Connecting with Gen Z: What We Learned in the Room
A few months ago, we were brought in by a company here in NYC that said they had a “Gen Z problem.” It was not the first time we'd gotten a call like that. Their younger employees were bright, educated, and full of ideas, yet managers were frustrated that the energy wasn’t translating into performance. Gen Zers weren’t speaking up in meetings, weren’t taking feedback well, and sometimes checked out when things didn’t go their way.
Sound familiar?
What started out as a confusing trend has turned into a real hiring concern -- can Gen Z make the leap beyond their conditioning and tendencies and integrate into today's competitive workforce? We probably could all rattle off why this has occurred -- from the pandemic to an intense relationship with technology not yet seen before. For us, the work is about bridging the gap between potential and performance and we set out to create a program to close it.
Where's the Gap?
When we arrived, managers described their Gen Z employees as frustrating to work with. They said things like: “They don’t speak up,” “They shut down when given feedback,” and “They don’t seem motivated.” On the surface, it looked like disengagement or even entitlement.
These patterns seem to stem from a mix of reasons and they seem to include big blind spots for them. Many were unsure of how to contribute in ways that would be heard, unsure of how to navigate feedback without feeling judged, and unsure of the unwritten rules in a workplace culture built by other generations.
However, there seemed to be a huge disconnect between what they thought they were doing and the impact they were having AND what actually was going on. What was needed was a stretch in awareness, in curiosity, and in their comfort zones being able to handle more than maybe ever before.
How to Close It
Improv seemed like the perfect tool to build the workshops around because it gets people talking, listening, and experimenting without fear of being wrong. It allows for play and raises the energy of the people participating which can aid in their interest in going beyond where they currently are.
Improv for business training also instills highly-effective communication tools and promotes foundational relationship-building.
In the space created by improv exercises, trust and openness emerge which allows for more honest, direct conversations to be had about perception versus reality. There's also a heightened curiosity that helps them stay engaged with the conversation and get interested in seeing themselves and their impact from a new perspective.
What changed
By the end of the program, we saw the needle move in some important areas:
Gen Zers who barely spoke at the start were volunteering ideas by the second week.
Managers started noticing initiative and an over all engagement.
Without appearing fake or forced, the Gen Zers were leaning in more, asking questions and taking more ownership
The bigger picture
There’s a lot of noise out there about Gen Z being difficult, disengaged, or unemployable. What we’ve seen in the room gives a lot of hope: they want to contribute, they just need help bridging the gap. When companies create that for them, the energy Gen Z brings can be a huge lift to the work culture and overall performance.
So if your workplace feels the generational disconnect, maybe the question isn’t “What’s wrong with them?” but, “How do we help them shine?”
