Tomorrow is National Boss’ Day, and what a day to celebrate!  At Fierce, we know that when looking at what makes a great leader, you’ll find they love to learn and they’re constantly thinking of how to improve their leadership.

While we hope you feel appreciated on this day dedicated to hard-working bosses such as yourself, we hope you also make time to reflect on where you can improve your management and better your relationships with colleagues and your team.

With that in mind, as you reflect today, I want you to remember this:

The heart of any business is not about revenue. It’s not about deadlines. And it’s not about goals and whether we achieve them.

Although all of these aspects are important in business, the only reason they’re important is because of the people they impact.

Why You Should Care About Being a Great Leader

I recall a specific incident in a previous position that woke me up, so to speak, to what really matters. One day I was blasting through an extended list of tasks, which included sending out emails to a long list of clients.

My boss was copied on the emails, and he gave me some great feedback: “It might be nice to add something in that’s more personal. Wish them a good day or something. You know, create some warm fuzzies. Clients like warm fuzzies.”

And it’s true! Adding warmth to our “business interactions” strengthens relationships and brightens our experience of the moment. In my mind that day, all I was thinking about was checking tasks off my to-do list, but my boss’s feedback made me remember the real reason behind why these tasks are so valuable.

In Start with Why, Simon Sinek writes, “Happy employees ensure happy customers. And happy customers ensure happy shareholders — in that order.”

How do we create a foundation for happier employees? The key is emotional capital — the ability to connect on a human level. We are happiest when we’ve established a sense of trust and mutual respect with those around us.

The relationships that exist between everyone involved in the business, both with our coworkers and our clients, are indeed the heart of business.

As Susan Scott wrote in FIERCE CONVERSATIONS, “Our most valuable currency is not money. Nor is it intelligence, attractiveness, fluency in three-letter acronyms, or the ability to write code or analyze a P&O statement. Our most valuable currency is relationship.”

Relationships are the seed from which everything else grows, including success.

Here’s another way to look at this idea:

When we focus on relationships as the center of our efforts, we break into higher levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The grind is all about surviving physiologically.

We pay the bills when we get stuff done. Focusing on relationships, however, moves us into the higher levels of belonging, esteem, and even self-actualization. It becomes about more than just surviving — we’re able to thrive and help others thrive in the process.

Everything we do each day, whether we consider it small or large, creates a ripple effect that impacts others.

Every single one of us is endowed with an empowering level of freedom to make a positive impact and grow relationships, both inside and outside our organizations. And whether we succeed at doing so impacts the bottom line on which we so often place our focus.

Stats from Marketing Wizdom reveal the average business loses around 20% of its customers annually by failing to attend to customer relationships.

It’s eye-opening to consider what we’re doing for the people we work with — and how our choices and interactions with them are changing their life for the better (or worse, depending on the intent behind our approach).

Tips to Become a Better Boss

Here are the four truths to remember, reflect on and actively practice that will strengthen your relationships with your colleagues, direct reports and clients:

Truth #1: The conversation is the relationship.

Relationship building cannot occur without conversation.

Now, some of these conversations can be challenging, like when they involve FEEDBACK or CONFRONTATION, and others are simpler and sentimental.

Regardless, all conversations have the potential to strengthen connections by granting us permission to explore the thoughts and feelings of another person. The state of the relationship is defined by the quality of these exchanges.

Truth #2: There’s always time.

Saying “I don’t have time to strengthen my relationships” is like saying “I don’t have time for what’s most important.”

If you feel pulled in different directions at any given moment, prioritize according to what is most pertinent to the relationships you have with those around you. Take a moment—commit to finding ways to connect with others.

Small acts of appreciation will go a long way.

Truth #3: Connect with “Why.”

Individually and organization-wide, reconnect with “why.”

What is your company’s mission statement? Who are you serving, and why are you serving them? It’s important to stay connected to a sense of purpose in order to connect to our work on a level that places relationships at the heart of your day-to-day.

