By Brad Hanna
Four McKinsey senior partners recently released a new book, The Journey to Leadership: How CEOs Learn to Lead from the Inside Out. The book outlines how the next generation of CEOs is approaching their leadership styles differently to better meet the emerging needs of Gen Z in the workplace.
Key Insights
- “The best leaders understand that they must first connect with themselves before they can empower their organizations.” This new generation of leaders is taking more of a “human-centric” approach to their leadership style, which helps link their vision and values to the performance of the company. They have more “self-awareness, humility, vulnerability, empathy and authenticity.”
- This is being coined as “inside out” leadership, as the process begins with more self-awareness and self-evaluation, followed by greater “learning, listening, inspiring and caring.”
Why It Matters
This insight makes perfect sense when you consider 77% of Gen Z stated it was vital to work for a company whose values aligned with their own, according to Deloitte.
- Ethics
- Practices
- Social Impact
- Gen Z is approaching the job force with very different expectations. This generation is more driven by financial gain, with “making lots of money” the highest priority (now 67%, up from 32% in 2021). This includes having a second job or side hustle to earn extra income.
This means Gen Zers may put as much effort and output into their side gigs as they do working for their employer. Employers may never have 100% of Gen Z’s dedicated time, with some only holding onto their “normal” jobs because of health benefits.
- Anxiety has become a new norm for today’s youth, with 59% experiencing suboptimal mental health. Worries include:
- Affording future homes, marriage or family.
- Their physical or mental health.
- The physical or mental health of others.
- Politics and social media.
- This generation speaks openly about mental health, anxiety, depression, isolation and suicide.
- Gen Z believes the world can solve conflicts and problems through dialogue with one another. This is built on the importance of being open to and accepting of differing opinions. They are:
- More adaptable to interacting with conflicting opinions and values.
- More open to differing opinions and not worried about changing or influencing their values.
- More apt to talk openly about finances, gender, sexuality and social issues.
How to Win
- Build open lines of communication, with input and collaboration to solve issues from all employees, including manufacturing. “Let’s Taco ‘Bout It” is an emerging trend where business leaders have lunch with employees to connect on issues as they arise. The group can work on problem solutions as part of the lunch talk.
- Monitor for stress and offer helpful solutions – on-site therapy, paid time off or mental health check-ins.
- Look for ways to promote advancement within the manufacturing team so they know a viable career path to new roles, responsibilities and advancement.
- Encourage focus on career and growth:
- The Gen Z workforce is searching for opportunities to grow and advance in their jobs due to their need for financial security, entrepreneurial mentality and competitive spirit.
- They actively seek guidance from a dependable boss and training and development possibilities.
- Thus, Gen Z employees prefer companies with mentorship and training programs.
- Organize social activities that promote team bonding.
You can definitely see how the next generation of CEOs will have a new set of “softer” skills to help lead their organizations.