Gen Z!

There’s a lot of discussions around Millennials and their influence on the workplace, but what about other emerging leaders? Generation Z, or Gen Z for short, is defined by those born between 1997 and 2012. As this generation enters their mid-twenties and into the workforce, early evidence shows that these digital natives aspire to be leaders. Generation Z is also the most diverse generation in history with the most entrepreneurial spirit.

Here are some other interesting characteristics to note:

• Gen Z is opting out of the traditional route to higher education for more practical options—with a large percentage of them saying there are other ways to get a good education outside of college.

• Gen Z is a demographic cohort that prefers to seek unconventional learning solutions, like how-to YouTube tutorials and seeking jobs that offer on-the-job training.

• Tend to value individuality vs Millennial’s focus on collaboration

• Value privacy – not interested in “relationships” or sharing personal matters with their leaders

• Prefer to communicate face-to-face (vs. digital only) with their colleagues. Millennials pioneered digital communication to make workplace more efficient.

• Motivated by security and are pragmatic

• Millennials are “tech savy” however, Gen Z are digital natives!

Truth is, this generation is just now entering the workforce and their influence on the workplace has largely yet to be seen. We will certainly be keeping our eyes and ears open to the changes they will inevitably bring about.