Jan. 6, 2026

Gen Z Isn’t the Problem—They’re the Upgrade Leadership Needs

Gen Z Isn’t the Problem—They’re the Upgrade Leadership Needs
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Every generation is accused of lowering the bar. History proves the opposite. Gen Z is raising expectations around emotional intelligence, earned authority, and meaningful work—and leaders are feeling the pressure. In this episode featuring Gen Z expert Tim Elmore, we explore why resisting Gen Z misses the point, and how leaders who rise to their standards can build destination workplaces no generation wants to leave.

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The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are

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What's working on Purpose? Anyway? Each week we ponder the

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answer to this question. People ache for meaning and purpose

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at work, to contribute their talents passionately and know their

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lives really matter. They crave being part of an organization

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that inspires them and helps them grow into realizing their

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highest potential. Business can be such a force for good

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in the world, elevating humanity. In our program, we provide

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guidance and inspiration to help usher in this world we

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all want working on Purpose. Now here's your host, doctor

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Elise Cortez.

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Welcome back to the Working and Purpose Program, which has

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been brought to you with passionate and pride since February

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of twenty fifteen. Thanks for tuning in this week. Great

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to have you. I am your host, doctor Realis Cortes.

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If we've not met before and you don't know me,

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I'm a workforce advisor, organizational psychologist, management consultant, local therapists,

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speaker and author. My team and I Augusta now help

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companies to enliven and fortify their operations by building a dynamic,

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high performance culture, inspirational leadership, and nurturing managers activated by

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meaning and purpose. Many organizations are not aware of how

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critical it is to invest in developing their leaders and

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managers not just for their own effectiveness, but also to

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avoid burnout and keep them fulfilled, and so that they

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can measure and monitor the purpose experience in the organization

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to keep it working. As an operational imperative. All those

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things are available, And did you know that inspired employees

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outperform their satisfied peers by a factor of two point

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twenty five to one. In other words, inspiration is good

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for the bottom line. You can learn Morebrous on how

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we can work together at Gusto Dashnau dot com or

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my personal site, Atliscortes dot com. Getting in today's program

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we have with us doctor Tim Elmore. He's the founder

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of Growing Leaders in Atlanta based nonprofit organization Cruited to

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develop emerging leaders. His work were out of twenty years

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serving alongside doctor John Maxwell. He has written more than

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thirty eight books, which include Habitudes, Images that form leadership,

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habits and attitudes. Also a new kind of diversity, making

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the different generations on your team a competitive advantage, and

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the one we're talking about today, The future begins with Z.

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Nine strategies to lead Generation Z as they disrupt the workplace.

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We'll be talking about who Gen Z is, what contributed

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to forming them, and how they contribute to the workplace,

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and finishing by discussing a few of Tim's strategies to

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lead them. He joined today from Atlanta, Doctor Elmore, A

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hearty welcome to working on Purpose.

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Thank you, Elise, It's an honor to be with you.

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Likewise, sir, I don't know how I'm where this is

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in the mix, if this is like thirty seven or

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six or whatever, but I really really really enjoyed this,

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my friend. I really learned a lot. You taught me

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so much about this generation that I did not know.

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I'm excited to share this with our listeners and viewers.

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I have my own gen zer, my one daughter, she's

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twenty two, and even just learned about you know, kind

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of her and such and could really relate to what

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you taught me. So excited to dig in? Shall we?

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Yeah, let's do. Let's do.

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Okay, Well, first we've got to start by celebrating your

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amazing life and career. I mean, first, come on twenty

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years with John Maxwell, and then you know your own

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background of developing leaders, and you've been of course focused

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on helping to develop the understanding generations. So let's just

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hear a little bit about like a sort of a

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smattering tour of that amazing life and career.

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Sure. Yeah, well I did start working under John Maxwell

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out of college, so I'm a very very lucky Smorry.

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I mean, how wanted to tear out who was fortune? Yeah?

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Well, I always tell people if I don't do a

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good job today, it's my own fault because I had

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the great serious So worked for John for twenty years.

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But all the while John was teaching business leaders, faith

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based leaders, nonprofit leaders, I kept thinking, we got to

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get this to the next generation. What if we could

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learn it at eighteen, not thirty eight before we messed

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up a company and a marriage and everything else, you know.

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So I was always focused even those years under John

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it how could we get this to a young person.

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And when I say young person, maybe not five years old,

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but somewhere between teenagers and twenty somethings where they're really

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making big decisions about their life and their career and

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their and their and their marriage. So that's what Growing

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Leaders was. I started in two thousand and three. It's

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a nonprofit organization that partners with schools and youth organizations

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around the world, and we have been working with them

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to alongside reading, writing, arithmetic, which they're already getting at school,

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really building life skills and leadership skills in that next gen.

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So this book was really written to that leader, business leader, teacher,

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coach who may be getting a little frustrated with that

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young person that just showIn the team because they're so different.

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And I'm trying to build a bridge between the young

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and the old so that we can really do the

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handoff we need to do well.

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I really sorely needed Tim, and you know, I'm out

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to help champion you know, destination workplaces, create places cultures

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of gusto inspirational leaders. And to your point, I hear

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many leaders who are frustrated and don't know how to

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handle and manage and lead this incoming generation. Which is

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why I was thrilled to have you come on. And

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I was not super surprised to learn in your book

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that for the average gen Z employee are staying on

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the job for two years and three months, which is

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actually not a super you know, short time, but it's

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not very long time either.

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Yeah, it isn't. In fact, everybody intuitively knows the younger

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generations have a short attention span board more quickly than

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perhaps older generations did, so yeah, they're kind of in

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and out. I heard a friend, a CEO of a company, say,

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the corporate ladder has become the corporate lily pad. So

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you're hopping around from job to job like a lily pad.

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So that's why I argue in this book, if we're

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going to keep the good ones like we want to keep,

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we may have to change the way we lead and

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the platforms we build for them to flourish and want

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to stay at the job.

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I have a couple of gen ziers working for me

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or with me, and they are rock stars. Good good,

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I mean just rock stars. And my daughter is twenty two,

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she's a rock star. Yeah. So you know what I

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want us to get out of this conversation and help

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our listeners and viewers with is learning how to tap

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into and unleash their genius, which I think you do

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so beautifully in your book. So one of the many

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things I appreciated is when you kind of compare and

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contrast different generations. And one of the things that you

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do is you compare more of the seasoned, longer term

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veterans that have been in the workplace for a while,

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and of course these incoming younger rookies. And I thought

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it would be helpful if we could talk a little

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bit about some of that compare and contrast with comparison.

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If we could, Yeah, I w'd love to. First of all,

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you know this, You've already said it yourself. I really

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do believe in generation CE. I've had my own share

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of frustrations because they are different than I am, And

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of course I want people to be like me. You

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know it's easier, sure, Yeah, But I take a challenger

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voice in this book. I challenge the assumptions we have

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that ah, kids today, they're lazy slackers. They're on their

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phones all the time, they show up late, they're wearing

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flip flops, all those things. And sometimes those things do happen.

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But what I think I've seen happening is our view

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of authority is shifting right before very eyes. Yes, and

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some of the respect that perhaps a typical president or

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CEO might want may not always be shown. But I'm

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going to contend it's not always disrespect. For instance, here's

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one Older generations tend to believe that your position gives

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you the right to influence. If you're the executive VP,

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you have the right influence, they might say, if they

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were honest, gen Z, that is your connection gives you

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the right to influence. Connect with me, build a relationship

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with me. Now, I know some older people are going, well,

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I don't have time for that. Well, I don't know

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if we can afford not to do that. Yes, if

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we want to keep the good ones like you have

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a lease on me me as well, we need to

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do that connection. So in these two columns, I have

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seasoned veterans certainly bring perspective from the past. We may

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have thirty forty years in our career. But the gen

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zers come in with perspective on the future. I found

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in my focus groups and my quantitative research they see

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what's coming quicker than people forty and Overdo we possess

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insights based on our past career. They possess intuition on

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what the future customer is going to look like. I

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am now tapping in to the gen zers on my

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team and saying, what do you think is coming? Well,

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here's what I do when I buy something, I'm thinking

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that's the future right there. So older folks or I

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should say seasoned veterans would say, well, older people have wisdom,

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and I believe that's true. Gen Z might say yeah,

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but older folks could be irrelevant, and that is true

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as well. One last thing I think far too often

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current leaders that may be over forty would treat leadership

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like a gatekeeper. You know, I'm a gatekeeper of the power,

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the budget, the people. And they would say, would you

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not act like a gatekeeper? Would you act like a guide?

