Business
How to Lead Gen Z and Rethink Modern Workplaces
Roberto Kim explains why pushback against young talent reflects management flaws and how mobile tech reshaped career choices.
In a conversation on Marketing - The Podcast, Roberto Kim analyzes how companies interact with younger generations and why building supportive work environments matters. The discussion explores purpose, leadership, and the decentralization driven by mobile content creation.
Roberto Kim, CEO of EDGE Productions, discussed how the corporate world views and handles young talent during a conversation with Bruno Gimenes on Marketing - The Podcast. For Kim, criticism aimed at younger generations overlooks the fact that early-career inexperience is common to every era, while also ignoring the behavioral strengths of younger professionals.
In the video above, the conversation explores the production company's dynamic with young creators and the leadership approach required to manage modern teams. Kim pushes back against the recurring claim that newcomers do not know how to produce, highlighting their communicative openness: "I work with them, and they carry fewer traumas, they don't have as many hangups, they're much more... because they don't carry that baggage, they feel free to talk to you openly. They'll talk to you about topics you couldn't even bring up when you were their age."
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The Role of Work Formats in Talent Retention
According to Kim, when a young employee fails to deliver expected results, the primary responsibility usually lies in the framework provided by the organization itself. Instead of demanding that people adapt unquestioningly to outdated methods, leadership must build ecosystems that foster individual growth.
"The way I see it, when I hire someone, I have to give them a space and a format where they can shine. If they don't shine because my format is bad, then my format is bad, man. I'm the one who needs to change," Kim explains. Bruno notes that there is a broader societal shift toward more present parenting and evolving family dynamics, shaping a generation with fewer barriers to interacting and asking questions.
Kim points out that leaders' frustration often stems from their inability to navigate the relationship: "We don't know how to deal with the new generation. And a lot of times, we just want to take it out on them." He emphasizes that he actively shares past mistakes and lessons to guide his team, offering the technical support and mentorship that were unavailable at the start of his own career.
Positioning, Culture, and Simple Execution Done Right
When addressing brand and production identity, Kim highlights that building a strong culture attracts both clients and team members aligned with the business's purpose. In dynamic content markets, a true competitive edge comes from consistent delivery.
"When you nail the basics, you break through," Kim asserts, arguing that companies with clear direction forge genuine connections with their audience. For him, financial metrics alone cannot sustain an organization over the long term: "We want a path where people come to us for who we are, for what we can deliver as work, obviously, but where they also understand our purpose. A company without purpose is a company without positioning."
Mobile Technology and New Income Opportunities
Another core theme of the conversation is the decentralization brought about by digital tools and smartphones. Unlike previous eras, when entry-level options were confined to rigid operational jobs or traditional corporate roles, today a young person equipped with a phone has viable paths to monetize as a creator or filmmaker.
For Kim, this shift raises the bar for what professionals expect from corporate environments. "You know why the older generation dislikes the new one? Because with a phone, I can make more than you did after 50 years on the job," Kim remarks. He adds that uninspiring roles lose their appeal when independent paths exist: "If I can make good money right now using just a phone, why would I make the same money just to stock shelves in a retail store?" The challenge for leadership, therefore, lies in designing roles that offer real perspective, motivation, and genuine learning opportunities.
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