161. PART 1 - Balancing Act: Gen Z Insights on Work and Life with Hannah MacDonald-Dannecker

[00:00:00] Welcome to episode 161 of Girl, Take the Lead where each week we explore womanhood

[00:00:12] and leadership. And I'm your host, Yolanda Canny. Hannah McDonald-Denicar, Gen Z, joins

[00:00:19] us. And it was such a good stuff when I was speaking with her. I wanted to keep every

[00:00:24] gem and insight she offered. So I broke our recording into two parts. And this is

[00:00:30] part one and we'll cover insights about her book called Well, Shoot, but that's not

[00:00:37] exactly the title. But I need to keep the podcast clean so you can find the real

[00:00:41] title on Amazon. We're going to talk about friendships and situation ships, a

[00:00:48] word that she came up with, imposter syndrome, and then something about her

[00:00:53] family business. And then in part two, we're going to talk a little bit about job

[00:00:58] searching and how to maintain Gen Z employees and Gen Z balance and

[00:01:06] flexibility. So you need to check that out. I'll be posting part two on

[00:01:14] Thursday. I just got to say this girl is not only taking the lead, but

[00:01:19] puts me to shame if I remember what I was doing at 25. And I gotta tell

[00:01:25] you Hannah has four books published, including the one that we'll discuss is a

[00:01:31] sought after public speaker to help others connect with Gen Z workers. And

[00:01:37] as a partner and sales and marketing manager at the Better Together group of

[00:01:41] companies, she brings insights that business leaders cannot get anywhere

[00:01:47] else about how to work with Gen Z employees. Enjoy the listen.

[00:01:55] So Hannah, welcome to Girl Take the Lead. I get always so excited when I

[00:01:59] have a Gen Z or in the house and we can have some fun.

[00:02:05] And yeah, it's gonna be great. We're gonna have a great talk today. It'll

[00:02:08] be very fun. Love the overgenerational conversations. It's always so

[00:02:14] interesting to me to talk to people who are just not like me at all. Like

[00:02:17] I love to learn from other people and get some different perspectives.

[00:02:21] Well, and congratulations on your book and your business and your podcast.

[00:02:26] I mean, you've got a ton of things going on and leading in so many

[00:02:31] different ways. I'm just thrilled that you're here and you can share

[00:02:34] a little bit about your journey. And how about though, let's give our

[00:02:40] listeners a little bit of background about you. If you wouldn't mind

[00:02:44] downloading that for them, that would be great.

[00:02:47] Oh, gosh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, from a bird's eye perspective, I

[00:02:52] am a born Canadian. I currently live in the United States of America.

[00:02:56] I was a human resources student at Liberty University and graduated

[00:03:03] from there in the midst of a pandemic, which quickly brought me

[00:03:09] back into Canada, where I immediately began working for my family

[00:03:14] business. And pre pandemic, I was a substitute teacher for high school

[00:03:19] students, which gave me a major love and passion for just kind of

[00:03:23] Generation Z, the generation that I sit in myself. And as I

[00:03:28] transitioned back in the pandemic into my family's business,

[00:03:32] which is staffing, we help people find employees, and we help

[00:03:36] people find jobs. And so kind of took those two things and mushed

[00:03:41] them together. And out of that came this presentation where I go

[00:03:46] around and speak to different HR professionals about how to recruit

[00:03:50] and retain the next generation, because we're very, very

[00:03:54] different from the millennials who walked before us. And then kind

[00:03:58] of in partnership with that with no anticipation of either of

[00:04:03] these things really coming through to fruition. In the midst of

[00:04:06] the pandemic, Canada was very different than anywhere else in

[00:04:10] Ontario specifically, was a very, very different experience

[00:04:15] through COVID-19. And so I was in a pandemic lockdown we were I

[00:04:20] think I went through I was traveling, don't tell anybody

[00:04:25] across the border a lot through the pandemic when the

[00:04:28] border was closed with the mask on I'm sure. Absolutely.

[00:04:32] With the mask on, wink, wink.

[00:04:34] Yeah, yeah. No, so I was going across the border a lot. So

[00:04:37] but I think I did seven or eight 14 day quarantines. So I spent a

[00:04:42] lot of time at home by myself last in the last couple years.

[00:04:45] And through that, I started writing a book named Well Shoot,

[00:04:50] but for the adults. And I put this book out kind of with the

[00:04:56] hope and anticipation of giving my future children the hope to

[00:05:01] connect with their mother when I was their age, because I

[00:05:05] will grow and I will age and it's gonna be great. And I can't

[00:05:09] wait to speak to them as a mother who has experienced life.