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Be my shirp, a guide who's walking me up the mountain,

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and together we're going to score the you know, reach

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these heights, these new heights. If we can shift the

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way we see it. It doesn't mean we're not good leaders.

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In fact, I think it will mean we're better lying

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relying on our position to lead or lying relying on

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our connection.

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Mm hm. You know I've been saying for quite some

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time now, tim as I've continued to keep my finger

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on the pulse of the generations, and they're emerging. Is

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I release from me believe, and I would imagine you

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might somewhat align with this, is I really do believe

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that every generation makes us better as a species.

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Yes, they do.

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They make a contribution. They pull us forward in a way,

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and that's why it's so uncomfortable, because growth is never

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that kind of growth is never comfortable. And one of

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the many things that I got from your book that

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I thought was so interesting along those lines that I

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feel it seems that you're saying as well, and I

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believe I witness too, is the gen Z population. Of course,

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that's the youngest population. Those of you listening and viewing

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now have what's called the fluid intelligence. And if you

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could speak a little bit to that, I thought that

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was quite a fascinating idea.

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Yeah, well, you're absolutely right. If I can just echo

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what you just said, gen Z is going to make

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us better leaders if nothing else had happens, We're going

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to become better. I put early in the book generation

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Z is the sandpaper on my leadership I did not

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know I needed.

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I think that's such a powerful quote that came from

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your friend.

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Yeah, it is so. Doctor Raymond Kuttel way back in

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the nineteen seventies did some brain research well before we

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ever had the fMRI, and he said, in the first

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half of a long life, the first forty years, we

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experienced mostly fluid intelligence, which is what gen Z has.

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Later in life, we experienced crystallized intelligence. So fluid is

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about adaptation. Young people adapt very quickly. It's about creativity.

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They're often very very creative, innovative, et cetera. When we're older,

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it's not that we're never creative again, but we're much

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better at clarifying what we know and summarizing what we know.

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I think it's why Harvard professors that are very old

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often get the best marks from the students because they're

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able to say, don't pay attention to pay attention to

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that's what you need to know. So we need to

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capitalize on that fluid intelligence that let's say a twenty

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something brings in that even though we're a bit frustrated,

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I think we need to become fascinated at what they're saying,

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and maybe we need to learn to use the words

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help me understand dot dot dot we don't understand. Rather

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go on kids today, what are they talking about? So

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I really urge the reader of this book be the

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leader you need to be, but be open. One of

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the phrases I love to use is I want to

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speak in a meeting as if I believe I'm right,

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but I want to listen is if I believe I'm

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wrong and a better listener.

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Yeah.

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That's so powerful, Tim, so many, so many powerful things

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you said in the book. Well, one of the one

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of the many things that I learned from your book

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that I really didn't fully understand before when you were

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describing gen z And is what I wanted to focus

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on this first in this first segment, is you talk

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about how they're very advanced cognitively and biologically, but really

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quite behind socially and emotionally. Can you say a bit

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more about that?

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Yes, absolutely, So. Those are the four quadrants that educators

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use to measure maturation, So biological growth and gen z

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would be ahead. In fact, just think, listeners, they're reaching

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puberty at earlier ages. They're physically stronger each generation, better athletes,

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et cetera. And then cognitively they have put more in

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their brains at twelve years old than I had at

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eighteen years old. I think, sure, you do a sex

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talk with your child and they're teaching you something.

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Yeah, actually it's like this, yeah exactly.

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So those two categories they're advanced, but the ones they're

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behind in would be the social and emotional. And by

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the way, the pandemic did us no favors. Where they

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were learning on a screen, that's great, but they weren't socializing.

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And so those inner personal skills that a boss might

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really want you might have to teach them. And you

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might be going, what were your parents not teaching? No, No,

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they weren't. So I talk about you tell me if

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you want to talk of this now. But one of

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the big ideas in one of the early chapters, I

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talk about the Peter Pan paradox. Would that be okay

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to go for it? About? Okay? So it talks about

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this behind an advanced thing. So listeners, you know the

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character of Peter Pan I'm sure you saw the movie

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or read the book or whatever. But Peter Pan was

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this winsome character, right that was able to fly into

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London and sprinkle pixie dust everywhere and magical things happened. Right.

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The other side of the coin was Peter Pan never

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wanted to grow up. He wanted to live in neverland.

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It's just a metaphor, but I think we see this

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happening in the workplace today. The age of authority seems

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to be going down. We neither coming in without a title,

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but they had some authority. They know stuff that we

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don't know. But the age of maturity is going up,

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at least I say in the book, I've lost count

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of the number of employers that are saying twenty six

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is the new eighteen. That's scary. So cognitively, yeah, got it.

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But then you go, would you look me in the

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eyes sun you know what? Would you would you talk

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to me? And would you show up on time to

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the meeting? That would be nice. So some of those

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fundamental skills we're going to teach. So my takeaway on this,

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by the way, is simple, and it's twofold. We're gonna

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have to listen more than we ever used to listen,

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but we're going to have to coach more than we

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ever used to coach. If we're willing to do those

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two things, we're going to be able to win and

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keep those great Generation Z members that are coming to

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our office.

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And I really appreciate that because I certainly have gotten

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myself in trouble tim in that I have been in

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front of executive leader groups and where somebody will pup

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them and say I just can't manage the gen Z,

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and I'm like, I kind of get this point sort

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of thing going on, and I'm like, well, I don't

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know what use you're going to be to the organization

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because they're going to be them, and the Milan Pons

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will be the majority in just a few years, and

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if you can't manage them, I don't know what contribution

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you are to the organization. And one of the things

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that you say in your book is that many CEOs

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of instruction their teams not to hire first time job seekers,

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but let them cycle for their through their first job

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and you know, somebody else teach them some of these

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rudimentary skills and then we'll pick them up the second job.

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Yeah.

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Yeah, And I think that's what you're speaking to in

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your book is there's a real opportunity and within through

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your strategies we'll talk about in the last segment to

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really help them step up into that space where they

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can make that process of bringing them on board and

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getting them going and connected much more quick.

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Yeah. I don't blame anyone for either approach. So wait

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for it to be the second job.

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Sure.

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I know friends that are executives, they are going once

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they get past you know that first two years, they're

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going to have their sea legs. But then I love

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the leaders that are willing to say I'm willing to coach,

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I'm willing to get them ready.

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Yes.

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In the book, I talk about Orangely Frozen Yogurt as

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an example, their company that sells frozen yogurt, and they

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were noticing they were hiring seventeen, eighteen, nineteen year old

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kids and they were quitting after a year and a

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half because that's what happens in fast food restaurants. So

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they decided to pivot and they said, we want our

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goal for those young employees for this to be the

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best first job you could ever have. Yeah, you're probably

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going to go on to something else. But we want

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to build a platform for you to launch. Well that

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was so winsome to that interviewee who was in the

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teenage years, maybe twenty one and saying, really, you want

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to help me get started, and so orange Leaf said, well,

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tell me what you really want to grow in here.

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And if a job candidate said well, I want to

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learn marketing, Oh you need to meet Nancy, she heads

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up our marketing. She's fabulous, You'll learn so much. Or

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I want to learn bookkeeping, Oh, how need me?

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How?

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He's going to help you there. But you can see

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how they're adding value to those employees as well as

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getting work from them. And you can guess what they found.

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Those employees stayed longer because they're getting mentored. Sure, just

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good behavioral science. But if we'll be willing to make

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the investment, I think we're going to see a return

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on that investment.

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I'm in Tim, let's do it. Let's grab our first

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break while the let our listeners and viewers too. And

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what we've talked about so far and what really distinguishes

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who gen Z is. I'm your host, doctor Release Cortes,

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who are on the ear with doctor Tim Elmore. He's

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the founder of Growing Leaders in Atlanta based nonprofit organization

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created to develop emerging leaders. After the break, we're going

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to talk more about how gen Z was formed and

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shaped and what they bring to the workplace that's different.

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We'll be right back.

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Doctor Elise Cortez is a management consultant specializing in meaning

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and purpose. An inspirational speaker and author. She helps companies

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visioneer for a greater purpose among stakeholders and develop purpose

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inspired leadership and meaning infused cultures that elevate fulfillment, perform

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and commitment within the workforce. To learn more or to

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invite a lease to speak to your organization, please visit

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00:19:06.200 --> 00:19:09.440
her at elisecortes dot com. Let's talk about how to

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get your employees working on purpose. This is working on

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Purpose with doctor Elise Cortes. To reach our program today

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00:19:21.759 --> 00:19:24.480
or to open a conversation with Elise, send an email

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to a lease a LISEE at eliscortes dot com. Now

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00:19:29.880 --> 00:19:31.480
back to working on Purpose.

