The missing leaders of tomorrow. we did this.
I keep asking myself: Where are the next leaders coming from? And then I realized the better question is: Why don’t they want to lead at all?
As someone who’s guided hundreds of rising professionals and consulted for organizations across industries, I’ve seen a trend that’s both alarming and full of opportunity: Members of Generation Z, the largest generational cohort entering the workforce, are opting out of traditional leadership pathways. Not because they lack ambition.
Because leadership, as it’s been modelled, doesn’t look worth it.
They’ve watched leadership burn people out.
They’ve observed managers come home exhausted. They’ve lived through “work-hard, climb the ladder, sacrifice everything” only to see it end in burnout, blurred boundaries, and broken promises. So they made a decision:
“I want to make an impact, but not if it costs me my peace.”
That’s not rebellion. That’s clarity.
The system taught them what not to become
For decades, we taught that leadership = power.
We rewarded the loudest voices, the longest hours, and the grandest titles.
We promoted people who could hit metrics, not those who could build others.
And Gen Z? They saw through it.
According to the Deloitte 2025 Global Gen Z & Millennial Survey: only 6% of Gen Z say their primary career goal is reaching a senior leadership role. Harper's BAZAAR+2Deloitte+2 Another poll found that 72% preferred an individual career progression over managing others. INSEAD Knowledge In simpler terms: the old ladder isn’t motivating them.
Meanwhile:
86% of Gen Z say that a sense of purpose is important for job satisfaction. SUCCESS
70% report they develop skills weekly to advance their careers. Deloitte
They are ambitious; they just define success differently.
I believe we created the gap
We told young professionals that leadership was about power and position. We rarely showed them it was about purpose and people. We handed them KPIs, not character development. And then we looked around and asked why they weren’t raising their hands to lead.
We built systems that reward results over relationships and now we’re paying the price.
What leadership must look like now (and how I help leaders build it)
The answer isn’t to force Gen Z into the old model. It’s to reinvent leadership so they want to step into it.
Here’s what I’ve seen work, based on experience and research:
Lead with, not over. Authority now is earned through trust, not titles. I coach leaders to ask: “How am I enabling talent?” instead of “How many report to me?”
Redefine success metrics. Move beyond “hours logged” and “titles earned” to measuring impact, influence and growth. Because as Gen Z tells me: purpose trumps position.
Make well-being part of the business plan. A burned-out leader cannot build a healthy team. I train leadership teams to embed self-leadership and recovery into their model.
Coach more, command less. Young professionals today respond to mentors, not micromanagers. One on-one conversations that focus on growth beat annual reviews every time.
Serve first. Lead always. I introduced my Lead by Serving™ framework because true leadership isn’t about being in charge; it’s about being responsible for those in your charge.
Rebuilding the pipeline I deliver
If organizations want to fill the leadership gap, here’s what I help them do:
Create safe spaces for emerging leaders to fail, learn and grow (this is how I built the “Future Leaders Lab” for my clients).
Recognize informal leaders, those influencing peers through behavior, not title.
Embed mental-health, social-impact, and flexible models into leadership development.
Teach existing managers to model the behaviors Gen Z will want to follow.
The future of leadership is service
Gen Z isn’t rejecting leadership; they’re redeeming it. They’re reminding us that leadership was never about being above others, it was always about being for others.
If we want more leaders tomorrow, we must model leadership worth stepping into today.
Because the truth is…
The missing leaders of tomorrow won’t show up until today’s leaders show them leadership that’s human again.