Truth #4: Diving deeper will bring you closer.

There’s nothing wrong with talking about the weather or the breakroom snacks, but these types of conversations will only get you so far in strengthening connections.

To deepen connections, ask questions.

If an opportunity arises, ask about the other person’s likes and dislikes, why they like or dislike these things, what their dreams are, how they feel about certain topics, and what matters to them. Listen actively, and be prepared to be nowhere else but here.

In our daily routines, we might find ourselves getting lost at times in what is often referred to as “the grind.” Wake up. Go to work. Work hard. Achieve. In the process of doing what we do, we may have moments where we lose sight of why we’re doing it. If you feel lost in the grind, you have to check yourself.

Right here, right now, check yourself. Connect with the people who offer a why behind what you do. There’s no better time to start than right now.

Work remote is tricky. Common concerns I hear from leaders frequently are: Are people really working? Are they getting the support they need? Are the teams collaborating as they should? 

While these questions may be considered “old school” and stodgy… because, of course, we have technology, and the 24/7 nature of work requires us to work remotely anyway…

I would say these questions regarding the challenges of managing remote employees are much deeper, culturally.

Are people really working? Well, are they working in your physical office? Is this a lack of accountability? Clarity? Delegation? 

Are they getting the support they need? Do you feel confident they are when they are in an office space?  

Are the teams collaborating as they should? Do you feel confident they are when they are in an office space?  

Because Fierce is a small company, I understand the value of having our people physically being together in key functions. That said, working remotely is an option some time of the week and in extenuating circumstances. There’s also value of having a remote workforce in order to create more ease for our Fierce Learning team that is constantly on the road working alongside our clients.

I share this because I do not think there is an easy answer when deciding what’s right and wrong for remote working. And maybe there isn’t a one-size fits all approach.

Regardless, the thing I think leaders who question remote working don’t fully acknowledge is that life doesn’t happen outside of the old-school mentally of needing to be physically at the office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

At Fierce, we’re able to effectively manage remote working as an option because we have a strong culture of accountability and delegation. If that culture wasn’t present, it would be very hard to make a remote work policy effective.

I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that work remote is actually on the rise.

This 2018 study found that globally, 70 percent of employees work from home at least once a week. That number is less for U.S.-only workers, however, it’s quickly been on the rise over the past several years.

GALLUP reported that in 2016, 43% of employees in the U.S. worked from home at least some of the time, up from 39% in 2012. As mentioned in our 2018 PREDICTIONS, we expect this percentage will continue to rise.

There are a number of reasons for this increase in remote work — aside from the ease of communication made possible by virtual technology. Employees are wanting to reduce commute time, increase flexibility, and boost their sense of autonomy.

Gallup further revealed that “despite not always having a manager nearby to monitor their productivity, remote workers actually log more hours at their primary job than do their on-site counterparts.”

This counters some of the misconceptions people may have about working remote, such as the idea that remote workers are just watching TV all day, distracted by pets or family members, or taking intermittent cat naps.

Though it may come as a surprise to some, it appears that fewer office-related distractions, more autonomy, and the comforts of home can increase productivity and motivation for many employees.

In fact, according to recent data, remote workers have brought some pretty amazing benefits to their organizations:

• Increase in productivity, engagement, and efficiency.
• Decrease in employee stress and improved morale.
• Decline in overhead and real estate costs.
• Better impact on the environment.
• Attracts Millennial and Gen Z workers.

Those are some great perks! So, how can organizations make sure they do remote working the right way so they too can see these improvements? Here’s the single factor that will make or break the success of telecommuting: effective communication.

What comes to mind when you think of autonomy?

You might imagine your team engaging in solo work that they know how to do and you don’t need to check-in with them about.

While there is truth to this idea of autonomy, there’s a lot more to it. Autonomy at its core is about ownership, accountability, trust relative to our work, and having a sense of control over how we use our time.

In a larger context, autonomy creates a sense of empowerment. The ability to pursue our preferences helps support our sense of autonomy, so how we create it in our own lives tends to vary from person to person.

