Corporate Alt Girl

The entry of Millennials and Gen Z into the workforce has brought about significant shifts in the expectations and preferences of employees. Consequently, it has brought on a lack of evolution in leadership & management across generations. This generational change has also created some resistance to evolving leadership and management practices in the workplace. Today, we will cover contributing factors to resistance and what we can do to work harmoniously across generations.

1. Traditional Leadership Styles: Many organizations still adhere to traditional hierarchical leadership styles that may not resonate with younger generations. Command-and-control approaches, top-down decision-making, and rigid hierarchies are outdated and stifling to creativity and autonomy. What we can do to combat this is provide education and awareness to leaders and managers. This can include topics such as: values, characteristics, and preferences of Millennials and Gen Z. While management can argue that they are not here to cater to employees, at the end of the day, the employees are carrying out the work to achieve their departmental goals and it would make for a more pleasant workplace for all if older generations showed some interest in the wellbeing of the people who go to work for them every day.
2. Resistance to Change: Resistance to change is a common phenomenon in any organization. Senior leaders and managers who have been accustomed to traditional practices may be hesitant to adopt new leadership approaches. Fear of the unknown, uncertainty about the effectiveness of new methods, and a preference for maintaining the status quo can hinder the evolution of leadership styles. Instead of resisting, we should encourage collaboration and participation in some decision making. It’s easy as a seasoned manager to assume that younger employees don’t have the knowledge to succeed, but we quickly forget that sometimes new eyes see missed opportunities within daily operations. Additionally, younger employees are usually our frontline, they know our customers better than anyone else and receive feedback daily that can be valuable for management to improve on. And by allowing our younger employees to be involved, they are preparing to take over as older generations began to prepare to exiting the workforce.
3. Generation Gap: There can be a disconnect between older leaders and younger employees due to differing values, communication styles, and work expectations. This gap can make it challenging for established leaders to understand and adapt to the needs and preferences of millennials and Gen Z, impeding the evolution of leadership practices. For example, a preference of Millennials and Gen Z is to have a good worklife balance. They would rather have time off or flexibility over their schedules than a “title” in the workplace. By shifting the business focus to being result-oriented over strict hours, we see a higher retention rate of Millennials and Gen Z.
4. Perception of Entitlement: Some older generations perceive millennials and Gen Z as entitled or unwilling to put in the same level of effort or commitment as previous generations. This perception may lead to resistance in providing younger employees with more autonomy, flexibility, and participatory decision-making roles. But, there is a great, not easy, but definitely great fix: mentorship & reverse mentoring. This is when an an experienced leader mentors younger employees and where younger employees mentor leaders. It facilitates knowledge transfers such as company processes for younger employees to learn, or skills to navigate and leverage technology for older employees. Either way, there is always some thing that we can learn from each other.
5. Lack of Understanding: There may be a lack of understanding or awareness among leaders about the characteristics, strengths, and aspirations of Millennials and Gen Z. Without this understanding, it becomes difficult to implement leadership and management practices that align with the expectations of these younger generations. To ease these pains, leadership must prioritize purpose and social impact in the workplace. Younger generations have held businesses accountable in Corporate Social Responsibility and by aligning expectations, we can see greater success.

By addressing these factors and adapting leadership and management practices to better suit the preferences and expectations of millennials and Gen Z, organizations can overcome resistance and create an environment that fosters the growth and development of the younger workforce. Afterall, it’s proven that employee retention brings higher performance and greater customer satisfaction.