Fostering Leadership in Generation Z:

Onus on Whom?

Savita Panwar* and Aman Mehta**

With the demographic shift from boomers to Generation X and Y to

Generation Z, the entire business conditions are changing. And given
the pace at which business is changing, it becomes extremely important
that the companies are ready with a bank of individuals who are prepared
to take up the ever-mounting challenges. Businesses demand people who
can lead from the front and can take charge of key responsibility areas.
However, the number of such people in an organization is limited, and it
is difficult for organizations to fill in the top leadership spots. One of the
main reasons for this gap is that when the students enter the field of
work, they are unequipped with the necessary leadership skills. In the
present paper, the authors, on the basis of extant literature, have
summarized the role of professional educational institutions and work
organizations in developing leadership among individuals. They opine
that professional colleges will have to work continuously to groom students
to become future leaders. Moreover, not just the professional colleges but
the organizations where the students get placed, will also have to take the
onus of developing future leaders. A united effort, both from the
professional colleges and companies, can bridge the gap between the
demand and supply of potential leaders.

Introduction
Companies want leaders who can demonstrate high standards of integrity, take
responsibility for their actions, and are steered by enduring principles. A leader is one
who is trusted by fellow workers, enthuses others to perform their best, builds
exceptional value for the company and is looked up to for advice. What distinguishes
true leaders from the merely capable is the resilience in their leadership styles to combat
challenges of the global economy and highly competitive environments (Lagace, 2006).

Authors, * Assistant Professor, School of Business and Commerce, Manipal University Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
pls E-mail: savi9panwar@yahoo.co.in
mention ** Student, School of Business and Commerce, Manipal University Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
the E-mail: amanmehtaksg@gmail.com
corresponding
author
© 2019 IUP.
Fostering All RightsinReserved.
Leadership Generation Z: Onus on Whom? 1
Such leaders are in short supply. Today, finding and fostering future leadership talent
is a prime concern for most organizations.
The generation of leaders, as popularly placed forward by demography, social
sciences and marketing, can be broadly divided into—the baby boomers (born from 1944
to 1964), the Generation X leaders (born from 1965 to 1979), the Generation Y (born
from 1980 to 1994) and the Generation Z (born from 1995 to 2015). The formative years
of each generation are very different from each other. Although it is difficult to draw
clear boundaries along these generational lines and fruitless to overgeneralize, they are
each, in part, a product of their time. With the boomers and Generation X heading
towards retirement, Generation Y and Generation Z are the future of business.
While Generation X and Y are the ones who are already employed and are learning
by doing, Generation Z still waits to have leadership opportunities. Moreover, leadership
is only in its nascent stages in Generation Z. In the absence of corporate exposure, this
generation of young blood mostly relies on professional college education for learning
leadership skills.
Businesses around the world have stressed the importance of developing people into
leaders and India is not an exception. In the findings of a research published in Harvard
Business Review (Cappelli et al., 2010), it has clearly been mentioned that senior
executives at 98 of the largest India-based companies admit that their source of
competitive advantage lay deep inside their employees. In sharp contrast with the US,
the Indian executives laid intense focus on culture and human capital. They placed
higher priority on keeping the culture and guiding the employees, and believe in
nurturing leaders. Although such findings can be relieving, the question that still
troubles the corporate is: Why are the boomers not finding capable successors? Well,
may be the answer is, that although a large number of people would desire to fill in
the top positions, only a few are prepared and equipped to do so.
Leadership, in modern times, necessitates a new focus on developing leadership
acumen and expertise, fresh outlook on the functions of leader identity and
enlargement of adaptive leadership aptitude (Day and Harrison, 2007; Day, 2009; and
DeRue and Wellman, 2009). In an interview (Jones, 2009), 3M CEO, George Buckley
noted, “Leaders aren’t given the choice between dandelions and roses. It might be
dandelions and chickweed. They are forced to make choices with too little time and
too little information. It requires courage and a strong stomach. I might be forced to
make a decision in five seconds, which will then be studied for months by a team
of 40 lawyers. The job that leaders have is difficult, and there are increasingly few
people capable of doing it.”