Part of being an effective leader is exploring how the areas of performance and engagement can be strengthened — and autonomy is a major player in accomplishing that goal.

This is easier said than done of course when you have a global workforce spread out over time zones and continents. The desire to micro-manage and be in all the details in order to have your own sense of control is real but it’s not effective and it’s costing you productivity, and it’s costing you the engagement of your team.

To dive into the idea of why we need to give autonomy and what we’re talking about when we say that word, we have to consider human motivation — when we feel inspired, we feel motivated, which leads us to fully engage in our work and perform at our best.

Daniel Pink, the author of Drive, pinpointed three elements necessary for generating the deepest levels of motivation within ourselves: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. In his words, “Control leads to compliance — autonomy leads to engagement.”

This is really important. Let’s look at some data that supports just how much autonomy matters in the workplace…

Researchers from the UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM revealed that if you have flexible working hours or the ability to work at your own pace (ahem, autonomy), you’re likely to have higher job satisfaction and higher overall well-being than other professionals who don’t.

In other words, we need it to achieve satisfaction in our careers. The study also revealed that 90% of people in managerial positions reported high levels of autonomy, while over half of all low-skilled employees reported having no autonomy at all.

Management is also not the only level with an organization that deserves autonomy. Leadership needs to support and promote empowerment and freedom of choice across all levels within their organization.

Published in the journal, PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN, “gaining autonomy quenches the desire for power,” and people would rather work in a non-managerial, autonomous position that grants self-empowerment than take a promotion offering power over others.

People are seeking control over their own lives and appear to have little desire to control the lives of others. This should serve as a wake-up call to leadership — the possibility of a promotion may not be a top motivator for employees, but they may be seeking one if they think it will grant them more autonomy.

This can manifest in many various ways in different cultures. however, the desire for autonomy is a human desire. Below are four tips to provide autonomy to your global workforce in order to better set them up for success:

1. Respect time boundaries.

Recently, my team had a month wherein our results were nowhere we wanted them to be. After traveling globally, I came back to HQ and saw how the month was going to end and I had a moment of sheer panic – so I sprung a surprise strategy session on their calendars for the next morning ready to dig in.

What’s the problem with this? I did not take my team’s schedule into consideration at all. They had their days planed, their week planned and because I am their boss and I knew I could, I said, drop your plans and do what I want.

Don’t get me wrong, there might be crisis situations that call for this, but after reflecting I realized this is something I do often.

Having a sense of individual power over how time at work is arranged can increase autonomy. When you respect your own time and the time of others—set boundaries and respect that even if something is urgent for you as the leader, you still need to check-in with your team and respect that they might also have urgent matters that are as important as yours.

One piece that I realized with my meeting was that I was not even prepared for it. I hadn’t reflected enough to make the time impactful.

With pre-scheduled meetings, make sure to set an intention and provide attendees with an agenda beforehand in addition to asking for meeting consent before scheduling. Ask yourself where you are wanting collaboration from your team so you can cut to the chase in meetings and focus on the most important issue(s) at hand.

If you have a global team that spans different cultures, you do want to spend time learning how meetings in that culture are run within that culture. This will provide inclusivity and build trust with your team.

2. Provide trust and flexibility.

The reality is that trust and flexibility are easy to give others when things are going well. It’s when you are in difficult times as a team that we tend to want to micro-manage. Two questions I always ask myself when leading others and the results are off are:

• Are they doing everything we have agreed on?
• If it’s a performance issue, have I shared my feedback/area of concern?

The thing to remember is that trust is built through consistent identity and it’s earned on both sides. If you don’t trust your team there is an underlying issue you are not tackling, it’s that simple.

Don’t put this off and instead hover over your team and their performance – tackle your toughest challenge and have the conversation.

3. Delegate to develop.

Delegating to develop your team will increase autonomy by empowering them to make decisions. Not only does this communicate your own trust in their ability, but it also provides them with an opportunity to strengthen their own self-trust. Effective delegation will allow employees to develop personally and professionally and provides them with opportunities to take action in new ways.

