Becoming a Leader at Work: Listen to Millennials & Gen Z, Accommodate Their Initiatives
Millennials & Gen Z are indeed flexible-work natives. The fact that these young generations have started growing up and steadily entering the workplace urges businesses to compete fiercely to provide the best possible workplace offering flexibility and harmonization for Millennials & Gen Z. As the CEO of IDN Media, the leading media platform company for Millennials and Gen Z in Indonesia, Winston Utomo shared his viewpoints on the leadership style that Millennials & Gen Z covet.
1. The humility to listen to others
Millennials & Gen Z are more interested in finding a career that will support their lifestyle. That’s why they value work-life balance. However, when Millennials & Gen Z say they want “balance”, it doesn’t mean they’ll work less. Instead, the problem with the traditional language describing the work-life balance favors the old. “Balance”, to them, means a flexible, friendly, and open work environment. One where the ideas they initiate are accommodated without a long-winded bureaucracy, even executed.
Demographically, most Timmys at IDN Media are Millennials & Gen Z. Coming along with diverse characters, Winston said, “A leader of these young generations must have the humility to listen to them: every suggestion, every expectation, every objection. These generations in excellence are very critical about every single little detail they convey, so it’s crucial to seriously consider their feedback.”
2. Harmonizing professional and personal life
Situations can change from time to time, so leaders should really denote what empathy is all about, especially when facing each employee’s unique challenges. Millennials & Gen Z are also seen to be dedicated employees expecting their employers to reward them with continuous opportunities for growth. It’s something worth appreciating. Winston said, “Millennials & Gen Z are highly motivated by social issues and are eager to make a difference. They’re so all out, so in return, listen to them sincerely, give them the so-called work-life harmony.”
According to Winston, leaders should consider how to achieve work-life harmony and implement targeted measures to promote it. The main objective is not merely to make employees more productive, but also happier and more fulfilled. “If our employees have to look after their children for a particular reason, let’s say, leaders should understand this and allow them to. Why? To give them trust, to let them know they are valuable and worth knowing, to see who their employees are, not just what they do. Giving too strict boundaries between the professional and personal lives won’t let them get the best of both worlds,” said Winston.
3. Making decisions is the biggest challenge
Dealing with Millennials & Gen Z for seven years at the workplace, Winston stated that challenges were really inevitable. However, he mentioned one he remembered the most. “The biggest challenge is how we, as leaders, can keep on making the most proper decisions every single day. We tend to make decisions that please others, but is that good in the long run? Does the culture of getting the best from every team and every individual take root? It takes a lot of experiences, failures, disappointments, complaints to get the pattern in control. After all, leaders’ capabilities are assessed by the decisions they make,” Winston concluded.