[00:05:13] But I also know being the age that I am that sometimes when

[00:05:16] my mom tells me something, I'm like, listen to you, like,

[00:05:19] you don't know. And so I was like, Well, but I don't want

[00:05:23] to do that to my kids. I don't want them to do that to

[00:05:25] me. So I started putting these notes together. And they

[00:05:27] were really just journals and diary entries at first that

[00:05:31] turned into a crazy book. And they all kind of spiraled

[00:05:35] together. And then from that, in those two things, I moved

[00:05:41] back into the United States, where I currently live today

[00:05:44] with my husband in Orlando. And I started a business here

[00:05:49] that co partners with my family's business in Canada.

[00:05:52] And so now we run coast to coast North America helping

[00:05:55] people just staffing HR kind of across the board.

[00:05:59] And you're I think your lane is kind of helping companies

[00:06:03] understand Gen Z ears and differences. So I think that's

[00:06:11] just marvelous, because most of the time, you get these

[00:06:16] generations looking and going, but what? What? You want

[00:06:20] time off? Like, you don't take time off. You know, you

[00:06:24] worked it out. This is what you do. And you would know

[00:06:27] no, no, no. But we'll get into that a little bit more. But

[00:06:31] what about the book? I mean, your journey is is, and

[00:06:37] there's so many terrific insights and that you had as

[00:06:41] you went along in your journey. And what were some of

[00:06:45] your faves that kind of came out of that? I gotta

[00:06:49] tell you, I loved your brothers. I love the stories

[00:06:51] about your brothers and how they helped you see things

[00:06:56] about yourself. But what about you?

[00:06:59] There's there's nothing like a sibling to really humble

[00:07:02] you. And so that was definitely really great. I

[00:07:07] love both of their stories. But I think my favorite

[00:07:14] one, my favorite one, oh my gosh, it's like really

[00:07:18] a really hard question. But I think that my favorite

[00:07:20] one was running in the rain with my best friend

[00:07:24] Hannah, who also has the same name I do. And so that

[00:07:28] was, I think in 2022, maybe it was such a simple

[00:07:34] story. We were going out for dinner and we were

[00:07:37] sitting on a patio and we got rained out. We were

[00:07:40] like, Okay, what are we gonna do? We're gonna go

[00:07:42] back to the hotel vacation. We were supposed to be

[00:07:45] having fun. We were a little sad about it. On the

[00:07:48] way home, we kind of had two options, right? You

[00:07:51] can let it ruin your night, or you can just lean

[00:07:54] into it. And she and I leaned into it really

[00:07:58] hard. And she, I mean, being the girl that she

[00:08:01] was, the college students that we were, she

[00:08:03] stuck her head out the window. She was like, I

[00:08:05] love the rain. We came in, we turned the car

[00:08:09] off and blasted music about dancing in the rain.

[00:08:13] And we ran and played and had so much fun as

[00:08:15] just these, these, these growing up adults. We

[00:08:21] weren't, we weren't 19 anymore. And so it wasn't

[00:08:24] like, we were still in this like, we want to be

[00:08:28] adults, like reaching for it stage. But it was

[00:08:31] that we were just starting to transition into

[00:08:34] some level of responsibility, feeling that

[00:08:36] insane sense of like, Oh my gosh, what is

[00:08:38] this life going to be moving forward? But we

[00:08:40] were still able to experience so much joy and

[00:08:44] pleasure in the most simple form. And I think,

[00:08:48] I think that that is so important for people to

[00:08:52] remember as people chase life. Everyone's chasing

[00:08:56] life in some degree or another. And at one

[00:09:00] point, it'll just kind of start to feel very

[00:09:02] similar. But if you can't enjoy some of those

[00:09:06] most simple fundamental moments with the

[00:09:08] people that are around you, it's going to be

[00:09:10] really hard. So I think that was one of my

[00:09:13] most favorite lessons.

[00:09:13] You know, you also talk a little bit about

[00:09:17] friendships versus situationships, which I

[00:09:21] thought was a great insight because I've done a

[00:09:24] couple episodes about work friends. I've always

[00:09:28] thought of friendship as a spectrum, you know,

[00:09:30] and sometimes you start as acquaintance and

[00:09:33] then you work your way up. But talk a little

[00:09:36] bit if you would about how you see those

[00:09:39] kinds of relationships.

[00:09:43] So when I was a kid, I had a massive desire

[00:09:48] to love. I was like, I love people. I went

[00:09:52] into staffing. That's what you do. I

[00:09:56] genuinely love to like show love to and

[00:10:01] spoil people whether they are my siblings,

[00:10:03] my friends, my parents, whatever that may be.

[00:10:06] And I found myself getting really hurt,

[00:10:08] really, really regularly by investing in people

[00:10:12] all the time and then getting nothing back

[00:10:15] from them. And I want to be really careful

[00:10:20] not to say that friendships need to be

[00:10:23] transactional because they don't. But if as

[00:10:28] a person you're consistently giving your love

[00:10:31] attention, time and energy to one

[00:10:34] individual and they're not reciprocating

[00:10:36] that in any way, shape or form, it's not

[00:10:38] going to be good for you in the long run.

[00:10:40] Like that's just not a healthy relationship.