4. Have conversations about the current level of autonomy in your organization.

If you’re a leader and you want to develop autonomy within your global team, then you need to ask for feedback on how they currently feel and think. You can start by asking your team:

• Do you feel a sense of ownership and choice when it comes to your work?
• Do you feel empowered in your schedule, and comfortable with the pace at which you’re able to work?
• Do you feel there’s a mutual sense of trust between colleagues?

If the answer is no to any of these questions, a conversation can open up the possibility for more autonomy. Explore how they’re feeling about the current level of autonomy and discuss what changes can be made together that could improve it.

If you’re an individual contributor and feel that your current work environment isn’t supportive of autonomy, don’t let it slide. Have a conversation with your manager or supervisor. Approaching someone in a leadership role about your desire for more autonomy can be daunting, but the cost of not having the conversation is too great.

Supporting autonomy for the people we work with is an important part of strengthening our relationships, and the state of our relationships largely impacts business ROI. Download our whitepaper THE ROI OF SKILLFUL CONVERSATION: RELATIONSHIP ADVICE FOR MEASURABLE BUSINESS RESULTS for more insights.

Let’s have some real talk for a moment: Have you ever told someone —your boss, a colleague, customers, or your spouse — what you thought they wanted to hear rather than what you were really thinking? Did you paint a false, rosy version of reality and gloss over the problems or pretend that it didn’t exist?

If you’ve found yourself being less than honest, know that you aren’t alone by a long shot.

The thing is, we have legitimate reasons for why we don’t want to fully disclose. Maybe last time you told your honest truth, it destroyed a relationship in your past, and you don’t want to do that again. Perhaps you have seen someone lose their job over disclosing more, and you happen to like your job. Maybe you truly don’t believe it is your place to say what you notice or feel (this is a popular one).

The kicker is that not sharing the whole truth is more costly in the end.

If you are out of integrity with yourself or others, research shows that it damages your health and wellbeing. Whether you’re not sharing your truth at work or at home, not being your authentic self can lead to loss of time, money, and/or complete failure to thrive.

That’s not a pretty picture. But you can empower yourself to become a fierce leader — a leader who comes out from behind what is holding them back and shows up every day as their authentic, true self.

TRANSFORM YOURSELF

Fierce leaders want to know the truth and in turn, also have to share the truth. Whether or not your role has the “leader” title assigned to it, you can be someone on the forefront innovating and promoting authenticity.

Organizations that encourage everyone, from individual contributors, managers, all the way up to the CEO, to take on a leadership mindset create cultures that don’t settle for a culture of fear.

Few companies are really in this place. Many choose to abide by an old rank and file hierarchy that squashes creativity, promote false security, and inevitably disengaging employees.

So what can you do if you work inside a culture where new ideas and honesty are not welcomed? Do you have to accept it for what it is and keep your creativity to yourself?

No, you absolutely do not.

The beauty of culture is that it is made up of the people who inhabit it. Meaning, everyone impacts how things operate, not just those at the top.

Here are three tips to propose new ideas and begin creating a culture that supports authenticity:

Tip #1: Lead by Example

This isn’t a blog that encourages you to throw caution to the wind and break the rules of your company and go spouting off every thought you have to your boss. However, I bet your organization has unwritten cultural norms that keep people from fully coming forward and innovating.

These issues can range from not bringing up a perspective in a meeting because you don’t want to rock the boat, to continuing a process that is outdated only because it is the way things have always been done.

Take this opportunity to start small and be the change you want to see. If you own a responsibility and you have an idea of a better way of doing it – do it. Try it out and create some metrics for yourself to see if it really does improve results. Keep track of those metrics and after a month, show it to your supervisor, pointing out how your new idea has worked.

