a really important context is that context does change for each generation.
00:25:57
Speaker
And that's such an important context of those early years where many Gen Zers, even those who maybe graduated before the pandemic, we're still early in their career where we're going to offices, we're observing our coworkers, we're observing our bosses, we're observing leaders in what is considered culturally appropriate within a workspace. And so I think that that's such a good reminder for people that are in charge of onboarding and training is that that space for
00:26:25
Speaker
skill development, interpersonal relationships, and all of that kind of stuff. Not only benefits are newer incoming employees, but a freshen up for everybody. I'm thankful that you brought that point up. So thank you. I would love to kind of go over to you.
Unique Challenges for Gen Z in Early Careers
00:26:42
Speaker
I know that you supervise a number of Gen Z and you oversee probably some really stellar professionals. Where are you seeing the findings resonate the most?
00:26:53
Speaker
with those that you work with, but then also what advice might you have for people that are potentially in similar roles, maybe older generations or different generations that lead Gen Z in the workplace? So Michael and I have this conversation a lot about the fact that I'm keenly aware that my first few years and working experience were entirely different than Michael's and other members of Gen Z who definitely who started work remotely or started during the pandemic.
00:27:20
Speaker
And I think that sort of reminder, like that mindset of leaders, where, you know, oftentimes we think like, oh, yeah, I can, you know, I did, I, I climbed that hill, I did your job, I took notes on those meetings, and you sort of feel like, yeah, I've been there, and I've done that. I have to remind myself, I have not been there. I have not done that. Not in the same way that we're asking Gen Z to do it today.
00:27:42
Speaker
So I think that's the first thing, Megan, is just to remember that the context, which you referenced earlier, is different. And for me, that's almost the first marker of if you remember the context is different, then you can have a little bit of empathy, which goes back to one of the things that we've learned in our research of what might be challenging about this for the individual. How might this be harder?
00:28:02
Speaker
What assumptions might I be making about what their preferences might be and where might they need a little bit of help? So I think it's just it's almost like that's that that moment to kind of pause And to acknowledge that that person on you know, in a lot of cases the other end of a video call You know may need a little bit more perspective then then you might have otherwise needed when you first started Absolutely. I think that that is such a good
00:28:29
Speaker
uh, I don't want to say reminder because this might be new to some people, um, is, is really that point that, um, putting our, we can't put ourselves in the same shoes, but we can at least go back and reflect on the time when we were in a similar phase of life, right? Like we can't really go back and say, like, let me go hop into the shoes of a 24 year old, relatively recent graduate in their potentially first full time career kind of situation. Um, but certainly identifying how the world has changed. Um, and,
00:28:57
Speaker
even just in a year, two, three, four years, the world of work has changed. And it's very different when we're doing that as our first job, potentially out of college or our first full-time career versus going through that change as a mid-career professional or someone that has spent a little bit more time in that space. So I really appreciate that sentiment. I have one last question for both of you.
Gen Z's Strengths and Feedback
00:29:22
Speaker
I ask every guest, it's kind of like your exit ticket, if you will. What is your favorite thing about the Gen Z professionals in the workplace? Are they the ones you work with or the ones you get to observe in their work? I've harped on this, but it is my favorite thing. I really appreciate their entrepreneurial nature, their desire to go and get it, and how big they are into taking on projects, running with them.
00:29:45
Speaker
and fighting for autonomy. There are gonna be some difficulties at the beginning at these big companies when you have that mindset, but I think in the long term it's a very positive thing to have that internal locus of control and desire to go and make something of yourself.
00:30:05
Speaker
I love that, and I think it's that tenacity piece, right? And I've certainly seen it in the Gen Z students and young people that I work with, that once I set them up to succeed, they're like just full steam ahead. Again, it's that loyalty, that trust, that belief that they can go do something. I deeply appreciate that about Gen Z as well. Milia, what about you? Well, so Michael knows this about me, but given that I care so much about the experiences that we deliver, right?
00:30:32
Speaker
how it feels to the other individual on the other end of the table, the other end of the call. One of the things I love about Gen Z is that if you are willing to genuinely ask, they will tell you how to make something better. They will tell you what better would look like. And so for me, that's a gift.
00:30:49
Speaker
right, to say, you know, from to be able to kind of get that kind of feedback and that ongoing kind of learning. I feel like I learned so much from Gen Z. And one of the things that we've also talked about is how to think about that reverse or mentoring or that sort of peer-to-peer mentoring where so that's the relationship Michael and I have where obviously there's things that I can share with Michael given my 20 years in the career of being a management consultant.
