Bruce Watt Senior Vice President, DDI
Who is a leader today? Recent data suggests that not many people under 30 want to be leaders.
The promise of greater influence and prestige, as well as higher salaries, attracted junior staff to the corporate ladder. For today’s new workforce, especially Generation Z (born 1997 to 2010), the linear path to the top has lost its appeal.
Gen Z employees increasingly prioritize autonomy, flexibility and well-being over traditional leadership paths. To many, the structured corporate path, once viewed as a sign of success, now feels more like a compromise of personal priorities rather than a reward. It’s a decision that young employers are less willing to make.
This shift in mentality is quickly becoming a pressing concern for HR teams. According to The DDI Global Leadership Forecast for 2025 which surveyed over 11,000 business leaders and 2,000 HR professionals, 80% of HR executives reported a lack confidence in their leadership pipelines. The CEOs have also raised the alarm, listing the development of the next generation of leaders as their number one concern.
The issue at its core is the phenomenon of “conscious unbossing” – Gen Z’s deliberate choice to abandon traditional leadership roles and pursue alternative career paths.
HR leaders need to understand the shift in leadership and adapt their leadership development strategies.
What is conscious debossing ?
Since decades, employees have been climbing the corporate ladder. They take on more responsibility in exchange of higher salaries, benefits, and prestige. These roles were always demanding but they were seen to be a natural progression for a successful career.
Gen Z is hesitant about this model and prefers collaborative, peer-driven environments. In addition, they are becoming more specialized and experts in specific niches. Many people have opted for multi-role, freelance or contract careers due to this siloed approach. There are options for them too. The gig economy and flexible working have reduced the reliance on traditional career paths.
This shift is particularly alarming for HR leaders because Gen Z employees attribute their aversion to leadership roles to the stress and work-life balance experienced by their managers. In our survey, 71% of leaders said that they are under significant stress at work. Only 30% reported having enough time to fulfill their responsibilities.
Our survey revealed that Gen Z are 1.7x as likely to decline leadership opportunities in order to protect their own well-being. A recent PWC survey revealed that 40% of young workers aged 18-24 were considering quitting their jobs because of poor mental health.
How HR can adapt Leadership Development for Gen Z
The reticence of Gen Z presents HR teams with an opportunity to redefine what leadership is. This is an opportunity to put more emphasis on purpose, flexibility and well-being than just promotion and hierarchy.
Four initiatives HR departments should consider.
1. Find the purpose of your team
Gen Z is looking for their work to be aligned with their values. Purpose in their roles has become a top priority. HR leaders can address this by training leaders as “purpose-ambassadors”, who connect employees’ personal missions with the company goals. This alignment between the individual’s role and a larger mission will make them more interested in leadership.
2. Support well-being and sustainable leadership
Young employees will continue rejecting leadership if it is synonymous with burnout and stress. HR must promote healthy leadership models. It is important to promote sustainable work habits, not only for employees, but also leaders (e.g. limiting emails after hours, promoting unplugged times). The younger staff must see that the management team views well-being not as a concept but rather as a priority. Leaders and HR teams should create a psychologically safe environment where employees can feel supported and protected, not overburdened.
3. Redesign high-potential development programmes
Companies should offer flexible, personalised development programmes that are tailored to the employees’ career and values goals. They should include simulations, peer learning and coaching experiences along with more formal learning in order to engage employees.
4. Create a culture that values autonomy
In order to meet Gen Z’s needs, leadership structures need to evolve in a way that supports autonomy. Training managers on how to effectively delegate is a good way to empower their teams to take decisions and develop their skills. The HR team can help by providing resources that create cultures that balance direction and collaboration.
Supporting flexible working environments is important. It is a hotly debated issue whether employees should be returning to the office. But for many Gen Z workers, whose first work experiences were shaped by COVID-19, the option to work from home at least part of the time and the flexibility to choose their working hours are key to job satisfaction.
Leadership becomes more natural when employees are empowered to own their work.
HR must be aware that leadership is changing and HR needs to take note
Gen Z’s unwillingness to assume leadership roles isn’t a trend that will last. This is a fundamental change in the way younger workers see career advancement. HR leaders are given a rare opportunity to reshape future leadership, aligning it with modern values, workplace dynamics, and employee wellbeing.
Companies that adapt quickly will not only build their leadership pipelines for the future, but they will also create a workforce more innovative, engaged and future-ready.
The first time this post appeared was on HR News.