Tip #2: Use Your Voice

A leadership mindset is not for the faint-hearted. It takes courage to put yourself out there and be the one who speaks to an issue honestly. The reward is that you directly impact how things happen and become a more active participant within your company.

If you’re in a meeting, use your voice. If someone has a different opinion than you about a topic, don’t sit there and internally stew about it. Voice your concerns and throw your own idea in the ring. If you’re not invited into the decision-making process and you have a strong opinion, even if it goes against everything your culture stands for, set up a time to speak with leaders and express your concern.

Make it clear that you understand it’s ultimately their decision, and you hoped to just share your perspective.  This can be very scary and not easy to do. However, it shows others within your organization that you have great ideas and that you care.

Tip #3: Keep Going

Let’s say you do tips one and two and have success, and you’re feeling pretty good about your job. So what’s next? Keep Going.

Let’s say you follow through with tips one and two, and it didn’t work out as well as you had hoped. You are probably slightly discouraged. What’s next? Keep Going.

The reality is being a leader isn’t a title, it’s a mentality. Innovating, being authentic and thinking outside the box are traits of productive individuals, and they take practice.

Realize that your job satisfaction rests mostly in your own power and that you can impact the day-to-day outcomes of your job. Even within a culture that doesn’t foster creativity and doesn’t empower honesty, there is room for you to be creative and lead the way to show those around you that they can go against the status quo and see positive results for the organization and for themselves.

Last spring, I got a fancy new title: Vice President of Global and Channel Partnerships. This new fancy title also came with the task to support our company’s mission — to change the world, one conversation at a time.

My primary goal? To take something that existed within Fierce and transform it into something that would ultimately champion the organization into becoming a truly global company.

This is a very lofty task for anyone no matter your business’ size.

Our President shared that this first year of my transformation plan I would be supported with the budget of my creativity and the strength of her support – two things I’ve relied on for the better part of a decade, so I happily agreed.

Day one into my new role, with my 90-day plan empty and staring back at me begging to be filled in, I suddenly realized that my accomplishment of this goal would be almost entirely based on others. I would need to find a way to strategically align with people outside of my team in order to be truly successful in my efforts.

As someone who subscribes to the adage of, “if it’s meant to be, it’s up to me,” this was terrifying.

With no team and no budget, my colleagues would have to support what I was building not because they had to, but because they wanted too. Because they believed in what I was building, believed in me. That means that what was up to me, was driving and building deeper relationships because ultimately, my relationships with others were going to determine my results — my strategic goals’ success wasn’t in my hands alone.

CONNECTING THE DOTS

Now, I haven’t always spent my career at Fierce. I have worked at a large corporation where I was one of hundreds of thousands. I’ve also worked at a small start-up where I was one of five.

What I’ve learned, is that no matter the company size or how much resources a team or organization has, in the end, the true work of getting something accomplished is rooted in the relationships of people who are working together.

I’ve seen when the antithesis of this is true when there is a lot of money to throw at a problem but because the relationships were not strong enough and there was no trust, the ultimate goal was not reached.

So here I am, starting in my new role and grounded in the reality that my first 90 days must include strategically aligning a team of people who don’t report to me, who don’t care about my fancy title, but do trust me, and do believe in our vision.

I’ll tell you that this was incredibly difficult. While I always felt that my colleagues supported me, sometimes I felt the limits of that support as they grappled with their assigned workload and my asks and requests were extra work.

So, the question was: how was I going to respond to this? What was I going to do to build that relationship in order to get what I and Fierce needed to be accomplished?

Luckily again, I had the tool of conversations: C=R, also known around Fierce as the conversation equals the relationship. I remember the first time I sat through a Fierce workshop, almost a decade ago, and heard this concept. I was young in my career and it hit me right in the gut.

Being a bit of a Type A personality, I loved it, because it was something I could control.

Whatever you put into the conversation, that is what you’ll get out of the relationship. If you have authentic conversations, you’ll have an authentic relationship. It’s such a simple concept, however, in practice, it can be quite difficult.

Why is it so hard? Because it takes energy, and it takes guts.