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Thanks for stating with us, and welcome back to working

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on Purpose. I'm your host, doctor Elise Cortes, as I

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am dedicated to helping create a world where organizations thrive

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because they're people thrive and they're led by inspirational leaders

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that help them find and contribute to their greatness, and

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we find ways to do business that betters the world.

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I keep researching and writing my own books, So one

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of my latest came out called A Great Revitalization. How

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activating meaning and purpose can theoretically and ligen your business.

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And I am route to help leaders understand today's evolving,

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very diverse and discerning workforce, and then I offer you

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twenty two best practices to equip you to provide that

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in your leadership and your culture. You can find my

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books on Amazon or my website at least Cortes dot

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com if you are just joining us. My guest is

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Tim Elmore. He's the author of the Future Begins with Z.

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Nine Strategies to lead Generation Z as they disrupt the workplace.

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So for this segment, Tim, I wanted to help our

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listeners and viewers understand how Gen Z became who they are,

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those critical inputs and inputs and influences that have really

401
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shaped them. And I love how you also do that

402
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in your book for all of the other generations too. And

403
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one of the things that I was surprised to learn

404
00:20:41.880 --> 00:20:44.759
I didn't I don't think I understood this was how

405
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important and central mental health is for gens. Yeah.

406
00:20:49.839 --> 00:20:52.400
Yeah, it's off putting to some older people, saying, what

407
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do you mean you got mental health problems? Come to work,

408
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leave your problems at home, you know. So Generation Z

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for the listener that I'm not exactly sure who that

410
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segment is. So social scientists have been naming these generations

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for many generations. So there was Gen X, who grew

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up in the sixties and seventies, and then Gen Y

413
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the millennials in the eighties and nineties. Gen Z would

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be those who really only have a memory of the

415
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twenty first century. They grew up in the twenty first century,

416
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so the early ones would be right about the turn

417
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of the century, and they have gone through even as children,

418
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three economic downturns. Mass shootings, Oh my gosh. The last

419
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few years there have been more mass shootings in America

420
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than we had days in the year. So I'm not

421
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saying everything's dark, but I'm just saying there's a cynicism

422
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that accompanies gen Z that wasn't a part of the millennials.

423
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They're a little bit jaded because when they look around them,

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they go are there any leaders worth following. I love

425
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what you're up to. You're building better, more healthy leaders

426
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worth following, so am I. But they're looking around going

427
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we're looking for them anyway. That would be the demographic

428
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that makes up gen Z, young adults and teens.

429
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Yeah, yeah, you know, so I definitely also appreciate it.

430
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You know, we all understand that that this particular demographic

431
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grew up with you know, their devices in their hands,

432
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which yeah, of course is deep in their addictions and

433
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their connection to it. But the other thing that you

434
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just hinted out there that I think is so so important,

435
00:22:24.119 --> 00:22:26.160
excuse me, which speaks to part of the disconnect in

436
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today's workplaces, their distrust of authority because they they've seen,

437
00:22:30.359 --> 00:22:32.799
you know, the raw dirt on so many leaders that

438
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you haven't gotten it done right or well, and they're like,

439
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you know, why should I follow someone like that? You don't,

440
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I don't. You don't get way a little to just

441
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because you have a title or the position. And I

442
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think that's critical that that we showcase this for leaders,

443
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because they're they're saying that is disrespect. And on the

444
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other side, what these young people also want is respect.

445
00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:56.480
Yeah, it's true, it's a mutual thing. So in the book,

446
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I talk about when there's a rub, when there's a

447
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little bit of a conflict, and I try to be

448
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really practical, so I give a lot of acronyms that

449
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will help you remember the steps. The acronym I give

450
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that leads to that respect piece. A lease is a leg.

451
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So for years and years we've used this little phrase, Well,

452
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this is the leg you got to stand on. Right,

453
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So al eg reminds me how I need to approach

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a gen zer. Perhaps if I'm just saying something I

455
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don't understand they've done something wrong. Maybe, So the letter

456
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A reminds me I need to start with asking, not

457
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telling them what they've done wrong, but asking. And like

458
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the phrase I just said, can you help me understand

459
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or tell me your thought process behind that decision you made?

460
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When we ask, they feel valued. Isn't you when you

461
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get asked a question? Oh you really? You want to know?

462
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The letter L reminds me I got to listen. It

463
00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:50.559
does very little good to ask any questions if we're

464
00:23:50.599 --> 00:23:52.920
not willing to do the work of listening. And when

465
00:23:52.920 --> 00:23:57.400
we listen, they feel heard. I love what David Augsburger

466
00:23:57.559 --> 00:24:01.480
Wance said being heard is so close to being loved.

467
00:24:02.240 --> 00:24:06.119
For the average person, it's indistinguishable. So you love them

468
00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:10.640
appropriately just by listening to them. The letter E is empathized.

469
00:24:10.799 --> 00:24:14.400
That's a that's a piece of art that I'm learning

470
00:24:14.519 --> 00:24:17.160
right now. I hate to admit it, but just learning

471
00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:21.039
to communicate. I get it. I understand you now. I'm

472
00:24:21.119 --> 00:24:23.240
seeing what you're saying. And maybe I learned to say

473
00:24:23.279 --> 00:24:25.440
things like, oh my gosh, I had no idea that happened,

474
00:24:25.559 --> 00:24:28.960
or that you felt awful when that happened. So here

475
00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:33.480
it is ask they feel valued, listen, they feel heard, empathize,

476
00:24:33.480 --> 00:24:37.359
they finally feel understood by you. And maybe that ten

477
00:24:37.400 --> 00:24:40.920
to twelve minute piece of time, you've now earned your

478
00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:44.000
right to practice the letter G, which is to guide them,

479
00:24:44.359 --> 00:24:46.440
and that you wanted to do in the first place.

480
00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:49.519
But you did it with a bridge you built, not

481
00:24:49.640 --> 00:24:53.000
a badge you wear. I just think that's the way

482
00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:53.640
to the future.

483
00:24:53.680 --> 00:24:57.559
Here me too, how beautiful and so much more civilized

484
00:24:57.599 --> 00:24:59.240
and elevator. And you know, it goes back to what

485
00:24:59.279 --> 00:25:02.559
I said, is this is how each generation makes us better.

486
00:25:02.759 --> 00:25:04.119
Yeah, it's true, you're right.

487
00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:07.000
Yeah. One of the things that you also did that

488
00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:09.440
I thought was helpful. Is you gave us some various

489
00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:12.960
terms that really summarize gen Z's world, you know? They

490
00:25:12.960 --> 00:25:16.400
of course, they include things like instant access and multicultural,

491
00:25:16.440 --> 00:25:20.279
immediate feedback, cancel culture. Can you talk a little bit

492
00:25:20.279 --> 00:25:22.640
more about some of those things that really distinguish and

493
00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:24.960
have helped mold gen Zose?

494
00:25:25.400 --> 00:25:28.000
Yes, at least these terms, thanks for bringing it up,

495
00:25:28.039 --> 00:25:31.440
are just simple two word terms that when I look

496
00:25:31.480 --> 00:25:35.319
at them, I get a brief glance at the typical

497
00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:39.319
and nobody's typical, but at the order gen Z or

498
00:25:39.680 --> 00:25:42.279
a world that they grew in that was instant access.

499
00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:45.319
They have not had to wait for a television program

500
00:25:45.400 --> 00:25:47.759
on you know, if they're on, unless they're on a

501
00:25:47.799 --> 00:25:52.160
network TV show on demand. Everything is on demand, a

502
00:25:52.240 --> 00:25:56.279
quick click, immediate feedback. They do expect you to text

503
00:25:56.279 --> 00:25:58.920
them right back if you know that sort of thing.

504
00:25:59.240 --> 00:26:01.759
Cancel culture. Want to talk about that for just a minute.

505
00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:06.319
I understand that we needed a dose of cancel culture.

506
00:26:07.079 --> 00:26:11.720
Harvey Weinstein needed to be canceled, for sure. However, there's

507
00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:14.400
been a pattern where that's been weaponized and it's not

508
00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:17.119
been helpful for gen Z or for leaders that are

509
00:26:17.119 --> 00:26:22.359
out there. When we practice a consistent form of cancel culture.

