Jedidiah 'Jedi' Alex Koh is the Founder of Coaching Changes Lives, Asia's leading Coaching Firm Specializing in Team Leadership Development.
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Leadership renewal and succession planning has been, and will always be, a key challenge for any organization as it looks to grow and thrive across generations. Little emphasis has been placed on how to raise the next generation of leaders effectively, and much mystery shrouds the effectiveness of leadership principles and methods on this generation.
Larger organizations often have a structured process to induct and raise up those with high potential; however, they do not account for the rapidly evolving times and learning styles of a new generation. Though the process does give some foundational competence to develop leadership, the way we groom the next generation of leaders must be fundamentally relevant to the times and future workspace and challenges of this generation. It must stand upon the shoulders of the collective wisdom of the past leaders, push forward and create new realities.
The way we coach our future leaders shouldn’t be from a top-down approach in design, but rather a partnership with them on board in the learning process. This new generation has a new language that most older generations have yet to catch on to. A new language of commerce, a language of connection, a language of this generation’s spirit — wanting to forge a future or purpose, meaning and destiny. I believe that developing a deeper engagement with the next generation of leaders requires entering their world through the commonality of language.
One of the most interesting linguistic principles that has been adopted widely in this era is what I coined the Octothorpe Principle, or the hashtag language. It is interesting to note that just over a decade ago, the hashtag phenomena became part of our “street language.” It first appeared on Twitter, quickly spread throughout social media channels, and has since been codified into modern language.
The octothorpe had its beginnings in the early 14th century and is Latin for “pound weight.” During that period of time, it was common practice to add a horizontal line or bar to abbreviated words, known as a tittle. This was done to show the connectedness of the letters and avoid misunderstandings of similar numerals. The acceptance and adoption of this form of street language soon became part of the vernacular.
The Octothorpe Principle isn’t just representative of the usage of hashtags but of the shared lingua franca of a generation. This also includes the medium of communication and interconnectedness of cultures that produce a gallimaufry of spoken and written language. When individuals speak in such words and language, they are accepted socially and that individual is understood. Leaders, politicians and even marketing commercials use the Octothorpe Principle in their messages, making their communication more relatable to a specific audience.
Based on my experience, coaching this new generation of future leaders requires the utilization of the Octothorpe Principle:
Seek First To Learn
I find that many leaders want to show that they “know” the language of the people. They may overuse these words and come across as being weird, unrelated and sometimes cringy.
Leaders should begin by first seeking to learn about these new words we are hearing used by the younger generation. Ask questions like, “Can you teach me the phrase ‘JOMO’ that I’m hearing your peers use?” or “Recently, I have been hearing the team use the phrase ‘I’m shookt.’ How do you use that word appropriately?”
When leaders do so, it models the behaviors of teachability and humility while they learn from a younger generation.
Judicious Application Of Choice Words
When leaders learn these words, it is crucial not to misuse them, nor use them overtly. Carefully consider when the application of a word in a given context can produce a deeper engagement and understanding with this generation.
Not all words may be appropriate to use. There are carefully guarded cultural words that, if spoken by others, would come across as insensitive or insincere. The chosen words must come across as respectful and show that you have taken the effort to learn what they mean. The best times to use such words might be during your team’s strategic meetings, visioning or team-building and team-learning opportunities.
Words Create Worlds
How we utilize our words as coaches and leaders can create worlds in the minds of our teams. To coach this generation is to partner with them, creating new horizons and futures. I find that this younger generation wants to create their own legacy — not just follow in the footsteps of the former, but break through new realities. Coaches who utilize words —spoken or written — that resonate and engage with these stakeholders will be able to develop a place where young leaders feel safe to explore deeper.
Generation Z is the future of the economy, and I believe the state of disjointedness in leadership development is due to the lack of authentic coaching. Coaching goes beyond titles and experience. Just having a personal, relatable conversation truly matters.
The future of coaching is not a rigid, formulaic, model-based approach. Rather, it is a dynamic, ever-evolving and flexible partnership with the next generation of leaders to create catalytic transformation. Beyond Gen Z, coaches and leaders will need to constantly learn from our generations after — and not just in structured classes or leadership development programs that have strategic usefulness but weak implementation.
What does the future of leadership development hold? From the perspective of my Octothorpe Philosophy, leadership development is to be relevant, flexible, quick to adapt and able to challenge the norms and push new realities. Thus, coaching is quintessential for the development of leaders, and it will take coaches focused on next-generation leadership to lead this new frontier.
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