PUTTING CONCEPT TO ACTION

For me, and this first year with my new fancy title, I came up short quite a bit in this arena at times. I didn’t confront certain behaviors because I didn’t want to “rock the boat.” I didn’t want to upset a colleague who was helping me but, in fact, some of their help was slowing me down. I was not authentic with them, and so the relationship over time had thinness to it on my side, and I think on theirs too.

I didn’t delegate well to those who agreed to help, so there was a lot of frustration at times on both sides. I delegated like an all or nothing sum game rather than looking at it strategically and with the tools at my disposal.

There were also times I didn’t stop to realize the impact of my ask – simple from my point of view but completely void of the full context of the person on the other end.

I know I left people who were helping me feeling a bit underwhelmed and I think even hurt. Completely unintentional on my part but that’s the thing about how we make others feel – it’s not about us.

So, it’s a new year, I still have my fancy title and now a team and budget, but in reality, my work will live or die by the relationships with others who don’t report to me, and for those who now do, I still have to have a super strong relationship with them or they won’t be inspired to give it their all.

The next step for me is figuring out what I am going to do differently this time around to ensure the growth of our company doesn’t die in its innovation stage.

Below are three areas that I’m putting a strong emphasis on this year and where I recommend you do as well to guarantee you succeed too:

1) Confront behavior right away

This may seem antithetical to building stronger relationships, but it’s actually the best way to be effective.

This is because it’s incredibly important to remember that the person you need to confront is more often than not aware of the impact they are having on you, and that is on you to recognize.

For naysayers, just recently when talking about this with someone else, I literally said, “But I don’t want to make it a big deal.” To which that person said back to me: “Why is confrontation such a bad thing?”

That stopped me in my tracks.

It’s healthy for two people to see things differently, to have different perspectives, and when out of that an issue arises and we ignore it, that’s when we make it a big deal.

She then asked me, “If someone had an issue like this that involved you, would you want to know?” Of course, my answer is yes. I’m a people pleaser, I like giving feedback because it feels safe but still authoritative, however, it’s not always the conversation that is needed.

2) Delegate strategically

One of the first lessons I learned in my business life was being dele-dumped on is terrible. I never wanted to be that person that just gave people the tasks I didn’t want to do.

That train of thought, however, led me to think that everything I was responsible for was my sole obligation – which is false and a very selfish point of view because now I didn’t delegate tasks or strategic pieces of my role. I hoarded everything to myself and brought people in when I needed them which was confusing for others.

I’m currently working on a Delegation Tree, the tool in our Delegation Model at Fierce, for everything I own with my new fancy title. I’ve bucketed my responsibilities into three main groups, and I’m in the process of filling out the tree for those who report to me and those who are supporting the vision of what I’m trying to build.

This includes strategic work down to administrative tasks. After that, my goal is to set up meetings with each person, to talk through the decision tree and get their feedback, with the hope we land on responsibilities by the end of the quarter.

More clear conversations will lead to a relationship of trust.

3) Be responsible for my emotional wake

This is one of the 7 principles of Fierce – Take Responsibility for Your Emotional Wake. The idea is that you can either leave an aftertaste, an afterglow, or aftermath when interacting with someone.

I take pride that I think I’m pretty good at this philosophy. I am intuitive with people and yet, when I know I’ve made someone upset and I go back and apologize, I need to focus on the next step, which is to actually be able to ask: what feedback do you have for me on this? What am I missing around my ask?

Everyone is carrying a heavy load. At Fierce, we hire such passionate people — they show up 110% every day, and we pride ourselves on being lean and mighty.

That also means that there is a lot going on for every person within the organization. My “simple” ask may in fact not be simple at all. I had a colleague the other day ask me to stop saying something is “simple” in reference to design. Sure, the act itself might not be hard for our amazing designer but the coordination of that act, alongside everything else she is balancing is masterful and disciplined.

I’m also dedicated to bringing more people to strategic meetings early on, so they have more context and transparency behind my asks.

