A recent study by GE showed that while 90 percent of C-suite executives say their company supports the development of strong leaders, just 68 percent of entry-level Gen Z employees feel the same way. This divergence of views results in missed golden opportunities to develop a workforce that truly upholds a leadership mindset at every level. While Gen Z has been the unfortunate target of the conception that they are generally lazy—which is not upheld by current accurate data, they are lacking adequate support from employers to develop qualities that will enable them to succeed in their careers and thrive into more senior positions.
A survey conducted by Handshake revealed that 67 percent of Gen Z agree that one of their key priorities when searching for a job is career growth and professional development, second to compensation. A key aspect of this professional development for young employees is that of a leadership mindset, which consists of key qualities such as the maturity to face challenges and risks head on, a continuous growth mindset, critical thinking, decisiveness, and moving with a sense of purpose and a strong goal structure.
How can both employers and Gen Z entry-level employees cultivate this strong leadership mindset at the entry-level?
Laura Cococcia, head of Global HR Strategy, Talent, and Culture at GE, highlights that differences between Gen Z’s and the C-suite’s views afford an opportunity for learning and continuous improvement. “Specific to leadership mindset, these differences can help highlight how organizations may need to strengthen communications strategies in support of employee engagement goals,” Cococcia explains. “In addition, ensuring leaders are aware of and responding to employee feedback helps address differences, and promotes understanding, ensuring stronger alignment among leaders and employees while fostering a leadership mindset.”
Lead by example
One aspect of developing a leadership mindset from the employer’s angle, is leading by example, which at its core, is about behaviors. “This means ensuring an organization is not only describing its leadership mindset but reinforcing it through the actions of its leaders. Depending on an organization’s culture, this could also mean integrating the leadership mindset and related behaviors into a leader’s goals,” Cococcia says.
Beyond the leaders themselves, Gen Z entry-level employees can choose to selectively model behaviors from employees who have been in the business for longer, or in the industry for longer. They can seek mentors, coaches, and expand their network to understand what a healthy example should look like. Gen Z can model these behaviors throughout their work, thus increasing their likelihood of exposure to new opportunities to advance their career. For example, choosing to model the behavior of excellence, even as an intern or associate, will ensure that consistently high-quality work is produced and that you become noticed as a high performer.
Leadership training
Cococcia continues, “The second aspect is that leaders need to invest in meaningful leadership training and development that is tied to a company’s strategy. This is a very visible way to demonstrate an organization’s commitment to its teams and their continued development as leaders. 80 percent of entry-level employees agree that leadership training is a meaningful benefit.”
This is backed by data from the same Handshake study that showed that one in five Gen Z employees would stay at an employer that offers upskilling and training opportunities, thus improving retention rates.
Unfortunately, this is not the current reality. The vast majority of the leadership training budget is dispensed on managers and senior leaders. But what if leadership skills training was provided to those at entry-level? Imagine what a significant boost this would bring to the business as a whole?
If this is not currently being provided, Gen Z can still proactively seek to enrol on short courses and distance learning that develops their leadership skills, and teaches them how to apply these traits in practical workplace settings.
Two-way feedback
“A third thing employers can do is encourage a culture of constructive two-way feedback that allows employees to contribute to improvements, facilitating open dialogue,” explains Cococcia. “All of these are important as organizations think about fostering a leadership mindset in the context of the next generation of leaders.”
Gen Z can initiate this honest feedback conversation with their managers, proposing suggestions and vocalizing their ideas in a creative, solution-oriented way. Proposing smart work-arounds for a slim talent development budget, for example, can ensure entry-level and senior leaders work together harmoniously to improve their mutual workforce.
A leadership mindset is highly prized by both employers and Gen Z, but for it to be effectively demonstrated in actual day-to-day behaviors, senior leaders must work collaboratively with their less-experienced employees to enable these qualities to shine through. Through both parties leading by example, encouraging mutual feedback, and participating in training, a leadership mindset can be fully adopted and the skills gap between entry and senior levels, closed.
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