510
00:26:22.839 --> 00:26:26.640
It starts training our brain to go, oh, hardship. Best

511
00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:29.279
way to face hardship is just cancel it. Just get

512
00:26:29.400 --> 00:26:31.400
rid of it. And I'm going no, no, no. On

513
00:26:31.400 --> 00:26:33.960
the college campus, you might need to hear that speech

514
00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:36.359
that you don't agree with, but maybe you're going to

515
00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:39.720
be forced to think a little bit more critically. So anyway,

516
00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:42.599
I'll stop there instead of waxing eloquent here. But it

517
00:26:42.759 --> 00:26:45.480
really those terms helped me just wrap my arms around

518
00:26:45.480 --> 00:26:48.640
that younger generation that I want to understand to do

519
00:26:48.720 --> 00:26:49.440
well in the future.

520
00:26:52.759 --> 00:26:54.279
One of the other things that I thought was really

521
00:26:54.279 --> 00:26:57.240
interesting and let me share that I want to. I

522
00:26:57.279 --> 00:27:00.359
forget how it came up, but somewhere in I was

523
00:27:00.359 --> 00:27:03.559
prompted to ask my daughter who were her role models?

524
00:27:03.559 --> 00:27:07.640
Who did she really admire? And I was surprised to

525
00:27:07.720 --> 00:27:11.079
learn that you. My daughter is a graduate, she's a

526
00:27:11.119 --> 00:27:15.400
psychology graduate, she's now adulting, she has her first job,

527
00:27:15.920 --> 00:27:19.559
but she also has been a bodybuilder and competed as

528
00:27:19.559 --> 00:27:25.400
a bodybuilder. All of her role models were fitness experts

529
00:27:25.640 --> 00:27:29.240
and who have a TikTok channel. Yes, all of them,

530
00:27:29.599 --> 00:27:32.559
of course, all of them. And so one thing that

531
00:27:32.559 --> 00:27:34.440
you've said in your book that was interesting is that,

532
00:27:35.160 --> 00:27:37.160
you know, one of the great ironies of gen Z

533
00:27:37.400 --> 00:27:41.359
is that they value authenticity, but they live in such

534
00:27:41.359 --> 00:27:44.519
an artificial world. And that's what she also I asked,

535
00:27:44.599 --> 00:27:47.720
you know, what are these people, ask chat is what

536
00:27:47.720 --> 00:27:50.000
do these people have in common? They're authentic, they're real,

537
00:27:50.119 --> 00:27:53.000
they raw, they share their real stories of their lives.

538
00:27:53.240 --> 00:27:56.400
That's the authenticity piece that she seems to and I

539
00:27:56.440 --> 00:27:59.559
asked her afterwards. She said, that's yeah, that's part of

540
00:27:59.599 --> 00:28:00.720
the draw for them.

541
00:28:00.920 --> 00:28:04.359
Yeah, no doubt about it. And that's the oxymoron. Though

542
00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:06.960
they will long for authenticity. I think the last three

543
00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:10.720
generations all said we want authentic, leader, we want authenticity,

544
00:28:11.279 --> 00:28:14.599
and yet the same generation, not all, but many might

545
00:28:14.680 --> 00:28:17.759
take fifty selfies to get one good one and then

546
00:28:17.839 --> 00:28:20.680
filter it, doctorate up you know before post Am'm going, wait,

547
00:28:20.880 --> 00:28:24.559
that's not authentic, that's not raw and real. So there

548
00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:26.880
is both, and the Averageenzer would admit it. They go,

549
00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:29.319
I know, I know, we're such an oxymoronic, you know,

550
00:28:29.839 --> 00:28:32.359
but all of us are. We just need to admit it.

551
00:28:32.839 --> 00:28:35.799
So one of the terms I actually did a book

552
00:28:35.839 --> 00:28:39.319
on this a number of years ago. It sounds very derogatory,

553
00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:42.240
and I do not mean for it to sound derogatory,

554
00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:46.079
but it's a description of the culture we live in today.

555
00:28:46.480 --> 00:28:51.680
The term is artificial maturity. And here's what artificial maturity is,

556
00:28:51.960 --> 00:28:57.720
the summation of I think kids today are over exposed

557
00:28:57.759 --> 00:29:00.400
to information far earlier than they're ready and ge we

558
00:29:00.440 --> 00:29:03.440
agree with that, yes, but they're under exposed to first

559
00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:06.759
hand experiences later than they're ready. So I was working

560
00:29:06.799 --> 00:29:09.680
a job at age twelve, and my grandpa before me,

561
00:29:09.720 --> 00:29:12.599
I think, started at age nine on the farm. Today

562
00:29:12.839 --> 00:29:16.119
parents might say focus on academics. Do'll get your first

563
00:29:16.200 --> 00:29:19.000
job until you're done with college. Well, if done with

564
00:29:19.119 --> 00:29:21.519
college is the first job I got, they are going

565
00:29:21.599 --> 00:29:23.200
to not know how to be a professional with the.

566
00:29:23.160 --> 00:29:26.240
Office at all.

567
00:29:25.160 --> 00:29:28.319
And it's not their fault. But just know, you might

568
00:29:28.400 --> 00:29:31.680
see something that looks real. He may at twelve year

569
00:29:31.680 --> 00:29:34.039
old not be able to download the latest software. He

570
00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:37.079
knows all of this math tables, But that same boy

571
00:29:37.279 --> 00:29:40.240
at sixteen might not be able to look an adult

572
00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:43.079
in the eye and have a conversation because we taught

573
00:29:43.119 --> 00:29:45.480
one skill set on a screen, but not some of

574
00:29:45.480 --> 00:29:48.119
those real life skills that again, you and I Elisa

575
00:29:48.119 --> 00:29:49.920
are on the same page. We got to build this

576
00:29:49.960 --> 00:29:50.960
into the next generation.

577
00:29:52.240 --> 00:29:52.480
Yeah.

578
00:29:52.599 --> 00:29:54.359
I started working for my parents when I was thirteen

579
00:29:54.359 --> 00:29:57.720
in the restaurant business, and that really helped me handle

580
00:29:58.200 --> 00:30:00.119
and learn to your point. You know, you said that

581
00:30:00.960 --> 00:30:03.119
gen Z suffers a lot from self esteem and if

582
00:30:03.119 --> 00:30:07.680
we focus more on developing their capacities, their capabilities, then

583
00:30:07.680 --> 00:30:10.799
their self esteem will naturally grow. And so I got

584
00:30:10.839 --> 00:30:13.400
that by working. And I know many parents who don't

585
00:30:13.400 --> 00:30:16.599
want their kids to work during high school or even

586
00:30:16.640 --> 00:30:18.720
maybe college, which I do think is a disservice. And

587
00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:21.240
now it's playing out. And one of the things that

588
00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:23.440
I saw in your book that was really interesting. A

589
00:30:23.440 --> 00:30:27.160
couple of mega characteristics that used to describe them are

590
00:30:27.200 --> 00:30:30.920
a high sense of agency, being able to get things

591
00:30:30.960 --> 00:30:33.599
done and make things happen, and also a high sense

592
00:30:33.640 --> 00:30:34.480
of anxiety.

593
00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:38.279
Yeah. Yeah, so I'll comment on that if that's okay, please.

594
00:30:38.759 --> 00:30:43.880
These two again they seem so mutually exclusive. But the

595
00:30:43.960 --> 00:30:47.119
high sense of agency is a sense of self sufficiency.

596
00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:49.599
When we talk about a free agent, we mean that

597
00:30:49.680 --> 00:30:52.319
player on the ball field, It gets to go where

598
00:30:52.319 --> 00:30:54.640
every he wants to now, right, So a sense of

599
00:30:54.680 --> 00:30:56.920
agency as ooh, they feel like they can do it

600
00:30:56.960 --> 00:31:00.319
on their own. They feel sufficient, they feel empowered. But

601
00:31:00.400 --> 00:31:03.079
the anxiety, which is the other side of the same coin,

602
00:31:03.279 --> 00:31:06.599
is they might struggle with mental health issues. They might

603
00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:10.200
want to call their supervisor before the day begins and

604
00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:12.839
say I'm not coming in today. I'm not my best

605
00:31:12.839 --> 00:31:15.799
self today. And I want to say I'm not my

606
00:31:15.839 --> 00:31:18.000
best self either, but I'm at the office right now.

607
00:31:18.440 --> 00:31:21.799
So again, I like your grandpa. But both of these

608
00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:27.000
are oxymoronic, but they're coexisting. And here's my belief. Call

609
00:31:27.079 --> 00:31:29.200
me the master of the obvious. But both of these

610
00:31:29.319 --> 00:31:33.680
high agency, high anxiety were fostered by the smartphone. I

611
00:31:33.720 --> 00:31:37.039
feel sufficient because I know everything on this little device,

612
00:31:37.599 --> 00:31:40.759
but it's overwhelmed me with all of the notifications I'm

613
00:31:40.799 --> 00:31:44.279
getting every day. So yeah, I think we got ambushed

614
00:31:44.279 --> 00:31:47.440
by it. I think we got ambushed by smartphone. Yeah.

