Page:What Soldiers Want.pdf/3

 plish their missions. Though empathy, emotions, and viewpoint are all important to achieve outstanding evaluations, they are not necessarily part of the NCO evaluation process.

Recommendations

Gen Z Soldiers believe leadership is a major factor influencing their decision to reenlist and continue their Army careers, or not. As NCOs, we are the ones directly responsible for shaping and developing young Soldiers into future NCOs.

During my study, I concluded that Gen Z Soldiers desire NCOs who have high moral values and practice what they preach. More than 60% emphasized the importance of having leaders they can trust. They also stress the need for NCOs to have experience, knowledge, and skills in the areas they lead, which will build trust and demonstrate competence. Therefore, NCOs who want to lead the Army into the future must be honest, competent, and trustworthy.⬛

Badubi, R. M. (2017). Theories of motivation and their application in organizations: A risk analysis. International Journal of Management Science and Business Administration, 3(3), 44-51. https://doi.org/10.18775/IJIED.1849-7551-7020.2015.33.2004

Boatwright, K. J. & Forrest, L. (2000). Leadership preferences: The influence of gender and needs for connection on workers’ ideal preferences for leadership behaviors. Journal of Leadership Studies, 7(2), 18-34. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1177/107179190000700202

Fails, R. (2004). The shaping of the NCO Corps: From the draft to the modern volunteer Army. Sergeants Major Academy. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD1129019.pdf

Farag, A. A., Tullai-McGuinness, S., & Anthony, M. K. (2009). Nurses' perception of their manager's leadership style and unit climate: Are there generational differences? Journal of Nursing Management, 17(1), 26-34. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2834.2008.00964.x

Gan, J. (2019). Communicating across the Army. U.S. Army. https://www.army.mil/article/228275/communicating_across_the_army

Hanks, R. D. (2021). How post-millennial soldiers desire to be LED: Implications for current and future Army noncommissioned officer leadership training] (Publication No. 28411265) [Doctoral dissertation, Regent University]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. https://www.proquest.com/openview/2df24e39273e010cccd808e1a045b24c/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y

Jenkins, R. (2020). The Generation Z guide: The complete manual to understand, recruit, and lead the next generation. Ryan Jenkins, LLC.

Lips-Wiersma, M., Haar, J., & Wright, S. (2020). The effect of fairness, responsible leadership and worthy work on multiple dimensions of meaningful work. Journal of Business Ethics, 16135-52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3967-2

Miller, C. A. (2019). Preparing the millennial generation for leadership. NCO Journal. https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/NCO-Journal/Archives/2019/September/Preparing-the-Millennial-Generation-for-Leadership/

Moore, C. C. (2019). Engaging Gen Z. NCO Journal. https://www.armyupress.army.mil/journals/NCO-journal/archives/2019/august/generation-z/

Patel, D. (2017). 8 ways Generation Z will differ from millennials in the workplace. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/deeppatel/2017/09/21/8-ways-generation-z-will-differ-from-millennials-in-the-workplace/#7c8e00da76e5

Peebles, S. (2011). Welcome to the suck, narrating the American soldier’s experience in Iraq. Cornell University Press.

Reid, K. C. (2018). How the network generation is changing the millennial military. War on the Rocks. https://warontherocks.com/2018/03/how-the-network-generation-is-changing-the-millennial-military

Sgt. First Class Roland Hanks is currently the senior paralegal NCO at the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker, Alabama. He has served for 15 years in multiple assignments including Advanced Individual Training instructor, operations coordinator (U.S. Embassy Conakry), and chief paralegal. He has a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership with a concentration in Human Resource Development.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the NCO Journal, the U.S. Army, or the Department of Defense. NCO Journal