- Just ahead, we kick off season three of WTVP'S "Leadership Lessons for Home, Work and Life."

Tonight's critical conversation brings discussion from our great Central Illinois leaders.

The workforce has made dramatic changes over the last couple of years, it's not your father's workplace anymore.

We've got tips to help you be a better leader, and it all starts right now.

(bright music) Good evening, thanks so much for joining us.

I'm Amy Burkett.

I'm happy to be back with you for season three of Leadership "Lessons for Home, Work and Life" here on WTVP.

Did you know one third of our nation's workforce is made up of millennials?

That's people born between 1981 and 1996.

Those born from 1997 on are also rapidly growing.

Working with these younger team members requires a different style than what many of us might be used to.

Forbes.com states, "The days of clock watching, corporate cubicles, and over-the-shoulder micromanaging are over."

So how do you lead today's workforce?

I've got leaders from Peoria Magazine's 40 Under Forty joining me tonight to help us find out.

We'll kick off the conversation with Lacey Dilbeck, material planning analyst at Caterpillar, and Kari Rauh, director of Workforce Solutions for the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council.

Ladies, thank you so much for your time.

Let's jump right in.

What do you see, Lacey, as sort of the biggest change in the workforce with these younger employees?

- What I see in today's current workforce is the need for leadership and help with what they're working on but also the ability to stand back and let them grow, to let them figure things out on their own so that they can make decisions and feel empowerment in the work that they're doing.

- So Kari, empowerment seems to be one of the things that when I work with young people, I see it all the time.

But let's just be honest and frank, sometimes that empowerment, I've seen some young people trying to do some things that they don't know how yet.

How do we balance that by giving them empowerment but still trying to give them the resources that they need to be successful?

- That's a great question.

I think in my work in workforce development, what we've seen is that the workforce has fundamentally changed.

Instead of benefits or salary, what people want is they want managers that have their back, that they know have their back and are leading with empathy.

So I think in terms of empowering younger employees, just affirming their worth in the workforce and that they can work in ways that are creative, I think one thing about millennials and Gen Z is that they do bring a certain level of creativity, and because of the technological revolution we've all experienced in the last number of years come with new ideas and want to express those new ideas.

So I think as a manager, communicating that their perspectives are valuable and valued and seeking to work together to explore how those perspectives could be incorporated into a workflow and into a team environment is something that I think young people are looking for.

- Thanks, Kari.

Lacey, talk to us a little bit.

When we talk about empowering people and we talk about that empathy, what I've also noticed in a lot of younger employees is they want freedom.

They don't wanna be there between nine and five, they wanna be able to take that run in the morning and maybe start a little later or get out earlier in the evening and maybe log back onto their computers from home.

It's an opportunity, but it's sometimes challenging to be able to keep the workflow going.

Talk to me a little bit about how you've been able to have some of that flexibility that younger people are looking for.

- So in my current environment that I'm working in, I'm actually in the facility.

So I am there, and I am supposed to be there from seven to three or seven to four, depending on the day.

Now, my flexibility comes in that as long as my job is getting done and as long as those that are working for me is getting done, then I allow them that flexibility.

So yes, there is a need to be at the facility, there is a need to be there in person, but if you need to take a run in the morning or go to the gym in the morning, such as myself, I need to work out in the morning, and you show up at 7:30, 8 o'clock, then that's fine, and you work until a certain amount of time, or if you need to leave at two o'clock to go pick your children up, then you show up earlier and you put in your time there.

Now, obviously that's, like I said, somewhere that, it's a place where you work in the facility.

Caterpillar experiences many roles that are not in the facility, they're at home and they're allowed to work from home in which you have that flexibility.

We're also a global company, and working internationally there is a need to log on at nine o'clock.

So it would be fulfilling those roles if you're someone that maybe wants to sleep in till eight, nine o'clock and not get online until 10.

Those are the roles for you in the current environment.