615
00:31:47.720 --> 00:31:50.039
I've had other guests on my show talking about just that.

616
00:31:51.680 --> 00:31:54.160
So I want to finish this segment here, just helping

617
00:31:54.240 --> 00:31:56.359
our listeners and viewers understand a little bit what you

618
00:31:56.440 --> 00:31:59.640
shared with us in your book, some specific things that

619
00:31:59.680 --> 00:32:02.079
we learned about gen Z and work, and including that

620
00:32:02.079 --> 00:32:06.119
they are the most diverse population at work. What forty

621
00:32:06.240 --> 00:32:09.559
eight percent of them are not white. You know, they

622
00:32:09.799 --> 00:32:12.200
all own a smartphone or most all them, ninety six percent.

623
00:32:12.359 --> 00:32:16.000
You know, they're smart consumers. Salary is a high motivator.

624
00:32:16.480 --> 00:32:18.799
You know, lots of different things in here that are

625
00:32:18.839 --> 00:32:24.480
just really really interesting. Less than half identified as purely heterosexual,

626
00:32:24.519 --> 00:32:29.359
meaning that their attractions are fluid, fiscally conservative, their top

627
00:32:29.400 --> 00:32:33.880
concern is income, and so many really interesting things that

628
00:32:33.960 --> 00:32:36.240
I thought were fascinating about gen Z.

629
00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:39.839
Yeah, they really are an interesting generation. They're not just

630
00:32:39.880 --> 00:32:43.200
a continuation of the Millennials, which oftentimes if we're not

631
00:32:43.680 --> 00:32:47.559
learned or studied, we might it's another general just like

632
00:32:47.559 --> 00:32:51.039
the last one. But they're really their own people. Millennials

633
00:32:51.079 --> 00:32:56.559
were idealistic. Gen Z might be a little pessimistic, and

634
00:32:56.640 --> 00:32:59.759
you can't blame them. So we need to make sure

635
00:32:59.759 --> 00:33:02.720
we all allow these young people to come in as individuals.

636
00:33:03.880 --> 00:33:05.720
I like to say, we need to play chess, not

637
00:33:05.880 --> 00:33:08.960
checkers with them. Checkers pieces all look alike, and they

638
00:33:08.960 --> 00:33:11.519
move alike chess pieces. You better know what they're, what

639
00:33:11.559 --> 00:33:14.279
they're all about, and what moves they make. So the

640
00:33:14.279 --> 00:33:17.519
best leaders I know play chess not checkers with their people.

641
00:33:17.799 --> 00:33:20.599
They get to know their personality, their strength, and their generation.

642
00:33:20.880 --> 00:33:25.519
Yeah, great stuff. Tim. Let's grab our last break here

643
00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:27.440
all our listeners and viewers too, and what we've been

644
00:33:27.480 --> 00:33:30.200
talking about, what has really gone into forming gen Z.

645
00:33:31.039 --> 00:33:33.359
I'm your host, doctor ELISEE. Cortes. We've been on the

646
00:33:33.359 --> 00:33:36.440
air with doctor Tim Elmore, the founder of Growing Leaders

647
00:33:36.480 --> 00:33:40.400
and Atlanta based nonprofit organization created to develop emergent leaders.

648
00:33:40.880 --> 00:33:42.640
After the break, we're going to talk a bit more

649
00:33:42.799 --> 00:33:46.480
about just some of the strategies that Tim puts forth

650
00:33:46.559 --> 00:33:50.640
on how to best lead this particular generation, as well

651
00:33:50.680 --> 00:33:52.519
as a few more things that gen Z brings to

652
00:33:52.559 --> 00:33:54.200
the workplace. We'll be right back.

653
00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:13.559
Doctor Elise Cortes is a management consultant specializing in meaning

654
00:34:13.639 --> 00:34:17.440
and purpose. An inspirational speaker and author, she helps companies

655
00:34:17.519 --> 00:34:21.320
visioneer for greater purpose among stakeholders and develop purpose inspired

656
00:34:21.400 --> 00:34:25.360
leadership and meaning infused cultures that elevate fulfillment, performance, and

657
00:34:25.440 --> 00:34:28.639
commitment within the workforce. To learn more or to invite

658
00:34:28.679 --> 00:34:31.440
a lease to speak to your organization, please visit her

659
00:34:31.480 --> 00:34:34.719
at Elisecortes dot com. Let's talk about how to get

660
00:34:34.760 --> 00:34:43.559
your employees working on purpose. This is working on purpose

661
00:34:43.679 --> 00:34:46.920
with doctor Elise Cortes. To reach our program today or

662
00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:49.719
to open a conversation with Elise, send an email to

663
00:34:49.800 --> 00:34:50.559
Alise A.

664
00:34:50.960 --> 00:34:52.800
L Se at.

665
00:34:52.599 --> 00:34:56.559
Elisecortes dot com. Now back to Working on Purpose.

666
00:35:02.079 --> 00:35:04.159
Interesting with us and welcome back to Working on Purpose.

667
00:35:04.239 --> 00:35:06.719
I am your host, doctor Relis Cortes. As you know

668
00:35:06.800 --> 00:35:09.400
by now, this program is dedicated to empowering and inspiring

669
00:35:09.440 --> 00:35:11.760
you along your journey to realize more of your potential

670
00:35:11.800 --> 00:35:14.440
and make you into a greater, more effective, inspiring leader.

671
00:35:15.079 --> 00:35:17.599
If you want to learn more about the Gusto Now

672
00:35:17.639 --> 00:35:20.679
Academy for leaders and individuals on various journeys alike, make

673
00:35:20.719 --> 00:35:23.679
your way to gustodashnow dot com and then go to

674
00:35:23.719 --> 00:35:25.599
the training tab and you can learn about the academy

675
00:35:25.599 --> 00:35:28.119
there if you are just now joining us. My guest

676
00:35:28.159 --> 00:35:30.599
is Tim Elmore. He's the author of the Future Begins

677
00:35:30.639 --> 00:35:33.840
with C nine Strategies to lead Generation C as they

678
00:35:33.840 --> 00:35:37.679
disrupt the workplace. So one of the other many things

679
00:35:37.679 --> 00:35:40.559
that I found interesting as you characterize gen Z and

680
00:35:40.639 --> 00:35:43.599
kind of what they bring some upsides, As you say

681
00:35:43.840 --> 00:35:47.480
to gen Z as this really high interest in entrepreneurship,

682
00:35:47.960 --> 00:35:50.679
I didn't realize that they have such a strong focus

683
00:35:50.719 --> 00:35:54.360
on social justice for the marginalized. I very much align

684
00:35:54.440 --> 00:35:57.800
with that. They have a higher sense of agency, as

685
00:35:57.880 --> 00:36:01.760
we've been talking about than past youth. They're natural hackers.

686
00:36:01.800 --> 00:36:04.559
This is really interesting and dig into and discover how

687
00:36:04.639 --> 00:36:08.599
things work, and a keener leadership, keener interest in leadership

688
00:36:08.639 --> 00:36:11.280
than previous generations. These are really quite interesting.

689
00:36:11.719 --> 00:36:12.360
Yeah, they are.

690
00:36:12.679 --> 00:36:14.280
To speak to a few of those.

691
00:36:14.320 --> 00:36:17.920
Yeah, those are not only interesting, they are so they

692
00:36:17.960 --> 00:36:20.559
make me hopeful, yes, yes, and optimistic.

693
00:36:20.840 --> 00:36:21.119
Yes.

694
00:36:21.199 --> 00:36:23.840
So I know. Leaders listening, it's easy to see the

695
00:36:23.920 --> 00:36:27.199
downside how they're not like you. But I'm telling you

696
00:36:27.239 --> 00:36:30.719
they bring I think, what the workplace needs, and they

697
00:36:30.760 --> 00:36:33.639
are the sandpaper on our leadership that will polish us

698
00:36:33.719 --> 00:36:36.519
up as leaders. But Alise, if you remember, I tell

699
00:36:36.599 --> 00:36:39.679
some stories in the book, and one of the stories

700
00:36:39.679 --> 00:36:43.400
I tell early on is my friend Colin Colin. I've

701
00:36:43.440 --> 00:36:46.159
known Colin since he was in high school, and he

702
00:36:46.239 --> 00:36:49.320
graduated a very smart high school graduate, and so he

703
00:36:49.360 --> 00:36:52.639
went off to MIT. Not a bad gig. He did

704
00:36:52.760 --> 00:36:55.360
very well at MIT, and so he had a number

705
00:36:55.400 --> 00:36:58.719
of job offers when he got finished. Well, he decided

706
00:36:58.760 --> 00:37:01.960
to move to Detroit, Michigan to work for one of

707
00:37:02.000 --> 00:37:06.599
the Big three General Motors, so we went into automaking.

