Forward-Looking Leadership

Author: Dan Freehling

This is a podcast for visionary executives building future-ready organizations. Youll come away from each episode with new insights you can use to stay ahead of the curve and ensure your firm thrives not just today, but for years to come.
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Language: en

Genres: Business, Management

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Ang Richard on Coaching Gen Z, Becoming a LinkedIn Top Voice, and Reimagining the Campus-to-Career Playbook
Tuesday, 16 December, 2025

Ang Richard (angrichard.com, linkedin.com/in/angela-richard/), a Gen Z career coach, TEDx speaker, LinkedIn Top Voice, and PhD candidate in higher education, joins host Dan Freehling (contempusleadership.com) to examine how Gen Z is navigating a rapidly changing world of work. Angela reflects on shares guidance for early career professionals on handling criticism and staying grounded in impact rather than online noise (03:35). She explores how generational differences in communication styles and values, especially around feedback, work-life balance, and career development, are often misinterpreted as deficiencies rather than differences (06:56). Angela also discusses the current labor market and its disproportionate impact on early career professionals, emphasizing the importance of realistic, data-informed coaching that acknowledges structural barriers alongside individual agency (13:22). The conversation also covers Angela’s approach to LinkedIn as a space for authentic thought leadership, where sharing failures and uncertainty builds trust and community rather than personal branding polish (21:44). Angela shares insights from her doctoral research on the school-to-work transition, sense of belonging, and intersectionality, as well as her work examining how federal workforce policy connects unevenly to community colleges across states (32:07). Recommended reading: “The Privileged Poor” and “Class Dismissed” by Anthony Abraham Jack, “The Unspoken Rules” by Gorick Ng, “Careers by the People” by Mike Wysocki. Show notes at forwardlookingleadership.com.