What holds me back, and I’m sure many leaders can relate, is I honestly feel bad sometimes inviting people to meetings. I know they’re busy and don’t want to take up more time. This is my issue and I have to trust, not assume, that they know what’s best for them.

My goal is that by getting curious with others, I’ll create relationships that have power behind them.

No matter what you do this year, it’s imperative that you realize no one can rely on fancy titles to get others to coalesce around our vision and strategy. It’s the relationships we build and ultimately the conversations we have that will or won’t determine our success.

Interested in reading more advice from Jaime to continue your leadership journey? Sign up on this page for our weekly newsletter and jumpstart your learning today!

Generation Z can no longer be ignored — they are the inevitable future, a generation that employers are increasingly forced to deal with, regardless if they are prepared or not. As I look into the future recruiting and talent strategies for Fierce, this is top of mind for me.

Bloomberg estimates that this year, Gen Z (those born after 1996) will surpass millennials as the largest age group, at over 30% of the population. By 2021, Maverick Research says 1 in 5 corporate employees will likely be from this generation.

As Baby Boomers continue to retire, the makeup for the workplace will keep shifting, and organizations are needing to address this change today — as in right now, as we speak. If you are an organization able to recruit and keep top Gen Z talent, you will benefit immensely in the long term. This is the next generation of workers we’re talking about after all.

The inevitable question on many organizations’ minds is how exactly do you attract, and ultimately retain, members of the estimated 61 million Gen Zers who are applying for jobs in the U.S. next year, many entering the workforce for the first time?

These young adults grew up during the 2008 recession, with smartphones as a way of life for as long as they can remember, and an on-demand economy that provided what they wanted, when they wanted it. Simply put, they value different things than those who came before them.

Because of this, it’s extremely important for employees to understand these disparities. Below are 4 areas organizations can address to both entice, and keep, Gen Z employees:

1. BE FEARLESSLY AUTHENTIC

Perhaps more than anything else, Gen Z values authenticity. These individuals crave the ability to share their views and ideas openly and honestly — and the workplace is no exception.

When you reflect on leaders who you work with at your organization, where the relationship is genuine and has a strong foundation built on trust, the common denominator is that the leader is consistent with their behavior and in turn, you most likely are too.

These leaders set themselves apart because they acknowledge that being a leader is hard — they don’t put on an act or pretend that their jobs are effortlessly easy. They handle the pressure of leadership by being consistently thoughtful, agile, and quick on their feet while having an awareness of their emotion wake.

In difficult situations, their employees don’t “walk on eggshells” or wonder what outburst might happen next.

These are the types of leaders and culture that are going to attract the brightest Gen Zers to your organization. If any generation can see through and refuse to put up with the smokescreen of corporate speak and fakeness, it’s Gen Z.

This isn’t easy to do, and it is important to share with your employees openly.

Personally, being a leader at a conversations company sets a very high bar for me, and I am not always perfect. My commitment is to call out when I do not feel I did as well as I could have done.

For example, last week one of Fiercelings (our employees) was discussing a topic with me that was emotionally charged, on both sides. After the conversation ended, I felt there were some ways that I thought I could have been better in the conversation. I invited him back into my office, shared my reflection and emotions, and welcomed more discussion if he was open to it.

That enriched our relationship.

Authentic leadership is not perfection. Rather, it is sharing and being willing to come out from behind yourself and make the conversations real. My commitment is to support all of our people to lead their lives and our work in that manner.

Organizations that cultivate open, honest and frequent communication will have a leg up on those with more archaic, stale and facade communication systems in place.

2. PROVIDE JOB STABILITY & OPPORTUNITY QUICKLY

You probably won’t be surprised to learn that Gen Z, a generation that has never known what it was like to not be able to access everything and anything from the touch of their smartphones, has a low attention span.

According to Vision Critical, Gen Z has the lowest attention span of all generations — 8 seconds compared to Millennials’ 12 seconds — and have an incredibly low threshold for boredom.

