To gain insights into nurturing the future of business leadership, we posed a question to founders and CEOs. From providing financial support to creating a business incubator, here are the twelve insightful strategies these leaders shared.
- Provide Financial Support
- Offer Internship Opportunities
- Allow Shadowing of Top Executives
- Equip the Team with Knowledge
- Foster Aspirations Early
- Promote Gender Diversity
- Try “LeaderQuest Pods”
- Set Up Personal Mentoring
- Foster Continuous Learning and Skill Development
- Take an Upskilling Approach
- Partner Young and Senior Workers
- Create a Business Incubator
Provide Financial Support
At Zendog Labs, our strategy to support the emerging generation of business leaders is twofold. First, we recognize the importance of financial backing to translate innovative ideas into reality. Hence, we strive to equip young entrepreneurs with the necessary capital to fuel their startups. We believe this financial boost provides a critical launching pad for these promising ventures. Second, we extend our influence beyond finance by offering “Venture as a Service” programs. This initiative allows us to impart practical knowledge and share our experience. For instance, we mentor entrepreneurs in planning their startup’s growth trajectory and crafting compelling pitch decks. This not only nurtures their skill-set but also instills confidence to navigate the intricate business landscape. In sum, by providing both financial and mentoring support, Zendog Labs plays an integral part in the growth journey of these future business stalwarts.
Rafael Sarim Özdemir, Founder and CEO, Zendog Labs
Offer Internship Opportunities
As a CEO, supporting the next generation of business leaders is a crucial responsibility. One way we do this is by actively participating in mentorship programs and initiatives that foster leadership development. We believe in providing opportunities for young professionals to grow, learn, and gain practical experience in the business world. One example of how we support the next generation of business leaders is through an internship program. We offer internship opportunities to college students and recent graduates, providing them with hands-on experience in various departments of our company. During their internship, we pair each intern with a mentor, usually a senior executive or manager, who guides them throughout their journey. The mentorship process involves regular one-on-one meetings, where the mentor provides personalized guidance, career advice, and feedback on projects the intern is working on.
Sai Blackbyrn, CEO, Coach Foundation
Allow Shadowing of Top Executives
The approach is super simple—we give our up-and-coming talents an opportunity to shadow our core team of executives to learn the ropes and also identify where their strengths lie. They hang out in meetings, see how decisions are made, and really get a front-row seat to the entire leadership show. For example, we had a bunch of our junior members witness our client negotiations, where they learned that balancing being strong and flexible was key. Suddenly, leadership wasn’t this far-off thing; it was a mix of skills and a mindset anyone can work on.
Ewen Finser, Founder, The Digital Merchant
Equip the Team with Knowledge
Leadership is not just about guiding; it’s about equipping. To lead the charge into the future, it’s essential to provide our team with the right tools, knowledge, and skills. That’s why every team member is given a paid ChatGPT subscription, the beacon of AI in the present age. But access alone isn’t enough. To ensure everyone can integrate this potent tool seamlessly into our workflows, we’ve developed self-shot tutorials detailing the myriad ways ChatGPT can revolutionize our business practices. From predictive analytics to customer engagement strategies, the tutorials are a springboard, a launching pad into the AI-enhanced future. We’re not just investing in technology; we’re investing in our people. We’re enabling them to be pioneers, visionaries equipped with the latest that AI tech has to offer. And as they grow with this newfound knowledge, they’ll be uniquely positioned to lead, innovate, and shape the business world of tomorrow.
Michael Gaman, CEO, XAQ10
Foster Aspirations Early
For my SAT tutoring company, we encourage tutors to move up the ladder if they are interested in other business roles beyond just being tutors. This encourages them to learn the ropes of how to operate a business at a young age and can hopefully foster aspirations of becoming an entrepreneur and starting their own companies one day.
Adam Shlomi, Founder, SoFlo Tutors
Promote Gender Diversity
Supporting the next generation of business leaders means moving away from the status quo—something I’ve embraced in my company. For decades, the industrial sector has been the purview of males alone, but my recruiting firm marks a shift in the culture. Because I support women in the field, they’re more likely to come to me and my agency, where they know a female recruiter will understand the systemic bias they’re up against. We help them land jobs they’ve felt shut out of. Not only is this fostering fresh ideas in the industrial sector, it’s also paving the way for women recruiters who no longer see certain sectors as off-limits. This newfound gender diversity is strengthening leadership with a breadth of ideas and lived experiences.
Linn Atiyeh, CEO, Bemana
Try “LeaderQuest Pods”
We match seasoned leaders with emerging talents in remote dyads. They collaborate on real-time challenges, exchanging insights and strategies. This symbiotic connection molds the next-generation leaders in our virtual ecosystem, ensuring wisdom flows seamlessly across generations.
Michael Alexis, CEO, virtualteambuilding.com
Set Up Personal Mentoring
Whether luckily or unluckily, we are still at the scale where personal mentoring and shadowing are both possible and relatively easy to manage. Having been in the business for a long time, growing Yarooms in line with the overall growth of the hybrid-workforce industry, it feels possible to take the personal time to pass on what has been learned over the years to those who will step into more leadership-oriented roles in the future.
Dragos Badea, CEO, Yarooms
Foster Continuous Learning and Skill Development
Demonstrating commitment to the growth of the next generation of business leaders involves actively fostering their pursuit of knowledge and skills development. By wholeheartedly supporting their endeavors to pursue higher education, attain professional certifications, and engage in continuous learning through workshops and courses, organizations contribute to their holistic development. This approach not only enhances their expertise and capabilities but also empowers them to stay abreast of evolving industry trends and advancements. By investing in their education and skill enhancement, organizations reinforce their dedication to nurturing well-rounded leaders who are equipped with the tools to navigate complex challenges, innovate, and contribute meaningfully to the success and sustainability of the business landscape.
Sacha Ferrandi, Founder and Principal, Source Capital
Take an Upskilling Approach
Hiring young and upskilling has been our motto since day one at Contentoo. We were a couple of old-timers with years of experience in a room full of young talent. They were suddenly thrust into a great deal of responsibility that normally they would need to wait years for, but we trusted in their skills and our ability to arm them with the knowledge and capabilities they would need to succeed. They are all learning everything about the business, not just their own niche, and if I had to wager, I’d bet that in a few years, more than a few of them will go on to found their own companies.
Onno Halsema, CEO, Contentoo
Partner Young and Senior Workers
One way we support the next generation is by partnering a younger worker with one of our senior workers for a year. This goes beyond mentorship because the senior worker we choose also has leadership skills and wisdom, and we feel they could be a positive influence on younger workers. Depending on the two involved, the partnership can run smoothly or offer challenges, but the partnerships are always worth it because both parties appear to get a lot out of it. Young workers learn about work in the real world and mature quite a bit during the year of partnership. The two also seem to remain friends throughout the younger worker’s career, even after the year of partnership is done.
Bruce Tasios, CEO, Tasios Orthodontics
Create a Business Incubator
At our company, we are deeply committed to supporting the next generation of business leaders. One of the key initiatives we have launched to achieve this goal is the creation of a business incubator. Our incubator program provides young entrepreneurs with the resources and support they need to turn their innovative ideas into successful businesses. For example, within our incubator, we offer a range of resources, such as office space, access to industry-leading technologies, and mentorship from our seasoned executives. We also provide access to a network of investors who are interested in supporting promising startups. We believe that by nurturing these promising young entrepreneurs and providing them with the right support, we are not only contributing to their success but also fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship that will benefit the entire business community.
Will Gill, Event Entertainer, DJ Will Gill