[00:10:43] And so relationships do not need to be

[00:10:47] 50-50. In fact, I would recommend that

[00:10:51] relationships if they're true friendships

[00:10:54] or relationships of any form are not

[00:10:57] hardly ever 50-50 because hardly ever are

[00:11:00] two people experiencing life at the same

[00:11:03] rate, the same capacity and able to give to

[00:11:05] one another equally at the same time.

[00:11:08] But I think that there does need to be an

[00:11:11] ebb and flow of what you give and what you

[00:11:13] get from one another.

[00:11:15] And so I had to, as a young adult, take

[00:11:18] a really big step back and look at the

[00:11:21] relationships in my life and say, what am

[00:11:24] I giving to these and what am I getting

[00:11:27] from these and why have I put some of them

[00:11:29] on a pedestal? Because some people, some

[00:11:33] people I got into relationships with and

[00:11:35] I was like, I can't believe they want to be

[00:11:37] my friend. That's so cool.

[00:11:40] And I would get so excited about this

[00:11:43] concept or this idea of a human that I've

[00:11:45] built up in my brain.

[00:11:47] And then the reality of it is so

[00:11:50] different from what you've expected.

[00:11:52] And that's I mean, that goes both ways.

[00:11:54] That's something I built up in my brain.

[00:11:56] I need to make sure that I solve that

[00:11:58] myself because I can't put I can't put

[00:12:00] expectations on something or on someone

[00:12:02] that they can't live up to.

[00:12:04] But the exact same time that person needs

[00:12:06] to know that I'm investing in them as a

[00:12:08] human and if that is going to continue

[00:12:10] forward in a way that's good, I would

[00:12:13] want them to care about me the same

[00:12:14] way that I care about them.

[00:12:16] And so that chapter actually started off

[00:12:19] with a much more calculated story because

[00:12:24] I had a very significant period of time

[00:12:28] where I graded my friends.

[00:12:30] And this is so funny.

[00:12:32] But I was moving from Canada to Florida

[00:12:35] and I was like, I only have so much time

[00:12:38] to give and I need to meet a bunch of

[00:12:39] new people.

[00:12:40] And so who am I going to stay in

[00:12:42] contact with?

[00:12:43] Why am I going to stay in contact

[00:12:44] with? How am I going to stay in

[00:12:45] contact with them?

[00:12:47] And like why?

[00:12:48] And so I sat down and I made this

[00:12:50] massive spreadsheet.

[00:12:51] It's the dorkiest thing ever.

[00:12:53] I was like 18.

[00:12:55] I was 19 year old doing this.

[00:12:57] It was ridiculous.

[00:12:58] But I looked at just from a granular

[00:13:00] perspective, everybody in my life.

[00:13:03] And I was like, what do I get?

[00:13:05] How do I feel when I leave this

[00:13:08] conversation?

[00:13:09] Do I feel energized and excited?

[00:13:12] Do I feel exhausted and drained?

[00:13:14] How do I feel before going into

[00:13:16] these conversations?

[00:13:17] Why do I feel that way?

[00:13:18] What does this relationship look like

[00:13:21] through the last five or 10 or 15

[00:13:23] or now 25 years?

[00:13:25] I turned 25 next week and I've got

[00:13:27] friends that I've had since birth.

[00:13:28] Like it's so exciting, but at the

[00:13:31] exact same time, it has to be so

[00:13:34] intentional.

[00:13:35] And so I just took time to create

[00:13:38] this schedule of I love these

[00:13:42] people and these people accept

[00:13:45] love through one of these five

[00:13:47] love languages.

[00:13:48] And how am I going to give that

[00:13:50] to this person this year?

[00:13:51] And I just kind of create a

[00:13:52] calendar for myself because you

[00:13:54] know what?

[00:13:54] Time gets away from us.

[00:13:56] And it does.

[00:13:56] And I think you're right that

[00:13:58] it's it's it takes attention and

[00:14:01] it takes.

[00:14:03] But you know, the thing I'll tell

[00:14:04] you is we just had about a month

[00:14:08] ago, I had a 50 year reunion.

[00:14:12] This is listeners, this is you

[00:14:14] can imagine.

[00:14:15] Got a boomer over here in a

[00:14:17] Gen Z or but we had our 50

[00:14:20] year for my college sorority.

[00:14:24] And we haven't seen each other

[00:14:26] for a long, long time.

[00:14:28] Yeah.

[00:14:29] And they would probably be on

[00:14:31] your spreadsheet as oh, very

[00:14:34] fun at some point, but then you

[00:14:36] lose contact with them.

[00:14:39] Yeah.

[00:14:39] Cause you can't stay in touch

[00:14:40] with everybody.

[00:14:41] And I'll tell you what the

[00:14:43] beauty is, is you can come

[00:14:45] back to the situation that you

[00:14:47] had like you're talking about

[00:14:50] this in college and then go

[00:14:53] Wow.

[00:14:54] And then you connect as if time

[00:14:57] hadn't passed.

