Meagan interviews Duncan for the Young Entrepreneurs segment:
Interview with Josie
Meagan interviews Josie for the Young Entrepreneurs segment:
Understanding Generational Differences with Doryn Wallach
I was interviewed on a podcast hosted by Doryn Wallach for women in their late 30s and 40s seeking to navigate life’s challenges and make the most of it.
Have you ever wondered why your mind is so different from other generations?
How can you manage to understand and communicate within the relationships that you have in your life – with your children, your parents, coworkers, employers and so on?
That is exactly what I discussed with Doryn on her podcast episode about Understanding Generational Differences.
Enjoy!
Generation Z and Leadership
Generation Z and Leadership is an important topic to discuss, as Generation Z is the first generation to grow up in the Smart Phone era.
How will educators, managers, and leaders adapt their communication styles to connect with the younger generation?
I was interviewing Dr. Elizabeth Pogge while preparing for my upcoming virtual presentation for a national preceptors pharmacy conference. A preceptor is a teacher or an instructor.
Dr. Elizabeth Pogge is also a gen Xer, like me. She pointed out how being a preceptor has changed and how the new learner, Generation Z, and Leadership has changed.
Dr. Elizabeth Pogge stated:
“When I was a resident and a student, one of the learning methods was the no intimidation type of learning tactic. You would stand up and you give a presentation. Your preceptor then would grill you. They’ll ask you all these questions. Students today do not respond well to that. They will shut down, get very upset, even angry. They feel like they’re getting attacked. That kind of a learning tactic doesn’t work well for students now. Being harsh or abrasive is very difficult for students to handle now. They need to be nurtured right now.”
During my interview with her, she shed some light on what it’s like to be a preceptor. What I loved the most was that she compared her experience as a student to the students of today. When she was a student, you stood up in front of the room, gave a presentation and your preceptor peppered you with questions. She called it ‘an intimidation technique’. You didn’t want to fail for fear of the reprisal from the preceptor.
She made the point that the approach would not work with students today, because they would shut down, get angry, and disconnect.
Generation Z
When we talk about students of today, we’re really talking about the Generation Z. These are people born between 1997 and 2012. This generation is nothing like the millennials! It’s an entirely different generation.
The biggest difference is that Generation Z is the first generation to truly grow up in the smartphone era. Yes, millennials had smartphones too. In fact, they showed us how to use our smartphones. But millennials may also remember things like DVD players, dial-up, etc.
Generation Z grew up in the smartphone era. They may have never held a textbook. They had streaming services, so they never had to wait for a DVD at a Blockbuster. Many of them grew up with a smart home.
How Does This Impact You as a Leader or as a Manager?
When Generation Z comes on board, you no longer are the assumed expert. It’s no longer the assumption that just because you’re the manager, my preceptor, my teacher, my instructor, or my supervisor, that does not mean you are necessarily the expert.
Generation Z and Leadership has changed.
Who’s the expert?
The internet.
This is the first generation to truly perceive the internet as an expert. Does that mean you can’t tell a Generation Z what to do? Of course, you can. All of us need to be told what to do, especially when we’re doing something we’ve never done before. Millennials told us what to do when we were trying to figure out our smartphones.
How to Lead Generation Z
There are some situations where we do tell people what to do, especially if they have never done it before. But when it comes to moving beyond those basic skills, it becomes more of a coaching exercise with Generation Z, versus a telling exercise. This means that you’re going to put a priority over inquisitiveness and curiosity, versus telling someone.
The second thing you want to do is give timely feedback. For Generation Z that timely feedback is vital. so for example we’ll go back to the preceptor examples Dr. Pogge said: “My students know that as soon as our rounds are done, I’m going to give them feedback. I’ve told them that from the beginning, so they will be expecting it!“
Do You Have to Coddle Generation Z?
Not at all! It is the end goal that we help people develop to be the best that they can be. To come to work prepared and ready. If we have to change our approach to make that successful, why is that mad?
Next week, we’ll continue to investigate the incredible generations we work with, live with, interact with and talk to every day.
Is Generation Z Partying Too Much During the Pandemic?
Is Generation Z partying during this pandemic, or is there something else going on?
Recently the New York Times reported that over 250 cases of the coronavirus could be traced directly back to parties held at fraternities, sororities, and off-campus parties.
The members of the fraternities and sororities and all the colleges and universities are mostly dominated by generation Z. This is the generation born after 1997. They are the youngest generation in the workforce. They account for 25% of the population.
Some of you might be thinking that I am picking on the fraternities and sororities. I’ll be honest with you, I learned a lot from the 1978 film ‘Animal House’, starring John Belushi. My parents took me to see it when I was eight years old.
All these reports in the news lately about the younger generation not social distancing and behaving poorly during this health care crisis may leave us with the impression that the younger generation, generation Z, does not care about COVID 19 and spreading into others. However, research shows that generation Z does care about COVID 19 and how it is impacting them and their family members.
According to Morning Consult, generation Z views the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement as the two most impactful events in their lifetime. Every generation is impacted by the generational signposts. It shapes a generation, and the coronavirus is definitely shaping generation Z!
Every generation has been impacted by this virus. The difference is that generation Z, the youngest generation of the workforce is going to be impacted by it, and living with the effects of it much longer than the other generation.
According to Gen Z Identity Lab, 57% of Gen Z reported that if infected, they were willing to share their location through the use of apps to help track the disease and prevent it from spreading. This was the highest set of all the generations when asked this question. Also in the same study reported that generation Z was taking actions to be careful during the pandemic not just to protect themselves, but also to protect their loved ones.
According to Business Wire, 60% of Gen Z report wearing a face mask at all times while in public, followed closely by millennials at 55%. So while the virus has forced generation Z, just like it’s done to all of us, to delay plans, postpone travel, and miss out on some of life’s big moments, not all of generation Z is going out to party.
In fact, many of them are doing some incredible things to lift us up during this unprecedented time. Zoomers to Boomers began in Los Angeles, California after the pandemic. Teenagers shopped for elderly people or people who had compromised immune systems and it was not safe for them to shop for themselves. Zoomers to Boomers have now spread to several states across the country. It’s a volunteer group helping senior citizens fight social isolation through the use of technology during this crisis.
Remember that from Baby boomers, gen Xers, millennials… Gen Z, out of all the generations, Gen Z is going to live with the fallout from the pandemic the longest and it’s going to be interesting to watch them shape the new world.
Next week, we will talk about the multiple generations and explore the ways we can communicate and connect across generational lines.