708
00:37:06.920 --> 00:37:09.079
They put him in the smart car division, which was

709
00:37:09.079 --> 00:37:12.880
a smart move. But Colin, as a young twenty two

710
00:37:13.039 --> 00:37:15.960
year old, looked around and saw all kinds of things

711
00:37:15.960 --> 00:37:18.400
that they could do better. Now you could already think

712
00:37:18.440 --> 00:37:21.159
now that'd be off putting if you're twenty two. I'm

713
00:37:21.360 --> 00:37:23.639
fifty two. You know, what are you doing? Buddy? But

714
00:37:23.800 --> 00:37:27.039
Colin writes him down, and I might add he's very respectful.

715
00:37:27.039 --> 00:37:29.800
He would never do anything arrogant or haughty or anything

716
00:37:29.880 --> 00:37:33.360
like that. But Colin took this list of ideas to

717
00:37:33.519 --> 00:37:36.599
his supervisor and he didn't get a he didn't get

718
00:37:36.599 --> 00:37:39.199
a great review. His supervisor, Hey, buddy, we didn't bring

719
00:37:39.239 --> 00:37:42.239
you any give us any ideas. You keep your head down,

720
00:37:42.400 --> 00:37:45.599
keep your nose to the grindstone, just do your work well.

721
00:37:45.760 --> 00:37:48.400
Colin I'm sure, said yes, sir. But he went back

722
00:37:48.440 --> 00:37:52.880
to his desk and he decided this is an audacious

723
00:37:52.920 --> 00:37:56.679
gen Z type move to email the CEO of General Motors,

724
00:37:56.719 --> 00:38:00.559
Mary Bara, and he writes a note, Dear Mary, this

725
00:38:00.599 --> 00:38:03.679
is Colin. I cut some ideas that might make GM better,

726
00:38:04.079 --> 00:38:06.800
and he thought they could do professional development better, and

727
00:38:06.840 --> 00:38:09.599
they probably could. You know, do this system better, that

728
00:38:09.679 --> 00:38:13.880
process better. Well, she emails him back. She replies back

729
00:38:13.920 --> 00:38:16.760
and says, Colin, these are really good ideas. Let me

730
00:38:16.840 --> 00:38:20.039
take them to my executive team. So she takes them

731
00:38:20.079 --> 00:38:23.480
to her executive team. They agree, these are really good ideas.

732
00:38:24.079 --> 00:38:27.119
But as you can imagine, when those ideas make their

733
00:38:27.119 --> 00:38:30.400
way down the organizational chart into that middle manager, that

734
00:38:30.480 --> 00:38:35.000
supervisor of Collins, they die on the vine again. Colin

735
00:38:35.159 --> 00:38:37.880
was told you need to be around here eight years

736
00:38:37.880 --> 00:38:41.440
before you get to lead anything. Well you might as

737
00:38:41.519 --> 00:38:46.800
well have told him to leave. Within a year, Colin quits.

738
00:38:46.840 --> 00:38:50.320
And he's not a quitter, but he quits. He has

739
00:38:50.400 --> 00:38:54.760
started three organ He's the entrepreneur. He has started three companies,

740
00:38:55.320 --> 00:38:58.079
just sold one of them, so he's doing quite well financially.

741
00:38:58.519 --> 00:39:02.679
He just started a new one called Avatar Robotics, where

742
00:39:02.760 --> 00:39:07.000
you can pick up something in Orlando and something moves

743
00:39:07.039 --> 00:39:09.960
in Sacramento. And I do not know how it works,

744
00:39:09.960 --> 00:39:12.880
but I'm thinking this is a great example of what

745
00:39:12.920 --> 00:39:16.440
I'm talking about. They bring some magic. Now, not everybody's

746
00:39:16.440 --> 00:39:19.480
calling for sure. In fact, sometimes you may find one

747
00:39:19.519 --> 00:39:22.159
you go. I'm still looking for that gold inside. Keep looking.

748
00:39:22.679 --> 00:39:25.920
But I think they bring something like this, with that

749
00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:30.079
same spirit, let's do something new at work. And so

750
00:39:30.159 --> 00:39:32.679
I talk about Maggie in the book. I think you

751
00:39:32.880 --> 00:39:37.760
saw that Maggie story and saw the need for schools

752
00:39:37.840 --> 00:39:41.599
in Madagascar. And so she makes school buildings with three

753
00:39:41.679 --> 00:39:45.800
D printers. I would not know where to start. She's

754
00:39:45.880 --> 00:39:51.880
done it. And Makasinski. Anne had a Facebook pal when

755
00:39:51.920 --> 00:39:53.760
she was in high school. She's no longer in high

756
00:39:53.760 --> 00:39:57.440
school now, but she was interacting with this friend in

757
00:39:57.480 --> 00:40:00.360
the Philippines, and she asked her friend how she was

758
00:40:00.400 --> 00:40:03.480
doing one time, and her friend said, well, I'm flunking

759
00:40:03.519 --> 00:40:06.159
all my classes. Well, An said, how could you be

760
00:40:06.159 --> 00:40:09.239
flunking You're smarter than I am. And her friend explained

761
00:40:09.239 --> 00:40:12.119
that the village where she lived it was not Manila.

762
00:40:12.719 --> 00:40:14.960
She said, we don't have any electricity, so when the

763
00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:18.079
sun goes down, I can't do my homework and I'm

764
00:40:18.119 --> 00:40:22.360
not finishing my projects. Well, that would have I probably

765
00:40:22.360 --> 00:40:23.880
would have said, I'll pray for you, you know, or

766
00:40:23.920 --> 00:40:27.079
something like that. But here's what Anne did and was

767
00:40:27.119 --> 00:40:31.079
a science nut. She creates This is not a joke,

768
00:40:31.159 --> 00:40:34.719
this is a real story. She creates a flashlight that

769
00:40:35.039 --> 00:40:37.920
the powers generated from the body heat from your hand.

770
00:40:38.760 --> 00:40:41.559
You hold it and the light goes on, and she

771
00:40:42.159 --> 00:40:44.320
creates it. She wins a science Fair award, as you

772
00:40:44.320 --> 00:40:46.960
can imagine, sends it over to a friend. Her friend

773
00:40:47.000 --> 00:40:49.920
starts passing classes. She then developed one that could be

774
00:40:50.039 --> 00:40:53.559
like a like a helmet and let you oh my gosh.

775
00:40:53.760 --> 00:40:55.760
And then real quick, I need to tell you about

776
00:40:55.880 --> 00:40:59.039
Kent and Lee, who as a twenty two year old

777
00:40:59.519 --> 00:41:03.480
went to a country in Africa and a developing nation,

778
00:41:04.320 --> 00:41:08.039
and noticed that the kids there either didn't have shoes

779
00:41:08.679 --> 00:41:11.559
or they were wearing shoes that had the toes cut

780
00:41:11.599 --> 00:41:15.039
out because their feet were growing on the shoes. And

781
00:41:15.079 --> 00:41:16.760
he goes, what's up with this? Why don't you get

782
00:41:16.760 --> 00:41:19.519
new shoes? They go, we can't get new shoes. Can

783
00:41:19.880 --> 00:41:24.079
invented the shoe that grows. That's what it calls. And

784
00:41:24.119 --> 00:41:26.760
it's three different parts that can grow with your foot

785
00:41:26.800 --> 00:41:29.400
all the way from elementary school to high school. And

786
00:41:29.440 --> 00:41:34.280
I'm thinking this is so encouraging to me, ideas that

787
00:41:34.400 --> 00:41:39.639
I would not think so anyway. I listeners, just take

788
00:41:39.719 --> 00:41:42.880
heart if you can stick with them and somehow coach

789
00:41:42.920 --> 00:41:45.480
them up. But then listen up. I'm telling you, I

790
00:41:45.519 --> 00:41:47.360
think we have a bright future. I really do.

