Empowering Emerging Leaders: Developing Gen Z and Millennials for Leadership Roles

The “Great Retirement” is already underway! How have you and your organization prepared for the impact of the exodus of folks nearing or reaching retirement?

From knowledge transfer programming to mentorship initiatives, to the possibility of organizational mergers or acquisitions to succession planning—there are several invaluable initiatives that Learning Leaders and Organizational Executives may invest in to ensure survivability and thriving. One key aspect of proactively preparing organizations for a shift in the workforce due to the Great Retirement is to invest now in your emerging leaders so they are ready to step into their next leadership role within your organization.

Practical Ways to Develop Leadership and Empower Your Emerging Leaders

1. Shift Your Perspective of Emerging Leaders

The first step toward empowering emerging leaders is acknowledging the value and contribution these folks offer organizations. As with the welcome of any new generation in the workforce, there is much to learn (and there are books on insights for each generation)! One of the most prominent realizations for Learning Leaders is that our personal perspectives and organizational paradigms will likely shift over time with the movement of emerging leaders into leadership roles.

In The New Employees Contract: How to Find, Keep, and Elevate Gen Z Talent, Anthony Onesto shares one of the most significant impacts on how Gen Z operates and sees the world—this is “the first generation born entirely within the confines of a world where few things can truly be described as being ‘offline.’ This fundamentally affects every aspect of life for this entire group of people.” Our Gen Z colleagues tend to be independent, social responsibility advocates, tech-savvy, and self-learners. These emerging leaders are comfortable with tech-driven work, embrace authenticity, and are eager for growth opportunities.

How might your work environment shift to continue embracing digital transformation in the next decade?

Some folks still think the millennials are the “young ones” at the office! The Pew Research Center holds that millennials make up the largest generation in the US workforce. More importantly, millennials (especially our elder millennials) are not new to work or management roles. Our millennial colleagues are collaborative, purpose-driven, feedback-oriented, and focused on work-life balance. These current and emerging leaders are comfortable with hybrid work, desire to make an impact, and are eager to embrace new and non-traditional leadership models.

How might your organization shift perspectives and perceptions around who is qualified for management or leadership positions?

Welcoming emerging and new talent in organizations calls for a shift in paradigm for many organizations—from operations to employee policies to tech stacks to change readiness—to ensure the organization remains competitive.

2. Invest in Developing Your Emerging Leaders

It is very common for organizations to go through performance evaluations throughout the year and create (or update) a succession plan every year or two. But, for many organizations, that is where the process ends or stops short of practically preparing emerging leaders for their first or possibly next leadership role within the company.

Unfortunately, investment often comes down to a line item on a spreadsheet within the annual budgeting process. Too frequently, our learning and development budgets are stretched too thin, and our internal L&D teams are at capacity—meaning our emerging leaders are not adequately developed. Imagine the impact of investing in your emerging leaders so that they already have the people leadership skills necessary to thrive when they step into a management role or formal leadership position.

How might your organization improve how it currently invests in developing emerging leaders?

3. Develop Leadership Skills With Your Emerging Leaders

Many organizations invest in their emerging talent, but often, that focus is on the technical skills needed for specific roles and industry expertise required to thrive within the value chain. Our emerging leaders must be taught leadership skills to drive future success along the development journey. Sometimes, as Learning Leaders, it is easier to focus on technical training because we can make a direct connection to job performance or effectiveness. Developing leadership skills in our emerging talent is for a long game—from communications to collaborative team building, strategic decision making, effective influence, culture development, and more.

How are you ensuring your emerging leaders are gaining the leadership skills necessary to thrive in future leadership roles?

4. Encourage Emerging Leaders to Take on Stretch Projects

Emerging leaders are often ready and eager to grow! Though your organization may not have an immediate “next role” for them, consider ways to develop skills and practice their leadership using stretch projects. Work in partnership with an emerging leader to identify a stretch project that fits their career aspirations—consider a cross-functional project, short-term initiative, social impact project, or internal micro-lab.

How might you incorporate stretch projects within your emerging leader development plans?

5. Implement a Mentorship Program to Support Emerging Leaders

Yes, mentorship programs can be complex and … complicated! But they don’t have to be. Depending on the size of your organization, it may make sense to use a digital platform to arrange mentorship relationships. But don’t let platform accessibility stop you from piloting or launching a mentorship program.

Decide which type of mentorship program may bring the most value to your organization and go from there. Consider traditional mentorship, where noted leaders mentor emerging leaders; reverse mentorship, where emerging leaders can mentor executives; and even peer mentoring, where folks throughout the organization provide feedback and insights to each other.

How might a mentorship program support the development of your emerging leaders?

What Is Your Next Step?

Every organization is unique—from the company culture to the products and services to the industries and sectors served. With the Great Retirement underway, time is a fleeting resource. Now is the time to start preparing your emerging leaders for future leadership roles, to prepare the organization for long-term thriving, and to ensure the organization remains competitive within leadership talent in the future of work.