Are your "people" Gen Z? The next generation is up and coming!

Gen Z

Zoomer

Post Millennial—

·       Ambitious, Digital Natives, Content-oriented

·       Like comfort and flexibility

·       Curious and open

·       Socially and politically aware and active (but not in traditional ways)

·       Start-ups and side hustles are the name of the game (and financial independence is the goal)

·       Want their freedom

Does this fit your picture of the Zoomers you know?  It does mine! But I am not mentioning names 

I heard a presentation a week ago about Gen Z from Jo Dietrich of ZEAM (https://zeam.xyz/team ) and found his suggestions for me as a lecturer and as a business coach very helpful.

First, though, here are the generation lines, though they are a bit flexible:

Baby Boomers: (raise your-and-my hand): 1946-1964

Gen X: 1965-1980

Millennials: (Gen Y): 1981-1996

Gen Z (Zoomers): 1997-2015

Where do you fit??? How does this affect you??? - now my next (upcoming) students are Zoomers, and more and more clients are also Zoomers, although many are Gen Ys, still. 

What are Zoomers looking for? 
The PERSON is the MESSAGE – the speaker must be congruent with his/her message.

The pyramid above (or in the attachment) shows what Zoomers expect from a “messenger”:  

Authenticity

Zoomers want integrity and congruency.  They want authenticity and when I tell them a story or give an example, it should (at least sometimes) be about or include me.  This is different for other generations, who might find this method a bit “prideful”- thus causing some Communication Culture Conflicts.  Not all cultures are related to geographical place, as we know.

When you add Emotional Intelligence, which includes authenticity, to Integrity you come up with a winning combination whether it comes to a new Zoomer hire, to a new start-up team member (Zoomers are prone to start-ups), or also, when meeting new (younger) people, at least in my case most new people are younger .  .

Our integrity is going in the direction of why (vision and values) with our whole hearts and keeping our trustworthiness and conscientiousness foremost in our actions.  

Remember that our direction and our why is lost when we do something that is not in congruence with our character and values/vision.  

When we try to take short cuts by hurting others and climbing over their backs, we are actually hurting ourselves.  Thus, being transparent and authentic about decisions when you are a manager, a coach or in any kind of leadership position being authentic will keep you true to yourself and to your goals.  It will keep you accountable and on track for success.

So, keep your eyes on the goal and remember what Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, “To thine own (and to others, I might add) self be true”.

Be Clear (and congruent)

Then of course, you need a clear message.  What do you want to say (one main point- see my previous blog) and what do you want to accomplish with what you say? These are very important questions to ask yourself before you start your message.  The why of your message is very important and can really keep you on track with your values and vision, too. Keep it clear and simple.  Complex communication should be left to books.

Be Flat (in hierarchy)

When you communicate to Zoomers, you need to rid your mind of hierarchy.  For me as a lecturer and a coach, this is very important, as previous generations prefer “experts” who give knowledge from “above”. No more. Make sure you are accessible and warm and just be yourself. What this says is that Zoomers prefer New Work strategies and team and self- leadership at work.

Share yourself: your (and your company) values and vision (V&V).

When your values and vision match theirs, that’s when everything gels.  The Zoomers get on board when the values and vision match theirs, and then you have very happy employees.

Also, when the university (or my course) V&V match with theirs, all is good.  Finally, I need to share a bit of my own V&Vs with my clients to get a good rapport.

Of course, this is simplistic, but maybe a start for you and your communication with Zoomers.

May your week and month be filled with positives and new zooming colleagues.

Patricia Jehle                            patricia@jehle-coaching.com