Working With Gen Z?
Why the Real Issue Might Be Assumptions and Expectations
I have a 41-year-old friend who leads a team that includes several Gen Z employees. He’s a high-achieving, driven leader, an Enneagram 8, who earned his chops in a pay your dues culture. You showed up early, stayed late, proved yourself over time, and then you were trusted.
So when he says, “They lack a work ethic,” I take him seriously.
A survey by ResumeBuilder.com of 1,344 managers and business leaders found that 74% identified Gen Z as the most challenging generation to work with. Leadership expert Tim Elmore frequently references this and similar research, along with data from ManpowerGroup, to describe what he calls the Great Friction now showing up in office culture.
At the center of that friction is a clash of assumptions:
Older leaders often think: “Prove your commitment, then I’ll invest in you.”
Many Gen Z employees think: “Prove this is worth my commitment, then I’ll give you my best.”
The gap is real. The friction is real.
The Fear Beneath the Frustration: Flight Risk
For my friend, the resistance isn’t just philosophical, it’s practical. He doesn’t want to invest heavily in training only to watch people leave.
That concern is understandable. But in today’s workplace, tenure is shorter across the board, not just for Gen Z. The old expectation of 10–15 years of loyalty is largely gone.
So the real question isn’t: “How do I make them stay forever?” But:“How do I get the best from people while they’re here?”
Elmore offers two grounded, actionable answers.
Touchpoint #1: Shift From Management to Mentorship
Elmore, who has been working in next-generation leadership development since the late 1980s, argues that leaders must move from a management to a mentorship approach.
Here’s how he frames the shift:
| Feature | Manager Approach (Old Way) | Mentor Approach (Elmore’s Way) |
|---|---|---|
| Authority | Based on title (“I’m the boss”) | Based on relationship (“I’m your coach”) |
| Instruction | Telling them what to do | Explaining why it matters (mission) |
| Communication | Top-down lectures / PowerPoints | EPIC – Experiential & Participatory |
| Retention | Fear of losing “training dollars” | Investment in “social capital” |
| Work Ethic | Demands grit as a prerequisite | Cultivates grit through purpose |
This doesn’t lower standards.
It raises clarity—and invites ownership.
Touchpoint #2: Consider Short-Term Covenants
Here’s where Elmore gets especially practical.
Instead of assuming 10 years of loyalty, he suggests short-term covenants—clear, mutual commitments for a defined season.
The conversation might sound like this:
“I’m going to give you $50,000 worth of industry training over the next 18 months.
I want you to give me your best work for those 18 months.
If you leave after that, you’ll leave as a better professional, and I’ll have had 18 months of high-level output. Deal?”
This reframes the relationship:
From risk to exchange
From entitlement to mutual investment
From vague expectations to clear commitments
Ironically, leaders who take this approach often find people stay longer, not shorter, because trust is established early.
A Reframe Worth Considering
Don’t paint Gen Z with a broad brush. Perhaps it’s not grit they lack. Perhaps it’s patience for systems that feel opaque, transactional, or disconnected from purpose.
Leaders who came up through a pay your dues culture aren’t wrong. But with Gen Z the dues have changed.
The leaders who win with Gen Z today:
Make the reason explicit
Invest early and clearly
Trade vague loyalty for defined commitment
Develop people not just output
Want to dig deeper?
Check out The Champion Forum Podcast featuring Tim Elmore, where he unpacks these ideas in more depth.
