Managers as Amplifiers of Culture for Gen Z

Generation Z now makes up roughly a quarter of the global workforce, and that single statistic is reshaping how people leaders think about hiring, development, and retention. In the tenth episode of this season of CultureClub X, powered by CultureMonkey, host Nicole Patrick sits down with Diane Smith, Senior Officer of Culture and Experience at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan, to work through what this generation actually expects from work and from the managers who lead them.

Diane brings more than 25 years of people management experience to the table. She has been with the foundation for 28 years, and moved into her culture and experience role only in the last few years, when the organization put greater intentionality around workplace culture and employee experience. Her stated goal is a simple but demanding one: to make the organization the best one to work for and the best one to work with.

The conversation circles a single question. As ownership of culture shifts from HR alone to the managers closest to the work, how do those managers become amplifiers of culture rather than gatekeepers of it? Diane's answer travels across policy, learning and development, benefits, hybrid work, and psychological safety, and it keeps returning to one theme: Gen Z is vocal about what it wants, and the leaders who genuinely listen are the ones who will keep this talent.

Why do Gen Z hiring and onboarding policies need to move faster

Diane starts at the very first touchpoint any employee has with an organization, the candidate, new hire, and onboarding experience. This generation wants to see things move quickly, she says, and a hiring process that feels clunky and slow can make it hard to even attract the next generation of talent.

From there she argues for a total review of policies through a DEI lens. What organizations once treated as optional has become foundational, and younger workers are actively holding employers to that standard rather than taking it on faith.

What does an equity audit of your policies actually ask

Instead of treating diversity and inclusion as a slogan, Diane pushes leaders toward a concrete equity audit of their policies and practices. She frames it as a set of pointed questions: who does this policy benefit, who is being disproportionately impacted by it, and are our policies fair and equitable across gender, race, ethnicity, identity, and sexual orientation.

She is just as firm that writing the policy is only half the work. The organization has to partner with people leaders so they understand each policy and apply it fairly and equitably, because inconsistent enforcement quietly undoes even well written rules.

She then widens the lens to the policies Gen Z cares about most, from training, development, and career pathways to flexible work and benefits. This generation wants advancement, coaching, and mentoring, and it will not wait as patiently as earlier generations did for movement within a company. The benefits list has changed too, stretching to tuition reimbursement, student loan repayment, mental health services, and paid time off for volunteering.

How does the 70/20/10 model modernize learning for Gen Z

On learning and development, Diane makes the case for on-demand training and smaller, bite-size, just-in-time learning nuggets. This generation grew up looking up videos to figure out how to do something in real time, so learning that mirrors that habit lands better than long, scheduled courses.

She also urges leaders to delegate for growth rather than wait for someone to already hold every skill a role requires. Development, in her framing, should follow the opportunity, not precede it. She points to a 70/20/10 model, where 70% of growth comes from on-the-job experiences, 20% from coaching and peers, and 10% from outside skill development like conferences and formal training.

Underpinning all of it is a coaching culture built on regular check-ins and what Diane calls a talent development profile, co-created so the leader understands an employee's career goals and can actively look for opportunities to help them get there.

Why pay and health insurance no longer keep people in their seats

Diane is blunt that the old retention levers have lost their grip. Compensation and benefits alone will not hold Gen Z in place, and she argues leaders have to be open to real career development even when it means an employee eventually outgrows the organization.

That openness runs in both directions. Gen Z is not afraid to give feedback, which Diane treats as a gift rather than a threat, and she notes that more seasoned generations have to be willing to receive it. The job of the leader is to create trusting spaces where that exchange can happen without fear of judgment.

How do managers become amplifiers of culture instead of sole HR custodians

This is the heart of the episode. Diane welcomes the shift away from culture being owned by a single department, because managers sit closest to employees, understand their unique needs, and can role model, reinforce, and recognize the behaviors a company says it values, while coaching against the ones that fall out of alignment.

Decentralizing culture to managers also creates a feedback channel upward. Leaders who sense a problem early can flag it to HR and upper management in real time, giving the organization a truer pulse than a central team could ever gather on its own. Much of this depends on managers helping their teams read the written and unwritten rules of the place.

What does productive hybrid work look like for Gen Z

Asked about hybrid work, Diane offers five levers for productivity. The first is genuine work-life balance, supported by more asynchronous ways of working so people can contribute on their own time whether they are in the office or not. The second is regular check-ins that make room for self-care, including the occasional mental health day, and the psychological safety to ask for what they need without being judged.

The remaining three round out the picture: building a positive team culture that trusts people to work independently and embrace new tools, quickly recognizing and managing tensions between generations so they do not stall productivity, and leading with an equity lens for what she calls the most racially and ethnically diverse generation yet. That last point means responding fast to microaggressions, separating intent from impact, and showing vulnerability as a leader.

Why listening has to come before action

By the close, the practical advice collapses into one discipline: engage the generation, listen to what it is asking for, and then actually adjust. Diane is candid that no company can grant every request, but the act of asking creates an obligation to respond.

That is precisely where continuous employee listening earns its place. When feedback flows into a visible employee feedback loop and leaders act on employee sentiment in something close to real time, the trust Diane describes becomes tangible rather than aspirational. For managers stepping into their role as amplifiers of culture, listening is not the soft part of the job. It is the foundation that makes everything else, from flexibility to belonging, real.