Nurturing Leadership Potential in Gen Z Professionals
ABOUT THIS SESSION:
Generation Z is the fastest-growing segment of the American labor force; and, we’re targeting high-impact leadership roles in every industry!
Harvard Business Review contributors Mihnea Moldoveanu and Das Narayandas state, the need for leadership development has never been more urgent.
As Gen Z professionals enter and advance in their careers, an equity-centered approach to leadership development is imperative. Characterized by unprecedented political engagement, innovative technology integration, and bold stances on workplace norms, Gen Z demands a reimagined world of work.
Leadership roles are no longer exclusively for those with 20+ years of experience. Gen Z professionals are eager to exercise their diverse skills. Career educators, hiring managers, and workplace mentors must nurture and sustain leadership potential in early career professionals to ensure the continued momentum toward career equity.
This session will highlight the crucial roles of peers, supervisors, mentors, and community members in the leadership development of Gen Z professionals.
Hear from Ang Richard and MG Xiong, innovative Gen Z educators and changemakers dedicated to uplifting early career success outcomes. They bring an equity-driven, joy-filled approach while sharing real-life experiences and practical tools for supporting Gen Z students and professionals.
Learn how to effectively engage Gen Z, the importance of nurturing leadership potential in early career employees, and how to prepare for and succeed in leadership opportunities as a young professional.”
PRESENTED BY:
ANG RICHARD (Read Ang’s Bio)
Career Coach & Special Projects Leader at Boston University
MG XIONG (Read MG’s Bio)
Director of Engagement & Learning for the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC)
ABOUT ANG:
Ang Richard (she/her/hers) is the founder of Professionally Unprofessional, LLC and a Career Coach & Special Projects Leader at Boston University’s Center for Career Development. As a Gen Z, first-gen student and professional, Ang is passionate about empowering early career professionals to thrive in the world of work. She is a LinkedIn Top Voice, TEDx Speaker, and workshop & course facilitator, and she strives to foster a sense of belonging wherever she goes. Her work has recently been featured by Booz Allen Hamilton, The Washington Post, uConnect, The Taco Bell Foundation, Bustle Magazine, and LinkedIn News. Ang recently began her journey as a Higher Education Ph.D. student at Boston College studying early career mobility, sense of belonging on college campuses, and the impact of identity-centered programming on vulnerable student populations.
ABOUT MG:
“MG Xiong (they/them) is a Hmong, nonbinary, transmasculine, and queer GenZer from Anchorage, Alaska. They now live in Massachusetts where they serve as the Director of Engagement & Learning at the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC), the oldest active trans advocacy organization in the nation. In this role, MG leads education and training services that build capacity for trans inclusion and gender equity to audiences ranging from local mountain biking groups to nonprofit organizations and national companies. Their background is in community programming and learning & development, including experience with advancing the career development of transgender people of color and first generation Asian Americans college students. In 2023, MG oversaw and led the launch of MTPC’s Trans Leadership Academy, a workforce development program designed by and for trans people of color. They continue to provide leadership and job-skills readiness assistance to trans and queer individuals, specifically and especially those interested in mission-driven roles.
MG aims to center joy in their life which looks like cultivating community with others, holding themself true to their identity as a life-long learner, and parenting their cat, Meatball.”