‘Leaders need to adapt to the newer generations, not the other way around’ – Michael R. Virardi 

Many things have been said about Gen Z’s approach to work. The generation from 1997 onwards are already in the workforce, and, together with the younger Generation Alpha, will make up to 80 per cent of the workforce by 2034. According to Michael R. Virardi, the companies that thrive will be the ones that adapt to them, and not the other way around.

“Leaders need adaptive leadership. The people who are running the show need to adapt to the generations coming in,” Mr R. Virardi explains to MaltaCEOs.mt.

Michael R. Virardi is a world-renowned leading trainer, speaker and best-selling author on public-speaking, leadership and business culture. He has worked in over 25 countries with some of global companies like Coca Cola, Google, The American P&I Club, Microsoft, and McDonald’s.

On Monday, he gave a talk for the Malta Business Network, sharing his expertise on how to unlock the true potential of a business through leadership and what he calls the loyalty advantage. 

“Your leadership style is the number one quality that will get a loyalty advantage for your business. To change the company culture – that’s through leadership.”

Mr Virardi explains that the hierarchy needs to be reversed. A leader needs to be “steering the ship” from the back, and letting their team do what they do best. 

“A good leader needs to be listening to his team, instead of the team waiting for their CEO to tell them what to do. Ultimately, it comes down to trust.”

Here he talks about different kinds of mindsets to adapt. 

One mindset is that of the protector. This is one we do with our kids. As soon as things aren’t working, we step in, we fix it. At the end of the day this just paralyses them. 

“With a mentor approach on the other hand, you have high standards. You listen. You meet the needs of your team. They need to be understood, and motivated through wise feedback. This is the mentor mindset.

You believe in them. But you push them.”

“Would you say that that an infant will turn out to be a bad person in the world because it’s crying? No. It’s because they need diaper change. They need food. Or because they lack sleep. So why do we label Gen Z in the same way?”

Ultimately, one of the key points for Mr R Virardi is the importance of listening. As he explains, “God gave us two ears and one mouth, we should use them in that proportion. Listen twice and then talk once, where most people talk, talk, talk.”

He emphasises that leaders who truly listen to their teams—regardless of age or experience— thrive through the art of listening: Gaining valuable insights and better adapted strategies to better meet the needs of their organisation. Sometimes the simplest concepts bring the most profound change.