Instilling Leadership: The Role of Professional Colleges

Some say that leaders are born and not all are born to be leaders. But leaders can be
nurtured and groomed. Leadership is about crafting a context for invention and
inclusion in the face of ambiguity and the unforeseen, and the responsibility of

2 The IUP Journal of Soft Skills, Vol. XIII, No. 3, 2019

developing such skills in Generation Z lies with the professional colleges. Nevertheless,
it is a marathon task for the institutions as they will have to start early by identifying
and focusing on the probable potential students who possess the ability, engagement
and aspiration to be a leader. Here, one will have to differentiate between a ‘high-
performer’ and a ‘high-potential’. It can be tricky but very important as a high performer
need not be a potentially good leader. Moreover, identifying and motivating is essential
as there are some who can see it in themselves, but there are some who need to be
informed. Leadership skills need to be cultivated. Often it takes someone who can
recognize that an individual can think beyond their job, can think better, and has the
mettle to make a bigger impact (Lagace, 2006).
Identifying potentials is a daunting task. It should not be based on personal
judgments and biases. This objective of identifying the potential candidates can be
fulfilled by adopting a mentoring program wherein the mentors can make sharp
observations of his/her mentees. Identification of the potential lot should be followed
by a set of leadership development programs that emphasize on future competencies
so that by the time students get to the executive ranks, they possess the essential skills
needed in the competitive business scenario. This can be achieved by practicing critical
thinking through solving real-life business case studies. Starting from the comparatively
less complex problems, these programs should eventually acquaint students with the
complex business problems. The development program should be designed in such a
way as to teach the potential students to listen, reflect, communicate and respond.
Although leadership development happens under conditions of real stress, these
skills can be taught and practiced initially in classroom situations through business
simulations. Through various leadership development programs, students should be
introduced to the riskiest and most challenging positions across business. For instance,
leadership development programs should be targeted at self-management strategies,
interpersonal or social competencies, and work facilitation (Day and Harrison, 2007).
Regular interaction with exemplary leaders and leadership development professionals
can also bring in the required expertise needed to train the potential leaders. Setting
up an entrepreneurship cell which fosters entrepreneurship and risk taking can also
build the initiative taking attitude in students. Above all, trained professionals should
be deputed who can regularly train students in good operational skills and develop
in them the ability to persuade and move people emotionally and intellectually by giving
solid reasons for action (Chartrand and Hagemann, 2009).
Students should be taught to handle pressure, otherwise when they are under
difficult situations, they may rely and put their energy more in ‘doing’ instead of
‘leading’. Colleges can conduct various sports activities that will teach students to
handle pressure. In fact, sports can not only train students to perform well under stress-
filled situations but can also develop team spirit in them. Apart from the sports events,
colleges should also regularly organize events, coordinated and managed by students.
This will help the college in identifying the initiators and will also help the students
in learning management skills.

Fostering Leadership in Generation Z: Onus on Whom? 3

 A study by Krista et al. (2019) reports that the administrative and social co-curricular
activities were positively linked with students’ leadership development, while a wider
mix of administrative, social and creative activities were positively related with students’
multicultural competence. One thing which is to be noted is that the teachers and experts
in most of the cases would be one among the boomers or Generation X or Y. So a lot
of homework would be required on the part of the teachers as they will have to study
the Generation Z students in their context. They will have to deeply understand the
formative years of Generation Z, of which they are a product, so that they are in tune
with their times and can provide solutions suited to their generation. By adopting such
ways, professional colleges can build and supply the much-needed talent to the
corporate and thus can bridge the gap between the vacant leadership positions and
employable youth.

