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Colleague2NM.pptxCapstone Project Review Leadership Effectiveness: Supporting Gen Z Employee Cohorts
Natasha Mills
Walden University MMSL-6905
Dr. Marilys Taylor
August 20th, 2022
Introduction
I enrolled in Walden University's master's in leadership program with the sole purpose of improving my leadership abilities and creating positive social change.
Going through the various courses of the program provided me with the opportunity to improve my leadership skills.
On the other hand, the capstone project gave me the most critical opportunity to start my journey toward creating positive social change.
I chose the research paper track because I thought it was the most appropriate for the social change I wanted to create.
Choice of Topic
When you have the desire to create a social impact, as I believe most, if not all, in this program do, it is easy to become confused with the choice of the area you want to impact.
The challenge stems from the existence of a wide range of social issues that could be addressed with effective leadership.
Another challenge was the emergence of issues within issues as I conducted research on the general topic I identified.
Therefore, I must admit that I experienced challenges in focusing my research on the topic I chose, which is identifying what forms of support Gen Z in the workplace need from their leaders for their growth and the realization of organizational goals.
I had to reflect on the concepts of the course, with the most helpful being starting with why (Sinek, 2009).
The concept came in handy because it reminded me of my underlying goal of impacting leadership effectiveness as a way of creating social impact.
Establishing the Aim of the Research Project
Research Aspect
Establishing the purpose of the study was a rather easy process after I had deployed the concept of starting with why.
I wanted to inspire others to take action by helping leaders get ready to effectively integrate Gen Z into the workplace.
This cohort of employees is associated with high turnover rates due to what is perceived as leadership ineffectiveness in understanding their needs and responding accordingly (Jetha et al., 2021).
Leadership Aspect
As a leader, I understand the struggle of ensuring every member of my diverse team feels included in organizational processes.
Thus, having a new cohort of diverse employees, whose characteristics and needs in the workplace are yet to be understood by even researchers and scholars, poses more significant challenges.
This informed the development of the aim of my research: forms of support organizational leaders can offer Gen Z to maximize their unique talents and help them grow while at the same time realizing company goals.
Developing Research Questions
Research questions are primarily intended to give a study a clear focus by pinpointing the researcher to exactly what he or she wants to find out.
My research questions gave me that clarity by pointing out the research gap in the existing literature about the relationship between Gen Z and leaders in the workplace.
In simple terms, the questions showed me exactly how my research project could create a social impact in the realms of leadership.
Research Methods
Creating a social impact would be impossible without the use of proper research methods for the study.
My findings would be zeroed down to mere opinions due to the lack of scientifically sound and legitimate results.
For this reason, I chose two cohorts of participants because the generalizability of the study findings is critical, and used different data collecting techniques, including questionnaires and interviews, that corresponded with what I aimed to achieve by studying each group.
I felt the need to get both sides of the story by studying Gen Z employees, as well as managers with Gen Z in their teams to avoid studying one group at the expense of the other.
The intention was to arrive at more comprehensive findings that really impacts leadership effectiveness, particularly in leading Gen Z employees.
Study Findings
Anticipated Results
I must admit that I was prejudiced at the beginning of the study. I had the belief that most organizational leaders are ineffective in working with Gen Z employees because they do not understand them and rely on the widespread misconceptions about this cohort, such as the idea that they fear independence and responsibilities (Wingo, 2019).
Findings
The findings of the study surprised me when viewed under the lenses of my initial beliefs. I found that leaders, contrary to the common opinion that they are unsupportive of Gen Z employees, put a lot of effort in responding to the needs of Gen Z.
However, Gen Z participants of the study confirmed the ineffectiveness of their leaders in supporting and providing a conducive environment for them. The participants identified their needs, which should help leaders develop effective leadership strategies for better outcomes in working with Gen Z employees.
Conclusions
Leaders still have a long way to go in supporting and providing a conducive work environment for Gen Z employees. Gen Z employees also have a role to play in making their work environments conducive.
Recommendations
Train leaders on the needs of Gen Z employees in the workplace and how to respond to those needs to help create a conducive work environment for this cohort, rather than relying on myths (McCrindle & Fell, 2019).
Gen Z employees also need training on workplace culture, interpersonal interactions, collaboration, and teamwork.
Outline growth opportunities for Gen Z employees to tap on their uniqueness and reduce turnover rates.
Conclusion
Every bit of the master's in leadership program contributed to the positive change I associate with my leadership capabilities, and my choice of the research paper track.
I consider the capstone project fundamental in crowning my improved leadership abilities and starting me off in realizing my bigger goal of improving leadership effectiveness at a societal level, as well as becoming a Multiplier.
Therefore, I enjoyed and appreciate every single aspect of the capstone project.
References
Jetha, A., Shamaee, A., Bonaccio, S., Gignac, M. A., Tucker, L. B., Tompa, E., ... & Smith, P. M. (2021). Fragmentation in the future of work: A horizon scan examining the impact of the changing nature of work on workers experiencing vulnerability. American journal of industrial medicine, 64(8), 649-666.
McCrindle, M., & Fell, A. (2019). Understanding Generation Z: Recruiting, training and leading the next generation. McCrindle Research Pty Ltd.
Sinek, S. (2009). Start with why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. Penguin.
Wingo, J. L. (2019). Book review: iGen: Why today’s super-connected kids are growing up less rebellious, more tolerant, less happy—and completely unprepared for adulthood (and what that means for the rest of us).