[00:15:00] Reminiscing is so, so special.

[00:15:04] But I think that that's such a

[00:15:05] great example of it is you're

[00:15:07] in university in university.

[00:15:09] You want your fun friends.

[00:15:11] So you want to think about how

[00:15:12] you're feeling and what you're

[00:15:13] doing and how you're going

[00:15:14] through those motions with

[00:15:15] them.

[00:15:17] But as a 30 year old 10 years

[00:15:19] later when you were starting

[00:15:21] your family and trying to have

[00:15:23] kids and starting to build your

[00:15:25] home, those fun friendships from

[00:15:28] the downtown nights weren't as

[00:15:29] valuable as the poor friendships

[00:15:31] that you were able to sit on

[00:15:33] the couch with and be like,

[00:15:35] I can't believe my son pooped

[00:15:37] his pants again.

[00:15:38] Like what a different

[00:15:39] relationship, right?

[00:15:41] And so it's just, um, it's

[00:15:44] so easy to let those things

[00:15:46] like pass you just in the

[00:15:47] breeze.

[00:15:48] But they do.

[00:15:49] And they come back to you

[00:15:51] sometimes, you know, it's just

[00:15:52] like, you just don't know the

[00:15:53] journey on the whole journey.

[00:15:56] Like, you know it for that

[00:15:57] moment and you can be present

[00:15:58] to it.

[00:15:58] Definitely.

[00:16:00] I also think you had some

[00:16:01] wonderful things to say about

[00:16:03] imposter syndrome because I,

[00:16:06] and your positive take on it

[00:16:10] and it's something to learn

[00:16:12] from.

[00:16:13] And I thought really nice.

[00:16:15] Let me talk a little bit

[00:16:16] about that too.

[00:16:18] Absolutely.

[00:16:19] Absolutely.

[00:16:20] I think lots of people, I mean,

[00:16:22] 70% of people struggle with

[00:16:24] imposter syndrome.

[00:16:26] And so I think so many people

[00:16:28] think that you can stop it.

[00:16:32] You can cut it out of your

[00:16:34] life.

[00:16:34] You can get it to stop coming

[00:16:36] to you.

[00:16:37] And they're like, what's the

[00:16:38] secret sauce to getting rid of

[00:16:40] imposter syndrome?

[00:16:42] And in my brain, I'm like,

[00:16:43] oh my gosh, I don't have any

[00:16:44] idea.

[00:16:45] If you can figure it out,

[00:16:46] please tell me.

[00:16:47] But I can figure out how to use

[00:16:49] it to my advantage.

[00:16:51] And so I used to look at

[00:16:53] imposter syndrome as this

[00:16:54] really big stop sign, this

[00:16:55] don't come down this road.

[00:16:57] This is really scary.

[00:16:58] You're not ready for this

[00:16:58] yet kind of stop sign.

[00:17:01] And then I was like, the

[00:17:03] first time that you do

[00:17:04] anything, it's going to be

[00:17:05] scary.

[00:17:07] And so rather than seeing it

[00:17:08] as a stop sign, I want to see

[00:17:09] it as a warning light as a,

[00:17:12] Hey, this is new.

[00:17:14] Hey, you should, you should be

[00:17:16] cautious of this.

[00:17:17] You should be careful.

[00:17:18] You should be intentional

[00:17:20] about what you're doing

[00:17:21] moving forward, but don't let

[00:17:23] it stop you.

[00:17:24] Don't let it scare you.

[00:17:25] Just let it help you make

[00:17:27] the right choice and be really

[00:17:28] careful about what you're

[00:17:29] doing as you step forward.

[00:17:31] And so I think it's more

[00:17:33] about adopting it and learning

[00:17:35] to love it than letting it

[00:17:38] freak you out.

[00:17:39] Yeah.

[00:17:40] I think one thing I've seen

[00:17:44] recently about myself is that

[00:17:46] I'm starting an element of my

[00:17:49] business from the podcast to

[00:17:51] look at offering some products

[00:17:55] on my website.

[00:17:58] And so I'm new, right?

[00:17:59] It's like new stuff, new.

[00:18:01] And I, and my career, I did

[00:18:03] a lot of new product work.

[00:18:05] So I was feeling like the

[00:18:07] creative juices are no issue

[00:18:09] for me, but when it comes to

[00:18:11] the operations and my head can

[00:18:14] explode like now what's the

[00:18:17] platform I've got to use for

[00:18:18] that?

[00:18:18] And, and I almost have to look

[00:18:22] at it and go, wait a minute.

[00:18:24] It's okay that I don't know.

[00:18:27] And I think that's the thing

[00:18:28] about imposter syndrome in

[00:18:31] that it's okay for you not to

[00:18:34] know something and you can

[00:18:37] learn it.

[00:18:40] Right.

[00:18:40] And that you can't like in my,

[00:18:44] like sometimes in your learning

[00:18:45] curve, there's, I know for me

[00:18:48] there are certain moods that

[00:18:49] come along.