Developing Leaders: The Role of Organizations

The work started by the professional colleges will have to be continued by the
organizations where the candidates finally get placed. Quite often colleges fail to teach
leadership skills at the educational level and even if they are taught, they lack in relevant
practical subject matter. So the onus is now on the organizations to train the future
torchbearers.
Organizations will also have to go through the same process of identifying and
developing the potentials. Apart from this, they will also have to work on retaining
the potentials, which of course, is a difficult task. According to the findings of a research
by Martin and Schmidt (2010), 1 in 3 high-potential employees admits to not putting
all his/her effort into his/her job; 1 in 4 believes that he/she will be working for another
employer in a year, and 1 in 5 believes that their personal aspirations are quite different
from what the organization has thought for them. The other findings in this research
have shown that most management teams make blunders when they try to develop their
next generation of leaders. In such a situation, companies are required to put a lot of
effort to keep the potentials motivated and engaged. They will have to try to link their
corporate goals with their personal goals which create a win-win situation for both the
employer and the employee. For many companies, leadership bench strength, i.e., the
availability of strong and deep pools of talent who are able to assume a number of varied
leadership roles at various levels, is a major business problem, which demands a
breakthrough change in the status quo (Kesler, 2002).
Companies need to identify and assess the potentials who can step into the shoes
as a replacement for future top leadership positions. In assessing leadership potential,
an objective evaluation of past achievements is critical in attuning the importance of
specific levels of competency. It is obvious that past accomplishments do predict future
accomplishments (Jaques, 1989). Past assessment should be accompanied with a careful
analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the candidate and it should be matched
with the forthcoming challenges and opportunities. But it should be made clear that
the assessment is done carefully as there is a natural affinity for managers to select the

4 The IUP Journal of Soft Skills, Vol. XIII, No. 3, 2019

successors in their own likeness (Leibman et al., 2006). Such an assessment should
be free from personal bias.

Organizations need to develop an environment which fosters a congenial

environment for the growth of people as leaders. They will have to inculcate such an
environment in their organization culture. In fact, products and processes can be
imitated by competitors, but culture is very hard to copy. True leadership relies
profoundly on the self-relevant meanings that the leader attaches to his/her life
experiences. Such experiences lead to develop self-knowledge and self-concept clarity.
Therefore, life experiences are a major constituent in the development of dependable
leaders (Shamir and Eilam, 2005). Therefore, a friendly leadership fostering environment
can also act as a source of competitive advantage.

In a paper by Ready and Conger (2007), it has been stressed that many successful
companies have focused upon functionality and brought in rigorous talent processes
that support strategic and cultural objectives and vitality. They have shown emotional
commitment to develop and retain key employees and to fill positions speedily to meet
the evolving business needs. Taking examples from such companies, others should also
constantly try to develop their future leaders. This can be achieved, firstly, by putting
the right people with the right skills in the right place at the right time. Secondly, by
providing the requisite training which can make it easy for the employees to know what
is expected from them. Thirdly, by giving adequate incentives to the employees so that
they strive for excellence and are passionate enough to take up different challenges.
Fourthly, by fostering commitment and accountability so as to develop honesty among
the employees. They should be kept engaged with the mission and objectives of the
company. Moreover, employees’ personal goals should be blended with the
organizational goals so that both can grow together. Last but not the least, companies
should share impending strategies with the potentials and should highlight their role
in making them real, i.e., the young potential leaders should not be kept in the dark.

Conclusion
Although developing leaders is not an easy task, professional colleges will have to take
the onus of developing students into inspiring leaders, so that when they enter the
corporate they are well prepared to take up the ever mounting challenges of business.
If colleges are able to identify, train and develop students into leaders, then there will
never be a dearth of leaders who can step into the shoes of the departing boomers.
Professional colleges may seek cooperation and guidance from industry experts by
regularly interacting with them and trying to know their changing needs and then act
accordingly. In addition to it, the organizations, where the students finally get placed,
will also have to continuously work to develop the next generation business leaders.
They will have to provide a conducive environment so that potential leaders can learn
and grow into successful future leaders.

Fostering Leadership in Generation Z: Onus on Whom? 5

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