Michelle Nettles on generational change
From MPG IWD 2022 Leadership Full Michelle Nettles · · ManpowerGroup Colombia
“They've lived and grown up with more flexibility, they've lived and grown up with more diversity, and they are a lot less inclined to just follow the status quo.”
On , Michelle Nettles, Executive Vice President and Chief People & Legal Officer at MANPOWERGROUP, spoke about generational change during MPG IWD 2022 Leadership Full Michelle Nettles on ManpowerGroup Colombia.
About Michelle Nettles
Michelle Nettles, Executive Vice President and Chief People & Legal Officer at ManpowerGroup, has discussed the importance of flexibility and questioning the status quo in leadership. In a 2022 International Women's Day video, she stated that leaders should reflect on how flexibility already applies to them and noted that younger generations, having grown up with more flexibility and diversity, are less inclined to follow the status quo. She added that their inquisitive nature prompts adults to reconsider practices that are maintained simply because "we always have." In a 2020 podcast, Nettles addressed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on work and leadership. She described solidarity against the virus as a fundamental human response but expressed concern about emerging nationalism, emphasizing the need for a connected global economy. Nettles argued that trust empowers workers and that human-focused leadership, rather than a mechanistic approach, creates opportunity. She distinguished remote working from flexibility, defining the latter as employee choice in delivering output, and said managers must listen, be vulnerable, and exercise judgment about invading personal space. Regarding diversity and inclusion, Nettles stated that the practice has not progressed significantly and that the pandemic has increased focus on disability and neurodiversity, though progress remains challenged by societal biases.