Gen Z Aren’t Resilient – Here’s How to Offer Advice and Critiques

The Wall Street Journal’s article has a catchy headline, “Your Gen-Z Employee Isn’t Fooled by Your Compliment Sandwich,” alluding to the practice of offering criticism after a compliment and ending with another upbeat comment or statement. But it hides the true point of the article.

The real point is that younger people who receive criticism often feel demoralized by it. So other techniques and considerations should be followed, for the advice to be heard for what it truly is.

What do I mean by that? Usually, when a mentor or a boss provides feedback that can be felt as a negative by the employee, it’s being offered as a “way to be better.” The goal of the advice, as far as the person offering it is concerned, is to up-level, to help someone do better.

The problem is that it’s not heard that way. Often, younger people are so self-critical to begin with, they receive the advice as a validation that they’re not-good-enough. They feel shame.

That’s certainly not the goal of mentors, teachers, and managers when they offer advice. Just the opposite is true: they want their employees or students or interns to do better.

How to be heard

I’ve been speaking about Gen Z (up to 27 yrs. old) in the workplace and have talked about how to offer them criticism in a way that they’ll hear it. When I speak about the “compliment sandwich,” I’m not talking about mentioning something condescending or unrelated. Instead, I offer the suggestion that the compliment start out with what someone does well.

For example, speaking to a marketing associate about writing copy, I might say, “You did a good job researching this topic, it really shows. I can see how much you care about doing a great job and you’re a talented writer. I know you can do this! Let me share how I’d approach it, for the future, so we get you exactly where you need to be.” ?

Gen Z is the least resilient generation we’ve seen in the past 60 years and, as leaders, it’s incumbent upon us to bring out the best in them, for their sake and for the health of the organization. As David Yeager wrote in the Wall Street Journal article:

Studies continue to show that when you hold young people to high standards and make it clear that you believe they can meet them, you are showing respect by taking them seriously. Young people rise to meet the challenge because being respected is motivating. This approach takes some thought, but it doesn’t have to take much time. The note from the teacher that inspired students to work harder on their papers was all of 19 words.

The best way to offer advice and critiques to younger employees is to contextualize it in your assurance that they have the ability to do better and be better, and your job is to help them to get there.

Not sure how to do this in a particular situation? Contact me and let’s chat!