Behind every successful graduate is a manager who takes the time to lead, coach and support them properly.
Yet in our work with early career programs across Australia, we’ve consistently noticed that people leaders are the overlooked component in graduate development.
While organisations invest heavily in recruiting graduates and creating development workshops, the managers who work with these graduates day-to-day often receive little guidance on how to effectively lead early career talent.
These are the people who spend hours with your graduates each week (or maybe even each day) – guiding them, answering their questions, and shaping their first professional experiences. When this relationship works well, it creates a foundation for success. When it doesn’t, it can have significant implications on engagement, wellbeing and performance.
Why your People Leaders matter more than ever
Fifteen years ago, graduate development meant mostly workshops and formal training sessions. Today, the landscape has fundamentally changed.
Gen Z graduates need more than just development sessions and task assignments. They’re looking for mentors and coaches who understand them as individuals and can help them navigate the professional world with purpose and clarity.
We regularly see this challenge play out: a manager who excels at leading experienced staff suddenly struggles when working with graduates. They’re used to team members who need less guidance and already understand workplace norms.
You may even pair emerging talent with emerging leaders – creating situations where both are finding their way together.
We’ve heard it from many confident managers:
“I thought leading grads would be the same as any team member, just with a bit more guidance. But I didn’t realise needed something different, that they were looking at the world through a completely lens from me.”
This disconnect creates genuine frustration on both sides. Gen Z graduates expect:
- More frequent feedback
- Coaching-style conversations
- Meaningful purpose and connection
When these different expectations clash without understanding, both graduates and managers can end up feeling misunderstood and undervalued.
The Real Impact of Effective People Leadership
Recent research reveals that 46% of Gen Z report feeling anxious or stressed most or all of the time.
Yes, you read that right – almost half of your graduate cohort are going through their work day completely on edge.
Many of these anxieties stem from questions of belonging:
- “Do I fit in here?”
- “Am I good enough?”
- “Is this the right place for me?”
A skilled people leader can be the difference between a graduate who thrives and one who quietly disengages before eventually leaving.
When your managers truly understand how to effectively lead graduate talent, the benefits are significant:
- Deeper connection and trust: Creating psychological safety allows graduates to bring their authentic selves to work, reducing anxiety and increasing their sense of belonging
- Improved wellbeing alongside performance: Managers who recognise early signs of burnout and know how to support graduates help maintain both wellbeing and productivity
- Bridged generational understanding: Proper training replaces potential frustration with empathy, helping managers appreciate different perspectives
- Enhanced program outcomes: People leaders who are aligned with your early career strategy become powerful advocates who reinforce program objectives daily
We’ve witnessed countless times how the right manager can completely transform a graduate’s experience.
The stark reality is that managers can either unlock graduate potential or inadvertently push talent out the door.
The emotional cost of losing promising talent is high – for the graduates who feel they’ve failed, for the teams who miss out on their contributions, and for the graduate teams who invested significant resources to bring them in.
Creating Effective People Leader Training
Truly impactful people leader training should focus on equipping managers with practical tools to better support their early career talent – directly addressing the challenges People Leaders face every day.
Here’s some key elements we cover in our most popular workshop: Leading Early Career Talent
- Understanding Gen Z perspectives: Gaining insight into the lived experiences that have shaped early career professionals’ approach to work
- Communication approaches: Learning techniques that build trust with early career professionals
- Feedback strategies: Developing methods for providing the specific, frequent feedback graduates value
- Coaching conversations: Building skills for conversations that develop confidence and capabilities
- Psychological safety: Creating environments where graduates feel safe to contribute and grow
Through interactive learning and practical discussions, managers develop these skills in a supportive environment, before immediately applying them with their own graduates.
Is it worth the investment?
Let’s be honest about the numbers. You’ve likely spent thousands on graduate recruitment through campus events, assessment centres, onboarding, and development workshops. That’s before calculating the time your team has invested.
The last thing any organisation wants is to watch that investment walk out the door, or see them fail to reach their full potential, because a graduate couldn’t connect with their manager.
When graduates feel supported by knowledgeable managers who understand their needs, they’re more likely to:
- Engage fully with your program
- Develop their skills more rapidly
- Contribute meaningfully to organisational goals
- Remain with your organisation beyond the formal program
As your organisation continues to develop your early career strategy, including People Leader development as a core component will be increasingly important for long-term success.
Making the Most of Your L&D Budget
With the end of financial year approaching, now is the perfect time to use remaining L&D budget to strengthen this critical part of your early careers strategy.
We’re offering special EOFY rates for organisations committed to bridging the gap and developing confident, capable People Leaders who can effectively support your graduate cohort.
Get in touch today to discuss how we can tailor our Leading Graduate Talent workshop for your specific organisational context and explore additional workshop topics that complement your strategy.
Your managers will thank you — and so will your graduates.