This tidbit is highly valuable information for organizations to understand because, while it’s great if you can get a Gen Z in the door, the question you must solve is this: how do you keep them interested in continuing their journey with you, so your company doesn’t have to watch its investment leave after only a few months?

To attract and guarantee your Gen Z workers stick with your organization for the long term, my advice is to be open with details into the health and future of the company often and provide insight into what an employee’s career trajectory could look like more frequently than a simple once-per-year performance review.

The key here is to allow Gen Z workers to create a real, genuine connection with your organization, as well as see how they will grow and expand their career right from the get-go.

Gen Z wants to feel immediately that they are secure in their job and can picture what could be on the horizon for them in the coming year, five years and even 10 years from now. This can be a hard commitment for leadership given so many unknowns.

As a business leader, I know the challenges of providing career pathing and guaranteed stability. Sometimes you can’t provide what is desired. However, this truly is about acknowledging this desire and doing the very best you can.

The bottom line is that the growth and opportunity conversations must happen.

3. HIGHLIGHT DIVERSITY PROGRAMS

The current political and global climate has led to an increase in conversations about diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and this is especially true for a generation such as Gen Z who is more diverse than any other before it.

According to recent Deloitte global human capital trends research, the number of executives who cited inclusion as a top priority has risen 32% in the last several years, and over two-thirds of executives rate diversity and inclusion as an important issue.

We got curious ourselves and recently surveyed over a thousand individuals nationwide to gain a better understanding of how people perceive the benefits of workplace diversity. We also explored issues relating to discrimination and safety in the workplace.

We thought it was interesting that over 40% of Fierce survey respondents believe their organization would benefit from greater diversity. This number increased to 55% amongst those 18 to 29 years old, however, decreased to just 30% of those 60+ years old.

A clear disconnect exists here between generations, as younger individuals seemingly place a greater value on diversity than those older. This finding is important for organizations to address head-on.

Company leaders need to encourage all employees to embrace the insights of individuals of all backgrounds and discover the value diversity plays in an organization’s success.

Inclusion regardless of race, religion, gender, and generation is paramount. My immediate question for business leaders is this: what is your plan with diversity? It is not about checking the box anymore, which truly creates a go-no go situation for many younger employees.

By not only being acceptive of a diverse workforce but also encouraging diversity and committing themselves to inclusion programs, organizations are sure to pique the interest of Gen Z.

4. EXPAND TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION

Organizations that are constantly updating their technology as the latest and greatest will prove successful in engaging Gen Z. Ensure everything from recruiting (video resumes!) to onboarding to internal learning and communication is done in a tech-savvy way, as this generation has come to expect it.

They will want the ability to work anywhere and any way that they please and communicate with those they work with this way as well (from co-workers to company leaders). However, while technology is important, do not make assumptions about technology use. This generation will still have a strong desire to travel and interact in-person. Do not swing the pendulum too far to only digital offerings.

From the perspective of a millennial (yes, that’s me), I think there’s a misconception that young people are attached only to technology and virtual options. I think the reverse can also be true — we’re craving engagement and connection. Just because technology often dominates how we take in information day-to-day doesn’t mean it’s always what we want.

What it really comes down to is how and when technology is being used in the learning process and employee experience It’s beneficial when used in tandem with a holistic learning approach that includes other methods of learning, especially as it relates to training, but it can become a serious drawback if it’s used as the sole learning tool.

I’ve found that for myself, different situations call for different learning methods. For example, I love the Headspace meditation app. It’s more realistic for my schedule to learn meditation this way than take hours out of a day or week to learn it in-person with an instructor.

However, there are other skills that lend themselves better to in-person learning. For instance, I typically go to in-person instruction for exercise or working on foreign language skills. The social pressure of classes or workshops helps me move the needle faster.

Want to know more about what organizations should be tackling in the coming months to stay ahead of their competitors? Read the rest of our 2019 predictions here to get a head start on improving your workplace for the better.