791
00:41:47.559 --> 00:41:50.880
I do too, and it's dang off the charts inspiring. Tim. Yeah,

792
00:41:51.000 --> 00:41:53.159
and so that's part of why I wanted to have

793
00:41:53.199 --> 00:41:55.920
you on is I want. What I want is for

794
00:41:56.000 --> 00:41:58.760
these leaders to recognize, I know this is uncomfortable, I

795
00:41:58.800 --> 00:42:01.559
know this is hard, and this this idea of as

796
00:42:01.599 --> 00:42:04.840
you say, Adam Grant talks about this democratization of the

797
00:42:04.840 --> 00:42:08.199
workplace where there's a power shift between the organization and

798
00:42:08.239 --> 00:42:10.239
the employee. Now, and of course leaders don't like that.

799
00:42:10.280 --> 00:42:13.119
Who wants to give up power and control? But when

800
00:42:13.159 --> 00:42:14.920
you do, this is the kind of stuff that you

801
00:42:14.960 --> 00:42:18.480
get rewarding with. And so I'm really excited to I mean,

802
00:42:18.519 --> 00:42:20.519
my gen Zer, this is the kind of stuff they

803
00:42:20.559 --> 00:42:23.559
do with me. We haven't quite developed, you know, you know,

804
00:42:23.639 --> 00:42:27.199
schools through three D printing just yet. But give me

805
00:42:27.280 --> 00:42:27.960
until next week.

806
00:42:27.960 --> 00:42:28.639
I think that's right.

807
00:42:28.719 --> 00:42:32.199
Yes, So let's just do this. You gave us nine

808
00:42:32.199 --> 00:42:34.920
strategies in your book on how to really lead effectively.

809
00:42:34.920 --> 00:42:36.280
Of course we don't have time to get to all

810
00:42:36.320 --> 00:42:38.440
of them, so I want to get just a couple

811
00:42:38.519 --> 00:42:40.199
of them, and I want to start if you could

812
00:42:40.239 --> 00:42:42.679
share I thought the idea of the strategy of the

813
00:42:42.760 --> 00:42:46.599
welcome wagon to make these new incoming gen Zers want

814
00:42:46.639 --> 00:42:49.320
to stay was really powerful. Can you bring that general

815
00:42:49.360 --> 00:42:50.800
strategy to life for absolutely?

816
00:42:50.800 --> 00:42:52.920
I'll try to do this in just a few minutes here,

817
00:42:53.039 --> 00:42:56.000
but this is crucial that we get it down. So

818
00:42:56.119 --> 00:42:59.519
many people are losing Generation Zers even if they stay,

819
00:43:00.079 --> 00:43:02.840
because they didn't begin well. I believe we need to

820
00:43:02.840 --> 00:43:05.440
make that first week unforgettable. I know that sounds like

821
00:43:05.480 --> 00:43:09.000
what are we of youth group here with balloons? And

822
00:43:09.119 --> 00:43:11.000
you don't have to be a youth group, but I'm

823
00:43:11.000 --> 00:43:13.039
telling you, if you can make that first day or

824
00:43:13.079 --> 00:43:16.360
first week unforgettable, you've got something. But at least I

825
00:43:16.519 --> 00:43:20.159
believe it actually begins before that. I think it begins

826
00:43:20.159 --> 00:43:23.719
at the interview process. I think the interview process, at

827
00:43:23.800 --> 00:43:25.519
least as far as gen Z goes, needs to be

828
00:43:25.559 --> 00:43:29.360
a two way street. Absolutely hiring managers not just asking

829
00:43:29.400 --> 00:43:32.280
a bunch of questions of them, but they are also

830
00:43:33.679 --> 00:43:36.960
questions are coming back. So I offer another acronym, and

831
00:43:37.000 --> 00:43:41.079
it's perks p E RKS. I believe, aside from can

832
00:43:41.159 --> 00:43:44.400
you do the job, Josh, we need to be asking

833
00:43:44.519 --> 00:43:48.159
letter P what are your preferences when you come to work?

834
00:43:48.199 --> 00:43:50.960
What would you prefer and this is not strong. It's

835
00:43:51.000 --> 00:43:54.159
not expectations and demands. It's just what would you like

836
00:43:54.199 --> 00:43:56.360
to see? What would you wish for? And they might

837
00:43:56.360 --> 00:43:58.119
say I'd love a coke machine in the dining room.

838
00:43:58.199 --> 00:44:00.800
Oh that's we can do that, you know. But finding

839
00:44:00.840 --> 00:44:03.239
out their preferences tells you a lot about who they are,

840
00:44:03.920 --> 00:44:07.199
what they wish for, and it may inform how you

841
00:44:07.400 --> 00:44:12.199
connect with them. The letter is expectations. That's stronger than preferences.

842
00:44:12.719 --> 00:44:15.440
I assume this will be true, and you can learn

843
00:44:15.480 --> 00:44:18.679
a lot about a gen Z. On the upside, it

844
00:44:18.679 --> 00:44:21.360
may tell you right then and there, hey this is

845
00:44:21.400 --> 00:44:23.159
not going to work out. I'm sorry, that's never going

846
00:44:23.199 --> 00:44:25.039
to happen. I need to walk you to the door.

847
00:44:25.199 --> 00:44:30.199
I wish the best, but expectations. Here's my belief. Conflict

848
00:44:30.360 --> 00:44:35.320
expands based on the distance between expectations and reality. And

849
00:44:35.400 --> 00:44:37.559
unless we talk about them up front, we're going to

850
00:44:37.559 --> 00:44:41.519
see trouble in six months when they're gossiping in the

851
00:44:41.559 --> 00:44:44.039
break room, when we should have solved that problem early

852
00:44:44.079 --> 00:44:47.920
on the letter RS requirements. At least. This probably sounds crazy,

853
00:44:48.199 --> 00:44:51.880
but gen Z is so strong based on the input

854
00:44:51.960 --> 00:44:55.280
from social media. They have demands that we're going to

855
00:44:55.519 --> 00:44:58.280
march for this cause in March or whatever. I don't know.

856
00:44:59.199 --> 00:45:01.960
And you again, you just need to get ready. They

857
00:45:01.960 --> 00:45:04.639
are social justice people, which is not a bad thing,

858
00:45:05.119 --> 00:45:07.320
but you need to make sure that those demands you

859
00:45:07.400 --> 00:45:09.239
either talk about it, I'm right up front, or say

860
00:45:09.360 --> 00:45:11.800
I'm so sorry that's not going to happen. The letter

861
00:45:11.880 --> 00:45:15.559
k is keys. I have found it so helpful to

862
00:45:15.559 --> 00:45:17.880
find out the keys to their heart. Now this is

863
00:45:17.960 --> 00:45:21.119
a five minute conversation, it's not fifty minutes. But what

864
00:45:21.199 --> 00:45:23.239
makes you tick? What are your hobbies, what do you love,

865
00:45:23.760 --> 00:45:26.559
what do you care about? Yeah, and minimally we got

866
00:45:26.559 --> 00:45:29.599
Hallway conversation. Now if we hire them, we hey, how

867
00:45:29.599 --> 00:45:30.400
about those cubs?

868
00:45:30.440 --> 00:45:30.679
You know?

869
00:45:31.559 --> 00:45:34.079
And then the letter s of course's salary, which you

870
00:45:34.239 --> 00:45:37.199
probably posted on the website. But I have found too

871
00:45:37.199 --> 00:45:40.480
many times you got to still talk about it because

872
00:45:40.519 --> 00:45:43.920
they're wanting something. And by the way, I didn't say

873
00:45:43.920 --> 00:45:46.400
this in the book, but more and more parents are

874
00:45:46.519 --> 00:45:50.079
joining their gen zer at the job interview. It's a

875
00:45:50.119 --> 00:45:53.039
little bit scary and a little bit crazy, but mama

876
00:45:53.159 --> 00:45:57.480
wants to negotiate the compensation package for junior. So anyway

877
00:45:57.559 --> 00:45:59.719
perks may be a great handle for you to add

878
00:45:59.719 --> 00:46:01.079
to your interview process.

879
00:46:01.320 --> 00:46:03.960
Yeah, amazing, Tim. You know, there's so much more we

880
00:46:03.960 --> 00:46:05.679
can talk about. That's why Ridgess' lisions. You just got

881
00:46:05.719 --> 00:46:07.159
to pick up the book right because there's just so

882
00:46:07.239 --> 00:46:10.199
much for you to learn here. You have a chapter

883
00:46:10.440 --> 00:46:13.880
dedicated to critical conversations and offering tough feedback and really

884
00:46:13.920 --> 00:46:16.960
situate how feedback can be really hard for gen Z

885
00:46:17.079 --> 00:46:19.599
because that's not at all what they condition to receive,

886
00:46:19.639 --> 00:46:21.880
and so it's really difficult to give it to them.