00:31:12
Speaker
But I feel like when I'm open to it, there's as much that I can learn from Michael and from his peers about what does it mean to kind of work in the kind of the workforce today. So those are some of the things that I love. And that is, I mean, I feel like there's a lot of people that wish they worked for you.
00:31:29
Speaker
once they hear this. So, and we got one sentiment, we got one real life case study that is affirmed that. But that is such a good thing that many people can probably learn from is this idea of, you know, we've all got something to learn and we've all got something to teach somebody else. And that is, I think, a lesson that many leaders in our world can stand to listen to.
00:31:52
Speaker
And I hope that it does find people. So certainly, I want to thank you both for being here. But before we formally go, we will certainly be linking to your wonderful study in the show notes and making sure that it gets into the hands of the people that need to read it. The fellow data nerds like me out there that want to give it a full glance.
00:32:11
Speaker
But if people want to keep up with either of you, what is your preferred method of people reaching out? Whether that is a social media platform or what is your preferred contact? So that I'm sure people have questions and they might want to connect with you. I'm pretty active on LinkedIn at Michael Pankowski. I'm sure my name will be posted somewhere on this. So feel free to add me, ask any Gen Z questions. I love answering that stuff.
00:32:34
Speaker
Yeah. And you can also find me on LinkedIn, Megan. And the study is also published on our Deloitte digital website as well as our human experience signature issue website. Well, I will make sure that all the friends get links to both your LinkedIn's, your lovely study. And thank you both for being here. I know it's always a gift for me to be able to stay with people that one, care about the same things that I do and two,
00:32:58
Speaker
I love to jam out about research. So really, this has been a lot of fun for me. And I know that our listeners are also thankful that you could be here to share your insights. So thank you both again. Thank you. It was so fun. Yeah, that was fantastic. Thank you. If you follow me on Instagram, you know how important my dog Sebastian is to me.
00:33:21
Speaker
I take great care in selecting high quality food that will provide them with a healthy diet. If you're looking to do the same, you need to check out Nom Nom Dog Food. It's full of fresh protein, vitamins, and nutrients that help your pup thrive. When Nom Nom says fresh, they mean it. You can actually see the fresh ingredients your dog is eating. Nom Nom works with board certified nutritionists to ensure their recipes are designed to best support your dog's livelihood.
00:33:48
Speaker
They also work with you to build a tailored plan based on information you provide about your furry friend, including their age, breed, weight, allergies, and preferences. You can order Nom Nom using the code GENZPOD to get 50% off your first order plus free shipping. And Nom Nom comes with a money back guarantee, which means if your dog doesn't love every meal, Nom Nom will refund you your first order. Head to nomnomnow.com
00:34:14
Speaker
and use the code GenZPod to get 50% off your first order. Another thank you to Amelia
Conclusion: Empathy as Key to Thriving with Gen Z
00:34:24
Speaker
and Michael. The insights they shared have helped to reframe how we think about GenZ in the workplace, but also what GenZ is thinking about in their careers. The conversation about empathy certainly resonated with me, and I believe it's something that all organizations can benefit from.
00:34:38
Speaker
While a single boss or manager might not have the ability to transform an entire company, they do have the ability to foster an environment within their team and with employees that prioritizes empathy. I truly think that empathy allows us to seek to understand this new generation and is what will set apart the organizations and leaders who will thrive with Generation Z.
00:34:59
Speaker
We still have some great new episodes ahead in season 5 with fantastic guests to share their stories and insights. You won't want to miss it as we continue to explore Gen Z in the workplace. If you haven't yet, hit subscribe so you can get notified when new episodes become available. And while you're at it, go ahead and share this episode with a friend or colleague. This is a more the merrier kind of podcast.
00:35:20
Speaker
As always, you can reach out to me with any suggestions for topics or guests you want to learn from and about. I can be reached on my website, meganmgrace.com, and you can find me on Instagram, threads, and LinkedIn at Megan M. Grace. And a thank you to the team that helped bring this episode together. Pre-production support was provided by Jessica F. Stafios and editing was supported by Leah Kramer. Thank you again for stopping by for this episode and the season so far.
00:35:48
Speaker
Let's continue this conversation. We'll chat soon.