[00:18:51] Like when I'm first starting,

[00:18:52] I'm like in a pink cloud,

[00:18:53] like, oh, this is going to be

[00:18:55] great.

[00:18:56] And then as I get into the

[00:18:57] learning curve, I'm like,

[00:18:59] Oh my God, this is too much.

[00:19:02] You know, I become very

[00:19:03] dramatic.

[00:19:04] The Latina in me comes out and

[00:19:06] I'm like, Oh my God,

[00:19:08] you know, I can't do it.

[00:19:09] Right.

[00:19:09] Right.

[00:19:10] And then I'll get through that

[00:19:13] phase and I'll get back to the

[00:19:14] creative flow, which is what

[00:19:17] kind of gets me over the edge.

[00:19:19] Like, okay, no, this is right.

[00:19:21] I'm supposed to, I'm, I'm on

[00:19:23] the right track.

[00:19:24] I just need to go through

[00:19:26] these different phases and

[00:19:29] I'll be okay.

[00:19:31] It's like when you clean your

[00:19:33] room or your house and always

[00:19:34] gets messier before it gets

[00:19:35] cleaner.

[00:19:36] It's just, it's always a

[00:19:38] little more scary before it

[00:19:39] looks really good.

[00:19:40] And I, I felt that way a lot

[00:19:42] with the book when I was

[00:19:43] writing it, I was coming to

[00:19:45] the end and I was just so

[00:19:46] overwhelmed by just the

[00:19:51] overwhelmingness that it

[00:19:53] was.

[00:19:53] And I had this one quote

[00:19:55] that really helped me.

[00:19:56] And it was that perfection

[00:19:58] paralyzes the process of

[00:20:00] progress.

[00:20:01] So if you're consistently

[00:20:03] looking for perfection,

[00:20:04] you're probably not going to

[00:20:06] continue moving forward.

[00:20:07] And so just, just take a

[00:20:10] step, just whatever that

[00:20:11] next step is, take it and

[00:20:13] then kind of let it help

[00:20:14] you, which is really

[00:20:16] relevant to the podcast or

[00:20:18] to the, whatever offerings

[00:20:20] that you're trying to make.

[00:20:21] And if you need help with

[00:20:22] some of those, I would love

[00:20:23] to chat afterwards, see if

[00:20:24] I can help figure it out.

[00:20:26] But it's, it's about,

[00:20:29] it's about starting it,

[00:20:30] right?

[00:20:30] It's about taking the step

[00:20:32] to be like, this is

[00:20:34] something that I'm doing and

[00:20:35] then telling somebody and

[00:20:37] then making it public and

[00:20:38] then just continuing,

[00:20:40] pushing it forward.

[00:20:41] But it's so hard when it's

[00:20:44] scary and overwhelming.

[00:20:45] Yeah.

[00:20:46] Those moves that come in the

[00:20:47] emotions that you're hit

[00:20:49] with.

[00:20:50] So have you been able to

[00:20:52] pretty much take all this?

[00:20:54] I mean, you're so

[00:20:56] grounded and wise and

[00:21:00] move that into your business.

[00:21:02] Like talk a little bit more

[00:21:03] about your business that

[00:21:05] you've set up.

[00:21:07] Yeah.

[00:21:07] So I think that anything in

[00:21:09] practice is super great or

[00:21:12] anything.

[00:21:13] Sorry, what is the

[00:21:13] correct term for that?

[00:21:15] Anything in concept is

[00:21:16] great and in practice is

[00:21:17] not as easy.

[00:21:19] And so I, I can say all

[00:21:21] of this and I can tell

[00:21:23] myself all of this.

[00:21:25] And sometimes I say it

[00:21:26] out loud to continue to

[00:21:27] convince myself, but I mean,

[00:21:29] as humans, we are not

[00:21:31] perfect.

[00:21:32] And so it's not always that

[00:21:35] simple and specifically in

[00:21:37] staffing.

[00:21:38] Staffing is hard.

[00:21:39] Staffing is all about

[00:21:41] human beings and human

[00:21:42] beings are uncontrollable.

[00:21:45] And so for us, we are

[00:21:49] just all about

[00:21:50] communication.

[00:21:51] Like, you know what?

[00:21:52] I can't make this

[00:21:53] perfect, but I can

[00:21:54] communicate with you.

[00:21:56] I can't make this

[00:21:57] fantastic.

[00:21:58] I can't guarantee this,

[00:22:01] that or the other, but

[00:22:02] what I can tell you is

[00:22:03] that it'll communicate

[00:22:04] with you through the whole

[00:22:05] thing.

[00:22:06] And that's really been,

[00:22:08] been our thing most

[00:22:11] recently through kind of

[00:22:13] the pandemic and then

[00:22:14] the shifting, ever

[00:22:17] changing, never ending,

[00:22:19] who knows what recession

[00:22:20] that we just won't talk

[00:22:21] about, which is always

[00:22:24] good.