887
00:46:22.239 --> 00:46:25.760
And I loved your whole velvet and brick sort of analogy.

888
00:46:25.840 --> 00:46:27.880
We don't really have time to talk about that, but

889
00:46:27.960 --> 00:46:29.599
I just wanted to sort of queue it up and

890
00:46:29.599 --> 00:46:33.199
tease their listeners and viewers. I think it's just brilliant, Tim.

891
00:46:34.199 --> 00:46:37.000
So I also do want to situate that, as we said,

892
00:46:37.000 --> 00:46:41.440
what gen Z wants from their leaders, who say is community, respect, curiosity.

893
00:46:41.719 --> 00:46:45.039
Yeah, so you got Yeah, I'm a little bit to that.

894
00:46:45.119 --> 00:46:47.280
And then I'll ask you to close for us.

895
00:46:47.320 --> 00:46:51.679
Well, they are they register as the loneliest generation on

896
00:46:51.719 --> 00:46:55.519
the planet. Now, all generations are are a bit lonely

897
00:46:55.599 --> 00:46:57.639
right now. Depending on how old you are, you might

898
00:46:57.639 --> 00:47:01.360
get Yeah, I'm lonely too, but they have. The irony

899
00:47:01.559 --> 00:47:04.360
is they're well connected on the device, the board of

900
00:47:04.360 --> 00:47:07.920
a device, but they're always not well doing well with

901
00:47:08.000 --> 00:47:11.599
community in person. Why wouldn't the team out the job

902
00:47:11.960 --> 00:47:14.599
provide some of that community where we feel like we

903
00:47:14.719 --> 00:47:19.480
belong to this work and this mission, but also these people.

904
00:47:19.960 --> 00:47:23.920
So community is huge. And then you also brought up

905
00:47:23.960 --> 00:47:28.400
the whole idea of they want respect. Very often my

906
00:47:28.519 --> 00:47:31.199
generation would say, well, you need to earn my respect, junior,

907
00:47:31.719 --> 00:47:34.360
but they're saying, why don't we all respect each other

908
00:47:34.360 --> 00:47:37.280
from day one? And actually, that's a great question. It

909
00:47:37.320 --> 00:47:40.159
is I think we need to do. So I argue

910
00:47:40.239 --> 00:47:44.800
for the idea that we begin with belief. I'm not

911
00:47:44.840 --> 00:47:47.400
going to begin with suspicion that that twenty two year

912
00:47:47.400 --> 00:47:49.880
old doesn't know what he's doing. In fact, the last

913
00:47:49.920 --> 00:47:52.119
twenty two year old I hired, I said, listen, I'm

914
00:47:52.119 --> 00:47:54.280
going to begin with belief. I believe you're going to

915
00:47:54.280 --> 00:47:57.000
add some incredible value. In fact, I'm probably going to

916
00:47:57.239 --> 00:47:59.239
need to learn some things from you. But that's so

917
00:47:59.360 --> 00:48:03.119
help the reciprecation of that belief. So I am just

918
00:48:03.360 --> 00:48:06.119
really really an advocate of that, and so I'll stop there,

919
00:48:06.119 --> 00:48:10.000
but they really want that that respect, the community, the curiosity.

920
00:48:10.440 --> 00:48:13.119
Those are the three things that if you can practice

921
00:48:13.119 --> 00:48:15.639
that leaders, you're going to win them at the heart level.

922
00:48:17.159 --> 00:48:19.239
So, Tim, I'm so grateful to have met you and

923
00:48:19.559 --> 00:48:21.400
I learned, as I said, a ton out of your book,

924
00:48:21.400 --> 00:48:23.800
and I'm so grateful to share my listeners viewers across

925
00:48:23.800 --> 00:48:27.159
the world saying about thirty seconds, what would you like

926
00:48:27.199 --> 00:48:28.519
to leave our listeners and viewers with?

927
00:48:28.639 --> 00:48:32.639
Oh gosh, well, I'm hoping what I've said makes sense,

928
00:48:32.679 --> 00:48:36.280
But a quick thirty second story I share in the

929
00:48:36.320 --> 00:48:39.360
book what happened to my generation when we were young.

930
00:48:40.159 --> 00:48:42.280
We all know that NASA landed a man on the

931
00:48:42.280 --> 00:48:45.239
moon in July of nineteen sixty nine, an incredible feat

932
00:48:45.239 --> 00:48:47.480
that no one had ever done. But do you know

933
00:48:47.599 --> 00:48:51.119
who actually did it? When JFK said let's put a

934
00:48:51.119 --> 00:48:53.360
man on the moon in nineteen sixty one, in nineteen

935
00:48:53.440 --> 00:48:56.400
sixty two, NASA didn't even have the technology to do

936
00:48:56.480 --> 00:48:58.960
such a thing, so they quickly had to acquire a

937
00:48:58.960 --> 00:49:01.920
bunch of technology. Well, the guys that were there that

938
00:49:02.000 --> 00:49:04.199
were forty five, fifty to fifty five years old didn't

939
00:49:04.199 --> 00:49:07.840
really understand it. Guests who understood it. The interns, the

940
00:49:07.880 --> 00:49:11.760
young employees in their twenties. So slowly but surely, the

941
00:49:11.920 --> 00:49:16.960
NASA leaders were turning authority over to these young people.

942
00:49:17.360 --> 00:49:20.760
Get this, the average age of the operator at the

943
00:49:20.760 --> 00:49:24.679
control center twenty seven years old and the guy that

944
00:49:24.800 --> 00:49:27.639
actually said go not know to put Neil Armstrong on

945
00:49:27.679 --> 00:49:32.280
the moon, Jack Garman twenty three years old. The older

946
00:49:32.360 --> 00:49:37.280
generation served as simsups, simulator supervisors, they were coaching and mentory,

947
00:49:37.559 --> 00:49:40.800
but they turned those young people loose to put something,

948
00:49:41.159 --> 00:49:43.880
to do something. We did a moonshot and we did it.

949
00:49:44.199 --> 00:49:46.840
So here's what I would say, listeners, what's your moonshot?

950
00:49:46.920 --> 00:49:49.599
And could we empower these gen z ors to be

951
00:49:49.679 --> 00:49:53.000
those operators that actually pulled off for the organization.

952
00:49:53.599 --> 00:49:57.239
Oh wait, I bring it home tim Elmore. Listeners and viewers,

953
00:49:57.280 --> 00:49:59.519
you are going to want to learn more about Tim

954
00:49:59.639 --> 00:50:01.320
Elmore and the work that he and Seam are doing

955
00:50:01.400 --> 00:50:04.159
at Growing Leaders Plus is thirty eight other books, etc.

956
00:50:04.800 --> 00:50:07.719
You can visit his website tim Elmore dot com. It's

957
00:50:07.760 --> 00:50:10.199
t I m l E l m o r E

958
00:50:10.280 --> 00:50:13.440
tim elmore dot com. Last week we missed the live show.

959
00:50:13.480 --> 00:50:15.559
You can always catch it be you recorded podcast. We

960
00:50:15.599 --> 00:50:17.880
were on air with Monica Pierre, who gave us a

961
00:50:17.960 --> 00:50:20.719
commanding performance on the power of learning to tell a

962
00:50:20.800 --> 00:50:25.639
story to share inspiring communications. She talked about putting change,

963
00:50:25.679 --> 00:50:29.559
fear and diminishment on trial. Next week, we'll be on

964
00:50:29.639 --> 00:50:32.480
air talking to Ryan Godfordson talking about his book The

965
00:50:32.519 --> 00:50:35.920
Elevated Leader. Level Up your leadership through Vertical Development. See

966
00:50:35.920 --> 00:50:38.079
you then, and together, let's lean in and learn how

967
00:50:38.079 --> 00:50:41.559
to create destination workplaces where people thrive while doing business

968
00:50:41.559 --> 00:50:44.079
in a way that betters the world. Let's work on Purpose.

969
00:50:47.559 --> 00:50:50.199
We hope you've enjoyed this week's program. Be sure to

970
00:50:50.239 --> 00:50:53.880
tune into Working on Purpose featuring your host, doctor Elise Cortes,

971
00:50:54.000 --> 00:50:57.320
each week on W four CY. Together, we'll create a

972
00:50:57.360 --> 00:51:01.960
world where business operates conscientiously, readership inspires and passion performance,

973
00:51:02.079 --> 00:51:04.840
and employees are fulfilled in work that provides the meaning

974
00:51:04.880 --> 00:51:08.679
and purpose they crave. See you there, Let's work on Purpose.