- Lacey, I also wanna give you the opportunity to just sort of share with me any strategies that you've found that are really working well.

You know, and you're considered a younger leader, recognized as 40 Under Forty leaders throughout the Peoria Greater Region.

What are you seeing that works for you personally that you've been able to carry down to people who report to you?

- From a leadership perspective?

- [Amy] Yes.

- So one of the things that work for me is that I, like many of my generation, don't like to be micromanaged.

I like to feel a sense of empowerment, like we talked about earlier.

And so having the ability to take my roles and expand them and work with people, and when I need to go to my boss for knowledge or for her network or something like that, that's really worked for me.

I'm a firm believer that as a leader, there's many sources of power, many sources that you gain respect from your individuals.

One of those is knowledge, and I think that that's one of the most powerful ones out there.

You don't necessarily have to know everything about the role from a leader's perspective, but you definitely have to have a sense of knowledge about what the roles of your people, what they consume.

And so having that, that's really worked for me.

And then just gaining that knowledge as you work through your different roles in your job and as a leader.

- Thanks so much.

Kari, let's pick up there.

What are the things, strategies that you've learned that are really resonating with your younger workforce?

- Yeah, well, through the pandemic, this is one of the first times that at the GPEDC that we've had fully remote interns.

And so, as has been named, one of the things that younger workers are looking for is flexibility.

And so having an intern working for us who graduated from Bradley but now is in Chicago pursuing law school and figuring out how do we work together for the good of the region.

Just learning that communication is key.

We, the way that my intern and I work is we usually have, you know, a Monday morning check-in, just what are your goals for the week?

How can I as a manager support you?

What else do you need from me to be successful in this week?

But 30 minutes, and then being available for him as he has additional questions, that's worked really well for us.

Obviously, different people have different work styles, but from the beginning, he and I both agreed that communication is key.

Just when you know that, when he knows that I believe that he's getting his work done and he knows that I'm available for him if he has any questions, that has been a really good flow.

- Thank you, Kari.

Lacey, let's pick back up on the communication style, because you had brought up earlier about not wanting to be micromanaged.

Where's that fine line?

'Cause some people would say they don't wanna micromanage, but they're just touching base to see how things are going.

Give us some warning signs or things that we might not realize as a leader who might have been in the industry a little longer that we may be micromanaging in a way that we didn't intend to, we were just touching base from a communication style to make sure we were all on the same wavelength.

- I think being sensitive to it.

Knowing that everyone feels differently about how they're being managed.

And so, you know, having that communication flow, being the person that talks to your employee and says, "Hey, I am going to check in on this.

I need you to communicate back to me if in fact you're feeling micromanaged."

You know, being able to say, "I need updates on this," and explaining why you need those updates.

Because I think a lot of, you know, the communication gap with managers to employees and when employees start feeling disgruntled or micromanaged is because that they don't understand what has to travel uphill.

So in this current environment, in my role specifically, we are under a lot of pressure to produce to customers.

We are behind in producing to customers, much like all manufacturers in this current state.

And so because of that, my leader and her leader and her leader above her are getting pressure from their bosses.

And so while I may feel that I'm getting micromanaged and then therefore my employees are getting micromanaged, that may not necessarily be the case.

They just have to report, they have to report the information.

Now, you have to feel a level of trust, right, as an employee, and making sure that you as the leader are communicating that trust in other ways.

Yes, I am checking in, and yes, I wanna know this information, but when I, you know, when I do it, when I say, "Hey, you know, can you please do this for me?"

and I say, "Yes, give that employee time to do it," don't come back around 30 minutes later and say, "Did you do this?"

Give them a minute.

- So good, Lacey.

Thank you so much.

This segment is wrapping up a little too quickly, ladies, I wanna give you each an opportunity, just sorta give a final thought to encourage others and help equip us in working with young people, and I'm gonna start with you, Kari.

- Yeah.

