Earlier this year, at a local Chamber event, two women came up after the session.

Usually that means a quick hello, a comment on the topic, maybe an introduction.

Not this time.

They said, “We didn’t want to ask this in the room because we didn’t want to offend anyone… but we need help managing Gen Z. What’s your advice?”

That one stopped me.

Not because it was a bad question. Because it was such an honest one.

And clearly, they are not alone.

Gen Z has been getting a lot of attention lately for poor work ethic, low resilience, communication issues, and getting fired at a pretty alarming rate. Easy to criticize. Easy to roll our eyes. Easy to say, “What is wrong with them?”

But that’s not all that helpful.

After that question to me, it felt obvious that we needed someone who could go deeper than the usual generational hot takes and actually give us practical advice. So we brought in Dr. Andrea Mata.

And honestly? This conversation is bigger than managing younger employees.

Because while leaders are trying to figure out how to coach, motivate, and hold Gen Z accountable at work… some of us are also raising them.

As a parent of two Gen Z girls who will be entering the workforce before I know it, I’m not exactly interested in sitting back and hoping they don’t become part of the stereotype.

So what do we do?

Do we lower the bar?
Do we keep getting frustrated?
Do we blame parenting?
Do we blame managers?
And where does accountability actually come in from them?

What Andrea shares is that this really is a two-way street.

Leaders have to do a better job of setting expectations, giving feedback, and building the skills young employees need to succeed.

But Gen Z also has to step up. They need ownership. Adaptability. Agency. Effort. A willingness to learn and take feedback.

That’s why this episode is such a good one.

It’s thoughtful. It’s honest. And it is packed with practical advice whether you are leading Gen Z, parenting Gen Z, or just trying to understand what’s actually going on.

In this episode, we get into:

• why Gen Z may be more under-equipped than broken
• what managers need to stop assuming
• how to set high expectations with high support
• where accountability has to come in
• what parents can do now to better prepare their kids for the real world

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​Listen here:​
​Spotify​
​Apple​
​YouTube​

I’d especially love to know what you think about this one.

Are we being too hard on Gen Z?
Not hard enough?
Or are we finally asking the right questions?

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