[00:22:25] But I think the other

[00:22:26] thing that relates more

[00:22:27] specifically to the book

[00:22:29] and this comes because

[00:22:30] it's a family business.

[00:22:31] It's my dad's business

[00:22:32] and he started it.

[00:22:33] And so he talks

[00:22:35] about this at work.

[00:22:36] He talks about this

[00:22:37] at home, but we talk

[00:22:38] about the concept of

[00:22:39] three eyes a lot.

[00:22:41] And it's been ingrained

[00:22:42] in me since I was a

[00:22:42] baby and it is

[00:22:44] intensity, intentionality

[00:22:46] and integrity.

[00:22:47] It is who you are

[00:22:49] every single day behind

[00:22:51] the closed door when

[00:22:52] people aren't watching.

[00:22:54] It is how intensely

[00:22:57] you're doing what you're

[00:22:58] doing every single day

[00:23:00] and how intentional you

[00:23:01] are about what you're

[00:23:02] doing.

[00:23:03] And so we talk about that.

[00:23:04] I mean, that comes out

[00:23:05] in my life in every

[00:23:06] which direction, but

[00:23:08] we talk about that a lot

[00:23:09] through just how we do

[00:23:10] hires and how we try

[00:23:12] to find people.

[00:23:13] That's so cool.

[00:23:14] So intensity, integrity,

[00:23:16] intentionality.

[00:23:18] Did I get that right?

[00:23:19] Yes ma'am.

[00:23:19] Oh good.

[00:23:21] Oh terrific.

[00:23:23] And I guess that

[00:23:25] would be your mission,

[00:23:26] right?

[00:23:26] Is that kind of like

[00:23:27] your mission statement

[00:23:29] to communicate and to

[00:23:31] bring that point of

[00:23:31] difference?

[00:23:33] I think my mission

[00:23:34] and statement is to connect.

[00:23:36] I like to connect

[00:23:38] people with the jobs

[00:23:40] they need.

[00:23:41] I like to connect

[00:23:42] employers with the

[00:23:44] people they need.

[00:23:45] And I like to connect

[00:23:46] humans with the

[00:23:47] information that

[00:23:48] might serve them

[00:23:49] to help them make

[00:23:50] the choices up there

[00:23:51] along the way.

[00:23:52] Wow.

[00:23:53] Sounds so good.

[00:23:56] One thing we talked

[00:23:57] a little bit about

[00:23:58] was things that

[00:24:03] Generation Z are looking

[00:24:05] for that are kind of

[00:24:08] different.

[00:24:09] Yeah.

[00:24:10] So let's talk a little

[00:24:11] bit about that.

[00:24:12] Like what do you think

[00:24:14] they're looking for

[00:24:16] that differentiates them?

[00:24:20] So technology is the

[00:24:23] first and most important

[00:24:25] thing that they are

[00:24:26] interested in.

[00:24:28] I think it's 97%.

[00:24:33] I have a presentation on it.

[00:24:34] I can quote it

[00:24:35] and get you those stats

[00:24:36] if you're really interested,

[00:24:38] but it's 97% up or down

[00:24:40] one or two that will

[00:24:42] make a decision about

[00:24:44] where they want to work

[00:24:45] based on the technology

[00:24:46] that's in the company.

[00:24:47] And so that means

[00:24:49] a ton of different things,

[00:24:50] right?

[00:24:51] That means the technology

[00:24:52] that you're using

[00:24:54] to be seen by the public.

[00:24:55] So what does your

[00:24:56] marketing look like?

[00:24:57] What does your brand

[00:24:59] awareness look like?

[00:25:00] That means the technology

[00:25:02] that's being used

[00:25:03] inside the company.

[00:25:05] So what is your ATS look like?

[00:25:07] What is your CRM look like?

[00:25:09] What do all of your

[00:25:11] internal softwares look like?

[00:25:13] Are you on Teams?

[00:25:14] Are you on Workplace?

[00:25:15] Are you on Microsoft?

[00:25:16] Like Google me.

[00:25:17] What's the suite

[00:25:19] that you're using?

[00:25:20] And then they're also

[00:25:21] super interested in just

[00:25:24] good quality equipment.

[00:25:27] If you put them at a computer

[00:25:29] that is a decade old

[00:25:31] and it takes five minutes

[00:25:33] to load a website,

[00:25:35] they're going to get so mad

[00:25:37] at the equipment that

[00:25:39] anything beyond the surface

[00:25:41] of the literal hardware

[00:25:42] will not matter.

[00:25:44] And so those are kind

[00:25:45] of the three things in tech

[00:25:47] that are super important

[00:25:49] for Gen Z's.

[00:25:50] And then outside of that.

[00:25:54] Everybody wants to be paid

[00:25:56] a fair and living wage.

[00:25:57] So I won't even say

[00:25:59] that that's one of them,

[00:26:00] but we'll just make that a note.