One thing that, one of the best managers I've learned from is actually my father.

We had a family business, and when I was asking him, "Dad, how would you look at this changing workforce and managing people?"

He said, "You know, there's really an affirmation deficit in the world."

And when we think about, when we think about leading with empathy and for people knowing they're valued, he's like, "You know, really if you just communicate your care to your employees and that you have their back, most employees are gonna, that's 95% of the battle."

And so that's something that as a leader that I'm trying to instill in my team but also in the way that I'm working with my teammates.

- So good.

Lacey, you get the final word.

- So for me, I think respect is huge in the workplace.

A lot of people, you know, and this is something that's changing, a lot of people feel that you have to earn respect.

I am a firm believer that no one should have to earn respect.

You should get it upon just knowing the person.

Now, can you lose respect?

You certainly can.

But if you give respect right away, you'll find that most people, they appreciate that and they will respect you back.

And so from a leadership perspective, just showing respect right out the gate is huge.

- Lacey and Kari, such great information.

Thank you so much for sharing it with us.

Well, forbes.com has these three strategies for welcoming a younger workforce.

Number one, create a thriving, nurturing corporate culture.

Second, revisit the benefits you offer.

And third, reimagine mentorship.

(bright music) Let's meet two more amazing Greater Peoria leaders right now, Hank Stickelmaier is the talent acquisition manager for RLI, and Laura Sutter is the assistant vice president at RLI.

Folks, thanks so much for being with us.

Let's kick things off and talk.

We've heard the phrase quiet quitting a lot.

Hank, let's begin with you, and talk to us a little bit.

How can we help navigate a situation if we sense one of our younger employees are starting to be in that quiet quitting situation?

- Yeah, well, and I think with it being quiet quitting, it is hard to recognize it.

I mean, I've spent my career in HR, and I think that's something we see a lot of probably from the younger generation, but at all levels I think it's when people get comfortable in a role, managers might start to think, hey, they're taken care of, like, I'm gonna focus on either the people that need development or the highest performers.

There's those people in the middle that do a really good job that we need, and they don't feel like they're seeing the same development opportunities, the same recognition that other people are getting, or the same focus that other people are getting.

And so, there's a lot of people that just wanna go to work, do a good job, and they're gonna continue to do that even if they're unhappy or slowly start to feel less and less recognized.

And so, you get to that point where I think they just hit a wall where it's, "I'm no longer comfortable with this job, I'm gonna look elsewhere."

And then they find something else where they feel like they're gonna be valued and treated fairly and see something that they might not be currently getting.

And I think a lot of people think the grass is always greener type things.

So as managers, as leaders, I think the biggest thing is always feeling like you have a good pulse on your team, making sure everyone's given opportunities for advancement, or like just growth opportunities.

So if you're passing projects to one person more than others, people see that and they start to feel like they're not as valued as others, and that weighs on them.

So I think as long as people are cognizant of trying to do things for all of their employees and be thinking about all their employees, that helps.

But I do think that that's kind of the underlying reason, is really just not feeling like they're have the same opportunities as others.

- Laura, let's talk a little bit.

What have you seen when leading the younger workforce?

What is working for you?

- Sure, I think, kinda to what Hank was saying, just listening to the team, trying to make sure we understand what it is that interests them or what they want out of their career.

So just being open with, you know, if someone is interested in progressing through their career, well, what does that look like?

What can we share with them that they will know?

Like what skills and competencies do we need, do they need in order to progress to the next senior level or director level?

So being very transparent about that, I think, is very helpful to keep the team engaged.

- What are some more, when we talk about transparency, sometimes everyone has a different opinion of what transparency is.

Sometimes there'll be younger employees I've worked with, and they just wanna know every decision before it's being made, or they don't find it transparent.

We all know sometimes as a leader you can't share absolutely everything 'cause you're working on things.

How can we come across to our employees that level of transparency without giving away what I'll call company, you know, future planning situations?

