Leading Gen Z – Episode 245

This week on Your Best Day Yet, Chief Victory Officer Eric Guy is joined by Dr. Tim Elmore: author, leadership expert, and founder of Growing Leaders. Together, they explore Tim’s upcoming book, “The Future Begins with Z: 9 Strategies to Lead Generation Z as They Disrupt the Workplace,” diving into the challenges and opportunities of leading Gen Z. From bridging generational gaps to rethinking authority, Tim shares practical insights that help leaders not just guide Gen Z, but grow with them. Preorder Tim’s new book now at https://www.timelmore.com/the-future-begins-with-z

Takeaways:

Dr. Tim Elmore’s message on Your Best Day Yet is a timely roadmap for anyone navigating the rapidly changing dynamics of today’s workplace. As founder of Growing Leaders and an advisor to countless organizations, Tim has spent decades studying generational behavior, from Boomers to Gen Z, and his insights are both refreshing and deeply human.

At the heart of his message lies a challenge: leadership must evolve. The command-and-control style that once worked is losing power in a world driven by collaboration, empathy, and purpose. “Leaders today,” Tim shares, “need to listen a little more and coach a little more than we used to.” Gen Z, after all, is not a problem to fix but a generation to empower.

He explains how The Future Begins with Z explores nine strategies for doing just that, helping leaders bridge the growing gap between seasoned professionals and digital natives who see the world differently. Through real-life stories, Tim illustrates the cost of misunderstanding this generation. He recalls Colin, a young engineer whose innovative ideas were ignored by middle management, only to later build and sell his own companies. The moral? When leaders fail to listen, they lose not just people, they lose potential.

Tim also highlights what he calls the Peter Pan Paradox: Gen Zers may possess remarkable technological intelligence and creative insight, yet often struggle with emotional maturity. The key, he says, isn’t control but coaching, guiding them to grow rather than grounding them in frustration.

One of the most powerful parts of the conversation is Tim’s A.L.E.G. model for feedback. Leaders should Ask instead of accuse, Listen before lecturing, Empathize to build trust, and only then Guide with direction. “You’ve got to connect before you correct,” he insists, a principle that transforms feedback from criticism into collaboration.

Mental health was another central theme. Both Eric and Tim discussed the rise of anxiety and burnout among young professionals. Instead of seeing this as weakness, Tim encourages leaders to view it as a call to create margin and movement, to give employees room to breathe and reset. Sometimes, he says, it’s about helping team members manage anxiety by reframing it as excitement: the same energy channeled in a different direction.

The conversation also touched on the beauty of reverse mentoring, where older and younger generations learn from each other. “They bring timely intuition,” Tim notes, “and we bring timeless wisdom.” When both meet with mutual respect, innovation and growth follow.

Ultimately, Tim’s message is one of belief. His favorite leadership mantra, “Begin with belief,” challenges us to start with trust rather than suspicion. When leaders believe in their young people before they’ve “earned it,” that belief often becomes the very thing that inspires performance.

As the episode closes, Tim shares a powerful story about NASA’s moon landing: how young engineers in their twenties, trusted and coached by seasoned mentors, made history together. His dream? That today’s leaders would do the same with Gen Z, handing them both the tools and the trust to take humanity forward.

His new book, The Future Begins with Z: 9 Strategies to Lead Generation Z as They Upset the Workplace, releases November 4th. Preorders are available now at TheFutureBeginswithZ.com, complete with bonus resources for leaders eager to turn generational tension into teamwork.

Links:

Check out Tim: https://www.timelmore.com/

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