[00:26:03] But flexibility,

[00:26:04] they crave flexibility

[00:26:07] in a ton of different ways.

[00:26:09] And again, just like tech,

[00:26:10] this can be seen so differently.

[00:26:12] And for HR professionals,

[00:26:13] I really want them to understand

[00:26:15] that they have so much power

[00:26:17] and control over this.

[00:26:19] People hear the words

[00:26:20] flexibility,

[00:26:20] and they're like, no,

[00:26:22] I can't do it.

[00:26:22] It freaks them right out

[00:26:24] because they're like,

[00:26:24] I need them to be in the office

[00:26:26] from nine to five

[00:26:27] or whatever that is.

[00:26:28] And that's totally fair

[00:26:30] and reasonable

[00:26:30] because different companies

[00:26:31] have different stipulations

[00:26:32] that their employees

[00:26:33] have to live up to.

[00:26:35] But I would just encourage employers

[00:26:37] to take a big step back and say, OK.

[00:26:39] What kind where what both

[00:26:43] where and what kind of flexibility

[00:26:45] can I offer?

[00:26:46] So where are they doing the work

[00:26:48] and what is being done?

[00:26:50] Personally, I'm a sales

[00:26:52] and marketing manager

[00:26:53] because I can't focus on just sales

[00:26:55] and I can't focus on just marketing.

[00:26:56] I love both of them desperately.

[00:26:59] I'm actually adding

[00:27:00] consulting into that, too.

[00:27:01] So I'm like, I've got

[00:27:02] I've got one day a week

[00:27:03] that goes to one avenue

[00:27:05] of the company

[00:27:06] in every which direction,

[00:27:07] which means that every day

[00:27:09] that I wake up,

[00:27:10] I'm so excited to see what happens.

[00:27:12] So I'm like, I don't even know.

[00:27:14] Like my days are so different

[00:27:15] consistently, and that's

[00:27:17] so exciting to me.

[00:27:18] And that's what flexibility

[00:27:20] feels like to me.

[00:27:22] Now, I might be changed

[00:27:23] to my desk from nine to five,

[00:27:25] but I've got flexibility

[00:27:27] in what I'm doing.

[00:27:28] And so that's kind of

[00:27:29] one of the things

[00:27:30] or what time they're doing it

[00:27:33] or where they're doing it

[00:27:35] or how they're doing it or.

[00:27:38] You know, X, Y, Z

[00:27:40] like you're you play with it

[00:27:42] as you will, right?

[00:27:43] And so, yeah, because I

[00:27:45] I think in my career design.

[00:27:49] I must have been a Gen Zer in heart,

[00:27:51] you know, because I needed

[00:27:57] the flexibility and the way

[00:27:59] that I built it into my career

[00:28:01] was by changing jobs.

[00:28:04] So, OK, I launched these products.

[00:28:08] And what's next?

[00:28:10] Oh, you don't have anything.

[00:28:12] OK, I'm going to go over here

[00:28:14] and I'm going to do

[00:28:15] some more new product launches.

[00:28:17] And then, you know,

[00:28:19] that was how I kept myself

[00:28:21] interested and stimulated.

[00:28:23] And so, you know,

[00:28:26] maybe it's not that different,

[00:28:28] you know, in some regard,

[00:28:30] you know, that we are

[00:28:31] as human beings,

[00:28:32] we have curiosity.

[00:28:33] We we want

[00:28:37] new things to happen

[00:28:40] and we want the stimulation.

[00:28:43] So are some people

[00:28:44] I got to say,

[00:28:45] not everybody wants that, but I do.

[00:28:47] So, you know, it sounds like

[00:28:50] a little bit of a

[00:28:51] different take on it.

[00:28:51] Now, one thing

[00:28:52] we do hear a lot about

[00:28:54] is Gen Zers want balance is.

[00:28:57] And I think what you're saying,

[00:28:59] though, is flexibility

[00:29:02] could be something like balance.

[00:29:05] OK, yeah, I think

[00:29:06] you're right on the nose there.

[00:29:08] I think that.

[00:29:11] It's important to keep in mind

[00:29:13] generations he came into the workforce

[00:29:16] at a time where they came in

[00:29:17] with it looking completely different

[00:29:19] than it's ever looked before.

[00:29:21] And so our base of standard

[00:29:24] and basic and norm

[00:29:26] is very different

[00:29:27] than most other people.

[00:29:29] And so lots of generations, I mean,

[00:29:32] generations struggle

[00:29:33] with the new generation regardless.

[00:29:36] Twenty year olds can suck

[00:29:37] because they're 20 year olds, right?

[00:29:38] Like we're learning how to do life.

[00:29:40] We're learning how to grow up.

[00:29:41] And sometimes that that's hard.

[00:29:43] And as people who have gone through that,

[00:29:45] it's very easy to look back at us

[00:29:47] and go, come on, pull it together.

[00:29:49] And I get that.