- Sure, I think just even just using technology, using Teams right now, we use that in our company, and just sharing just from a high level, "This is what's happening, this is the meetings that, that are taking place right now with different product groups."

Just high level, "This is the company strategy.

This is the type of things that we are working toward, these are the big wins."

Just being as open as you can without divulging things that you can't be.

- Hank, talk to us a little bit.

You know, you're in talent acquisition, so you're the guy (Hanks chuckles) who is training everyone.

And what are you seeing when we're talking specifically about these younger employees that we may not have recognized that we need to clue into?

- I mean, I think for the younger generation, I mean, the biggest thing is trying to make sure that they understand too that some of that development and stuff needs to be on them as well.

I think, like at RLI, for example, managers do try hard, we try to do a lot of things from a corporate level.

Letting people know that there's development opportunities, we do a lot with offering career growth for people that wanna pursue specific designations in their fields of interest or insurance as a whole.

People that really want to, like, drive and better themselves and push themselves forward.

But I think a lot of times too, people think that their manager's job is to really push them forward and tell them, like, "This is your development plan, this is how I'm gonna get you there."

And that's, a great manager can do that, but if someone has 10+ employees, that gets very demanding to be able to do that for so many people, and a lot of managers might not know what they want to achieve, and so then it feels like they're pushing you towards something that they may not be interested in.

So I think a lot of things would be like self-management of like, where you wanna get to, let people know where you wanna get to and what you're willing to do to get there.

I think that's probably a really beneficial mindset to have.

- Hank, I wanna know, I have another question for you.

One of the things that I've noticed as a leader and when I coach other leaders, people who've been doing it a little bit longer, such as myself, I've got three decades of leadership.

(Hank chuckles) It took us a long time to get to where we are, and it seemed like the process, what took 10 years for maybe a more senior leader, we'll see a younger leader wanna get there in 18 months.

- Yeah.

- How do we help them without saying, "Oh, we did, it took us 10 years to get there."

How do we help with their individual development plans but give them realistic expectations that one year of hard work and excellent performance does not make you the president of the company?

- That's a really good point.

I think expectations is probably, again, setting expectations, I think some people just need to see it in real life.

I mean, you kinda go through this mindset of if you work hard, you'll get far, and there's so many companies out there that titles might not mean as much, and so people see other younger people getting in these high levels of titles, thinking that they're all equal and so if you come into a company that maybe doesn't have a lot of opportunities for different levels, it's how can we get them to understand, we can give you meaningful activities, meaningful work, expand on the expectations of what you're doing, but it may not come with a title, it may come with expanded compensation, expanded responsibility scope, but really setting those expectations that, like, this is what it means to be at that level and this is what you'll have to do to get there, and it'll probably take some time, because I do think that is a big thing of just people expecting that.

Like, we see it all the time in talent acquisition of, "Well, I haven't been promoted in a year."

They'll come into an interview and say, "Well, I know I can't be promoted every six months," and it's like, well, (chuckles) it'd be probably longer than that, whether it be two or three years where we expand on your responsibilities and continue to progress your pay.

But we may not have an actual title to recognize that immediately or else, like you said, someone will get up to the top levels of our organization in a few years, where typically that takes a lot of time.

And so just setting expectations and letting people know, like, this is the process we have, this is what we're evaluating, and to make sure that they realize that they're being recognized by their work, not by their title, I think, is probably the big one.

- Such great advice, Hank.

Thanks so much.

Laura, let's build on that.

The things that you're seeing with direct reports.

How do you help them progress and be able to handle the workload and the expectations of what might lie ahead?

- Sure, I think it's very important to just be very visible with my team.

So it's recognizing when they are struggling, like if there's something that I can maybe do to help them, like whether with the workload or just who can we help delegate additional work to to really make sure that we're not stressing out and being overloaded with work.

