Unlocking Gen Z’s problem-solving potential

As a longtime high school teacher, one of the biggest challenges we face in education is standing back and letting students solve problems on their own. As teachers, we live to answer questions from students and tell them how to solve a problem. What I’ve observed from Gen Z students is interesting.

Gen Z students are tech-driven. “Just Google it” was what I heard throughout my classroom. A general search is a good starting point, but what if that doesn’t solve the problem? A few students would delve deeper, asking questions of me and others in the class, or ask if they could try to find an expert and email them their question(s). However, most of the students, after one or two attempts at a web search, would simply give up. No questions to others, no plan B. Disappointing!

One strategy that I had to teach was “think time.” None of the students took the time to identify WHAT they needed to do after that first web search did not solve their problem. I had to teach this. Before diving in further, stop and think (no music playing through their phone…quiet think time), analyze the problem, identify resources available to you, make a plan, and then proceed. Solve the problem!

With most problems, the deeper you get into it, you the more you find the need to adjust your plan/approach. You also hit walls. When you hit a wall, what do you do? As I stated previously, many just gave up. One thing that I would advise the students to do was to take a short break. Go for a walk, work on something else for a while, and then come back with a refreshed perspective. It was amazing how many times this worked!

As a leader in your organization working with Gen Z employees, how can you best coach Gen Z employees to solve their own work-related problems?

1. Do not do for them what they can reasonably do on their own.

2. Encourage making a plan, taking “think time,” asking questions of others, and taking a break when you hit a wall.

3. Stress that just giving up is not an option.

4. Help them realize that the more complex a problem is, the longer it may take to find a solution.

5. When success occurs, celebrate! Make sure they know how proud of them you are, but also celebrate their accomplishment publicly (shout out in a weekly newsletter or at a team meeting).

Gen Z-ers have an extensive toolkit at their disposal. Teach and encourage them to use it to its fullest to solve problems!