[00:29:50] That's totally fine.

[00:29:51] But just from a general Gen Z perspective,

[00:29:56] we've had a very different experience

[00:29:58] coming into the workforce than most others.

[00:30:00] And so we're asking for balance.

[00:30:03] And I think that balance

[00:30:04] is actually flexibility,

[00:30:06] but we haven't used the right term yet.

[00:30:09] And so it's just a flip of the switch

[00:30:13] and trying to figure out how to find

[00:30:16] now an actual balance

[00:30:18] between what the Gen Z's are asking for

[00:30:21] and what really needs to be done.

[00:30:23] Because again, I understand

[00:30:25] that not everybody is going to get what they want.

[00:30:27] That's not how life works.

[00:30:29] It'd be great if it was, but it's not right.

[00:30:31] And so someone needs to compromise on what side

[00:30:34] we should define the balance of the compromise in between,

[00:30:36] which I think is probably hybrid models.

[00:30:40] Cool.

[00:30:41] I and also when you first came on,

[00:30:44] we were talking about a little bit about relationships

[00:30:47] and nothing's 50-50.

[00:30:51] And marriages certainly aren't 50-50.

[00:30:54] Sometimes you're 80-20,

[00:30:56] sometimes the other person's 80-20.

[00:30:59] It's like that's one thing I love about

[00:31:01] when Brene Brown talks about that.

[00:31:04] 50-50.

[00:31:06] And I think companies have thought

[00:31:09] that they were 100%.

[00:31:13] And now it's shifting.

[00:31:16] It's shifting a little bit in terms of,

[00:31:19] well, if you don't like what's here, you just leave.

[00:31:23] You know, which is kind of what I grew up in.

[00:31:27] Where now it's like they're listening

[00:31:31] to keep people and to retain the talent,

[00:31:35] maybe a little bit more.

[00:31:37] You know, again, on the spectrum,

[00:31:39] it may not be as high as we would like

[00:31:42] or the way in which we would like, but

[00:31:45] I don't think it's quite as hard as it used to be.

[00:31:48] What do you think?

[00:31:49] I think you're right there on the nose that

[00:31:53] pre-COVID, it was an employer's market.

[00:31:56] They had all of the control and then COVID happened

[00:31:59] and it was an employee's market

[00:32:01] and they had all the control.

[00:32:03] And now we're shifting somewhere in between

[00:32:06] and we're trying to find a balance.

[00:32:08] But the employees have gotten a taste

[00:32:12] of what that feels like.

[00:32:14] And so they're desperately trying to hold on to it.

[00:32:18] And then the employers are used to

[00:32:21] what the norm is for them having that 100%.

[00:32:26] And they're frustrated by the others

[00:32:29] who are now experiencing some of the alternative.

[00:32:32] And so it's not only is it a battle of who gets what,

[00:32:36] but it's a battle against

[00:32:38] if either side should have anything.

[00:32:40] So it's a really funny like people are mad at each other

[00:32:44] and people are mad that people are mad.

[00:32:46] So it's a funny balance.

[00:32:47] It's great insights you just gave.

[00:32:50] Those were great insights, Anna.

[00:32:52] Those are really, really good.

[00:32:54] I think you have, well, because of your business

[00:32:59] and your clarity about who you are,

[00:33:02] you can definitely see some ways for people to navigate

[00:33:06] and to move.

[00:33:08] Thank you for listening today

[00:33:09] and we sure hope you enjoyed this episode.

[00:33:11] I know I kind of have a cliffhanger, right?

[00:33:14] For you ending where I did,

[00:33:16] but we'll cover it off in part two.

[00:33:18] So make sure that you listen in for that.

[00:33:20] And if you liked this episode,

[00:33:22] please leave a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts

[00:33:24] or tell a friend about us

[00:33:26] and join our public Facebook group, Girl Take the Lead

[00:33:30] or visit our website, girltaketheleadpod.com.

[00:33:34] We also have a YouTube channel

[00:33:36] where your subscription would be appreciated.

[00:33:38] And we're on YouTube music

[00:33:40] where you can see the video version of this episode.

[00:33:46] Here are the three takeaways from this series.

[00:33:49] One, remember the three I's from Hannah's dad,

[00:33:56] intensity, intentionality and integrity.

[00:34:01] Two, imposter syndrome doesn't need to be a stop sign

[00:34:06] but can be a warning sign

[00:34:08] and can be a yellow light to tell us

[00:34:11] to be cautious and intentional.

[00:34:14] And three, don't let the perception

[00:34:18] of what you want other people to think about you

[00:34:22] stand in your way of doing what you need to do.

[00:34:28] Our next episode will cover

[00:34:30] the rest of my conversation with Hannah

[00:34:32] about job searching, post pandemic

[00:34:35] and her podcast Workish.

[00:34:38] So make sure to join us for part two.

[00:34:41] Thanks for being here and talk to you soon.

[00:34:43] Bye.