So I think that's one of the key things that I really try to help my team with, is really just making sure that we have the right resources in place for the types of projects that we have, and if anyone's struggling and not able to keep up, then what can we do to help them?

So that's been one of the biggest things that I'm- - Laura, that's such an important point because the word I hear everywhere is, "Oh, I'm crazy busy."

- Yeah.

- So how do we help people not realize or really not over-inflate the fact that every company, every industry, is busy these days.

- Yeah.

- But when we say the words crazy busy, it doesn't allow us to function better one step at a time because we get all overwhelmed.

What are those strategies that have worked for you?

- Yeah, like I said, just being very transparent with your manager, making sure that they know, like, your manager should know or maybe they don't, they just need to hear it, that, like, I have this and this and this and this on my plate, and I have to get it all done by tomorrow.

You know, it's not gonna happen.

How can we make this happen?

So let's just step back and really work with your team to figure out what is the game plan, how can we make this manageable?

So I would just say transparency, being open with your team is the best solution in my experience.

- Such good advice.

Hank, I wanna talk about professional development then.

The other thing that I hear a lot from people is, "We don't have time for professional development because we're crazy busy."

So how do you, in talent acquisition and trying to advance people, how do you help people realize that you don't have time not to take or invest in professional development?

- Yeah, I mean, I think it is, like, setting expectations, so I think a big thing comes from managers.

If they set expectations as far as like, do as I say, or do as I do, not as I say, like, if you tell people, "You don't need to be online late working and all of this stuff," but you're doing it as a manager, people see that and feel like that's the expectation.

But with, like, professional and development specifically, it's one of those things where I think managers need to tell their employees the importance of that.

Like, growing and developing is a very rewarding experience too.

I think for people that aren't seeing the title changes and things that they may wanna see, getting expanded work opportunities and getting that chance to grow professionally just through, whether it be designation, certifications, going back to school, any of those things, I think, are a really great opportunity to just let people know, like, that will better your whole career, it'll make you a better employee.

And I think when companies as a whole are trying to let people know that that's important to them, like, I think the employee population kinda picks up on that.

Like for example, I would say RLI, there are a lot of opportunities where we do tell people, "Hey, these are the opportunities available to you, and we reward it through, like, additional compensation, bonuses, types like that to show that we're, one, willing to pay it and offer you time off to study and things like that, and then also, like, reward it with like a bonus."

I think when people see that the company is accepting and pushing people towards that, like, they wanna do that or kinda follow through.

- Final words, we're running out of time quickly.

(Hank chuckles) Laura, your last chance.

I wanna give you an opportunity.

What have I not asked you that you find so important in helping to motivate this younger workforce?

- Sure, I would just say be open to new opportunities.

Just really think about, like, if something is at your doorstep, think about, like, can I do this, and try.

Try to experience new opportunities that really helps with the growth aspect, and get involved.

Like Hank just said, there's a lot of different groups and organizations like young professionals groups or Toastmasters or different things that you can get involved in to really just help foster additional relationships at your workplace and just continue advancing in your career.

- Hank, you get the last word.

- (chuckles) Well, I mean, I think, like Laura said too, like, doing things beyond, I mean, not necessarily going beyond your job, but like being willing to take new opportunities, take a chance on something.

Don't sit there and think, well, that's not a part of my job, I'm just gonna do what I'm told to do.

If there's a project that you're passionate about or wanna get involved with, like, let people know that you wanna get involved in that area.

I think, again, going back to people setting where they wanna be and trying to push themselves forward is probably the biggest thing they can do to help their career because a lot of times if you don't voice where you're at or where you wanna be, no one's gonna be able to tell you how to get there or what you need to do to progress without being vocal about it.

- Hank and Laura from RLI, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us, we so appreciate it.

- Thanks.

- Thank you.

- Unfortunately, that's all the time we have for you this evening.

You won't wanna miss next week's show when we'll explore the issue of leadership then and now.

I look forward to seeing you then.

Goodnight, my friends.