Zip Drive Leadership for Gen-Z
My next-door neighbors are a young couple aged 24 years, working in the IT industry. I have seen them ordering milk delivered through a milk subscription delivery company, booking an online cab service for their commute, ordering their groceries through a fast delivery online service, and then in the evening ordering their dinner from another fast delivery.
Heading office, I see my young team connecting over Teams or Zoom for team meetings, ordering clothes from online shopping sites, or pizzas for lunch, partying until late, and hence sleeping late but again reaching on time the next day to the office. This generation is on a roller coaster ride and to catch up with their speed we really need to “ZIP DRIVE”.
To lead the lifestyle they dream of, GenZ wants to earn fast money leading to faster job switches. They grew up in nuclear families where both parents are working and to make up for the lack of time providing them with whatever they want, they have seen their parents burdened with loans and have grown up with a lot of uncertainty around them. The need to make money is clear to them even if it is only to survive and survival for them is gadgets, parties, and eating out not so much about buying a house or starting a family.
For their survival, therefore, they are lured and look for big paycheck masters-the “Startups” backed by big VC funds who look for faster earnings and higher profitability in a shorter time and thus they look up to GenZ. The flexi work-hours concept, work from anywhere and work hard and party harder culture is the place to be as thought by the GenZ. The owners of these start-ups are also GenZ hence it works well for both.
Learning for us as leaders who started careers when the GenZ were born, should be to match up their expectations and speed. I can call this as BRIDGE the gap for creating a GenZ work environment
- Be the Employer of Choice – provide Career Advancements by job rotations and make them stick along. Remember they get bored by doing the same thing again and again every day. Throw them challenges and they are up for it. Flexi-timings, a friendly environment, an engaging and fun culture, more collaborative spaces and chill-out time, and task groups rather than hierarchies are what companies can provide.
- Reward Them – based on performance, this is a major contributor to keeping them financially independent. Provide guidance and financial coaching to manage their money well. They also seek non-monetary appreciation which needs to be complementary to work. Rewards that satisfy their social needs are what they look for.
- Inclusiveness – Build a friendly culture where they feel more independent and non-judgmental so they would feel appreciated wherein their managers treat them as equals and not as subordinates. Develop a feeling of working together and not working under someone. Be more accepting of who they are.
- Digital Integration – This generation is driven by technology, they are much more tech-savvy than any other generation, hence engaging them with digital interventions and work that involves automation would help in keeping them connected.
- Give Open Access – they say what they mean and expect their colleagues and managers also to be open and transparent with them. They want to feel they are adding value – they want to feel that their job is purposeful and they are contributing to the orgn. So taking their input is important and discussing with them what are the plans for them and the role and department is important to them.
- Equal Work-life balance – the younger generation has a very sharp mind so they finish work faster hence they cannot be time-bound. They like to party and meet friends, pursue their passion and have their “me” space, hence organisations need to have a culture that is more productivity based with enough time for them to have their personal time.
It is important to have a Zoom eye view, instead of having a myopic vision as a leader. Think of all the possibilities the GenZ bring to the workplace – their agility, their ideas, their execution, their result orientation, and overall the fresh flow of energy. Stop being judgmental of their perspectives or behaviors and accept their personalities the way they are.
Leaders should Invoke Trust in the GenZ and know both their pitfalls and the strongholds. Managers should be more open to share information, and allow mistakes from which they can learn and evolve. They should focus on building capabilities and introduce a culture of openness not only in communication but two-way feedback, mentoring, and knowledge sharing.
One should learn to be a People’s leader who is empathetic and is a friend more than a manager. Gen Z looks forward to being led by Professionals who come with credibility. “Leadership without Title” is absolutely true when working with Gen Z. The Title or Tag doesn’t matter. Leaders with proven Functional & People Leadership Skills are Natural Leaders in a Gen Z Ecosystem.
While we talk about GenZ-friendly work culture, we should not forget that today most organizations are grappling with creating a culture that can accommodate the thought process of four generations of employees and this is very difficult. It therefore becomes important to work on a culture model that caters to the needs of all four generations built on the pillars of empathy, trust, and collective growth at the same time ensuring business outcomes are met.
