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This article was written by Michael Donabedian (b. 2002) and edited by Michael J. Nathanson (b. 1966). The foreword is by Jennifer Geoghegan.
The following article provides an important perspective on Gen Z’s entrance into the workforce. The insights inspired me to reflect on how my firm, The Colony Group, has engaged the next generation of professionals, both as team members and as clients seeking financial advice, and what the advisory profession may consider as it looks to connect with this cohort.
Gen Z is distinct as the first generation to grow up surrounded by technology. Their preference for, and comfort with, technology signals an opportunity for the profession to better integrate digital and other technological tools into their businesses.
This cohort is also known for its engagement in areas such as politics, social justice, and sustainability. Advisory practices must increasingly focus on providing opportunities for their teams to contribute to initiatives that are important to this generation and help them drive greater impact through their work.
On the client side, Gen Z has demonstrated its interest in investing its capital for good and using their money to make the world a better place. Here, I see opportunity for advisory firms to grow their ESG strategies and impact investment opportunities There will be additional opportunity for advisors to provide experiences for their Gen Z clients, allowing them to see more directly how their capital is being utilized for good.
Generation Z enters the workforce at a challenging time and under difficult circumstances that will surely have long-term implications. But do not feel bad for this young generation. Welcome them instead as badly needed participants in a very different economy – and society – of the future. The experiences of recent years have been fundamentally transformative to Generation Z, enabling its members to offer different thinking and new solutions for a rapidly changing world. Said differently, there is cause for great optimism in our economy and in our society; it is personified by a generation molded by adversity who will be well prepared and uniquely qualified to lead us all into the future.
Learning from prior generations
Generalizing about wide swathes of people is almost always dangerous, but there is substantial evidence that our individual perspectives are impacted by the shared experiences of our youth. Consider the most obvious of all recent examples: the “Baby Boomer” generation. Throughout their adolescent years, the quickly changing world, with the challenges of the times, fed directly into their youthful eyes and ears. From unprecedented economic prosperity to controversial wars to the Civil Rights movement and to the space race and eventual landing on the moon, they grew up watching the world face daunting challenges but make progress nonetheless, like no generation before them.
When the time came to start their careers, their motivation, initiative, and broader horizons already had been influenced by the experiences of their youth. Their consequent advances in business, finance, and technology brought unprecedented automation, efficiency, and prosperity – along with a heavy dose of resilience. Indeed, the Baby Boomer generation ultimately yielded some of the greatest entrepreneurs our world has ever seen – business leaders who worked hard, persevered, and stimulated greater and faster progress.
Enter generation Z
At the risk of skipping the intervening generations, now consider the collective experiences of generation Z. The COVID pandemic had it greatest impact on generation Z, but this also is a generation that has grown up with ubiquitous technology, cell phones, social media, instant information, remote work, globalism, and a greater awareness of the needs for sustainability, social justice, and corporate responsibility.
Most obviously, generation Z witnessed the power of resilience and technology – digital, medical, and otherwise – in overcoming the pandemic. One specific example lies in the recent supply-chain crisis. Generation Z has been watching as older generations have been putting the pieces together to face a crisis that some believe should never have become so prominent. After struggling to stock shelves through the worst of the pandemic, some companies finally began utilizing smaller, more efficient cargo ships. And by unloading products at ports such as Houston and Savannah instead of the world’s busiest ports, like New York and Los Angeles, they were able to bypass the delay that put parts of our economy on hold. This flexible, pragmatic thinking is sure to be influential in how this generation thinks.
Generation Z has also witnessed political dysfunction, social injustices, and climate-related challenges at extreme levels. Have these conditions existed in the past as well? Of course they have, but what’s different about the generation Z experience is the more direct intersection of these crises with the business world. Generation Z has observed that businesses can be part of the solution for these problems and that doing so presents not only an opportunity to make a more positive difference in the world but also to operate more sustainable, durable businesses.
The future
Over time, as the members of generation Z enter the workforce, they will bring with them creative and technological skills that have never been seen in the business world. And they will bring with them a greater awareness of what it takes to operate in more sustainable ways. In the past, it took crises to spur changes, but generation Z promises to be more proactive, quicker, and more open to less traditional solutions. Based on their shared experiences, they are well positioned to embrace digital solutions, artificial intelligence, automation, globalism, and sustainability to make proactive changes and transition us all into a more prosperous, efficient, and inclusive future.
Michael Donabedian was a summer intern of The Colony Group. Michael J. Nathanson is the chair and CEO, and Jennifer Geoghegan is the chief of staff and strategy of The Colony Group.
