What Gen Z Really Wants and What Leadership Can Learn from It

“Young people just don’t want to work anymore.” A myth that persists – and couldn’t be further from the truth.

Gen Z and Millennials do want to work. But not at any cost and not under yesterday’s conditions.
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For fast-growing companies, startups and scaleups that means:
If you want to attract and retain talent, you need to rethink leadership and workplace structures.

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What Gen Z Actually Expects

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1. Meaningful Work
   Impact over busywork. Young talent wants to understand the why behind what they do.‍
2. Flexibility & Ownership
   Remote, hybrid, mobile – what matters most is autonomy. Work should fit into life not the other way around.
3. Growth & Feedback
   Gen Z wants to grow through honest feedback, real learning environments, and transparent development paths.‍
4. Leadership at Eye Level
   Top-down is outdated. What counts today: trust, dialogue, and mentoring - not micromanagement.

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What This Means for Leadership

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First and foremost: listen.

Understand expectations and be bold enough to question old leadership habits.

In many scaleups, teams grow fast – but leadership doesn't keep up. To retain talent, you need clarity, growth opportunities, and a company culture that allows for real co-creation.

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Three Impulses for Modern Leadership

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Transparency builds trust
Employees often want to know: "Why are we making this decision?" Involvement fosters commitment.

Rethink career paths
Rigid hierarchies are losing relevance. What people want are individual, honest, flexible growth opportunities.

Focus on outcomes – not presence
Performance isn’t about hours logged. What counts is contribution - not being online 24/7.

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Bottom Line: Rethinking Leadership

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Gen Z brings fresh energy and a big opportunity: A shift toward a work culture that is human-centered, flexible, and high-performing.

Leaders and companies who take this seriously won’t just retain people but they’ll stand out in the market.

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Want to help your leadership team grow into the expectations of a new generation? We’d love to support you.

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