Co=Gen Catalysts
-Personal and Leadership Development for Millennials+
Catalyst “… an external agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action.”
INTEGRATED SUPPORT
“There’s no longer such thing as a job for life. Individuals need to be ready to drop in and out of jobs with up-to-date skills and knowledge, as required.” Jane Hart The Future of Work and Learning
What many aspiring leaders are missing is a balanced awareness of their own talents and strengths, as well as of knowledge and skills gaps and an understanding of ways to fill some of them.
They need a three-dimensional growth strategy, starting with personal development, then focusing in turn on team and organizational development.
The challenge is to find the sweet spot where all three domains overlap.
*Video excerpt* Making younger people matter-and madder! Lyall Lukey
A three dimensional approach
Covid Era Support and Coaching
“It’s a fabulous concept. Millennials as leaders are getting younger and younger …They need all the support they can get.” Anne Riches, The Mindfield Navigator, Sydney
Those in leadership roles will appreciate the importance of nurturing tomorrow’s leaders today. This is especially so now we have entered the Omicron phase of the Covid pandemic and so many are working remotely or isolating.
Supporting, developing and retaining promising people is a key investment for the future for all organizations.
The pandemic has created an epidemic of anxiety and uncertainty particularly among younger people. Many millennials, our emerging and future leaders, are struggling to see a positive personal future and stay on top of the change tsunami.
“…you can’t stop the waves, but you can learn how to surf”. Jon Kabat-Zinn
Covid Burnout + The Omicron Big Sick
“.An employer in 2022 will need to step back and understand how to stay relevant through these changes… or employees will look to leave.” Bronwyn van der Merwe, Fjord APAC
The ongoing AUT Wellbeing@Work study has included four surveys of roughly 1000 participants across a diverse range of levels and roles in the New Zealand workforce since the advent of Covid. Over 19 months the risk of burnout increased from one in nine to one in three. Managers need to find timely ways of meeting the challenges faced by employees across the board.
With the growing Omicron Big Sick, support needs to be accessible now for those in Covid isolation as well as those in conventional or hybrid work settings.
Hybrid Future of Work
“If employers don’t get this, they will lose their people and then they have to re-employ,…[ You get] productivity losses, when you lose significant people in your business and you try to re-employ in an employment market like this. It is a recipe for absolute further disaster.“ Niki Harré, Auckland University Associate Professor of Psychology
For a lot more professionals-and others who can work from home at least part of the time- a mix of office and home working is becoming more appealing. They and their managers need to be flexible and to adapt.
Many workplaces are now encouraging as many as possible to work from home full-time in the interim to avoid infection or mandated isolation. While many have been used to periods of working from home since Covid appeared, it is now time for a more structured approach. What is required, apart from the right technology, is more mutual trust and self-management skills not physical oversight.
Flexible working is by no means new but Covid has accelerated new ways of working which will persist in mutually agreed hybrid arrangements post-pandemic. There is an obvious need to help people to develop the appropriate self-management skill set to handle that effectively.
Co=Gen coaching plus supporting resources are a crucial part of the support and development mix. Register my interest in Co=Gen Module 1
The Great Resignation
“…skilled employees have been leaving the workforce or switching jobs in droves.” Kate Morgan
Internationally, skilled employees have been leaving the workforce or switching jobs in droves. As Kate Morgan pointed out recently in her article on The Great Resignation, for many the lack of support by employers has played a big part in why they’re walking away. Millennials feature prominently in those exiting and sometimes just one resignation leads to a domino effect.
There are a number of reasons people are seeking a change. For some workers, the pandemic precipitated a shift in priorities, encouraging them to pursue a ‘dream job’, or transition to being a stay-at-home parent. But for many others, the decision to leave came as a result of the way their employer treated them during the pandemic.
Engaging with Millennials
“Each person holds so much power within themselves that needs to be let out. Sometimes they just need a little nudge, a little direction, a little support, a little coaching, and the greatest things can happen. Peter Carroll, Football Coach
The ability to engage with Millennials is critical to fostering a future-oriented, inclusive and innovative organization. What matters to Millennials? What motivates them and how have their career paths and travel aspirations been affected by Covid lockdowns and uncertainty? How can they achieve a better life balance? Understanding and engaging with them through the power of coaching will improve what employers want: talent retention and productivity and better meet the needs of Millennials. See the article The secret to happiness at work
An Incremental Approach
Digital Irrigation and Reinforcement
“…unlike conventional assets, knowledge grows when it is shared.” Dr Karl-Erik Sveiby
We can be good at starting things, but not so good at nurturing growth once the seeds have been sown. Personal and leadership growth comes from the discipline of tapping into and applying ideas and resources from the digital drip feed irrigation system that is part of Co=Gen Coaching.
Watering the seeds
Incremental Progress
Feedback and Assessment
“The essence of feedback is that the effect of an action is fed back to alter that action.” Edward de Bono
Apart from valuable formative feedback from coaches to Co=Gen participants there may be a role for micro-credentials in some Co=Gen modules for some people. These are specific mini-qualifications which recognise smaller, more discrete sets of skills and knowledge than a degree or diploma.
Micro-credentials are enjoying an international resurgence, both in response to time and money, costly traditional qualifications, and to meet employer demand for training that meets specific work needs at a time of rapid technological and social change. Registration Options
