1. Meaning: 8 out of 10 Gen Zs and millennials say purpose is important for job satisfaction, wellbeing and loyalty, according to Deloitte.5 They will likely reject organisations that misalign. In another recent study from Adobe (US), 78% of Gen Zs emphasised the connection with company values.⁶ 
2. Money: In 2024, a global Amrop study, 'The Meaning of Work,' compared the views of Gen Z and millennials with Gen X. 7 Even if financial success and wealth were less important for the next gen than health and wellness or family, they rated material factors higher than Gen X. Deloitte found that 6 out of 10 Gen Zs and millennials were living “paycheck-to-paycheck.” 
3. Learning: Next generation talent seeks rapid growth. According to Adobe, 48% of Gen Z want more training on hard skills, 33% on soft skills. And Deloitte found that beyond work/life balance, learning and development opportunities sat next to pay as the top three attractors for Gen Z and millennials.
4. Freedom: Start-ups are a tempting alternative employment option. Amrop found a strong appetite for building entrepreneurial ventures across age groups. Flexibility is the main influencer on the current employment choices of just over 20% of all cohorts – including Gen Z and millennials. Around four in 10 next generation professionals will likely have a side job, say Deloitte.
5. Leadership: Amrop found that Gen Z shows the strongest interest of all generations in climbing the ladder. Around a third of Gen Z and millennials are willing to work overtime to move up, versus 26% of Gen X. The Adobe study found that 70% of Gen Z are eager to grow into the C-suite.  

Digital. Impatient. Wary. Dynamic. Freethinking and aspirational. In our previous article, we surfaced some distinctive new generation characteristics related to their unique development context. All have leadership potential, given the right talent strategies. So how do Gen Z and Millennial career expectations change executive hiring and leadership assessment? 

Assessing future leadership potential 

Deliberation means crafting an executive hiring strategy upfront. Exploration means uncovering the true facets of each individual, from motivation and resilience to leadership style and future potential. Together, they help organisations assess future leadership potential without reducing candidates to generational stereotypes. The evidence suggests that each generation has salient preferences, from linear versus portfolio careers to slow and steady trajectories versus fast-tracking. But each candidate must be objectively evaluated: not as a generational symbol or a stereotype, but as an individual. New gens also risk stereotyping themselves, curating their online image (often using a normative AI). For executive search practitioners, this means rigorously blending in-depth live interviewing and psychometric testing. As Mansour Abdulghaffar puts it: “When you hire someone at a mid- or large cap, you’re not just filling today’s seat. You’re assessing whether this person can be a future leader." 

Deliberation: define fit before the search begins

Clarisa Vittone is Managing Partner of Amrop in Argentina. “We integrate the new gen into every project: search assignments, onboarding, and development programs. So, when a client asks us to address this generation, we are ready.” She asks: “How do I want a candidate to leave an interview?” They should feel inspired, stimulated, heard. Even if they don’t get what they want, they should understand why.” 

Anna Bonde insists on robust search strategies. “First, assess your organisation objectively. Sometimes clients describe the candidate persona they seek, but it fits who they want to be, not who they really are.” Defining the organisation’s cultural realities, objectives, and the leadership profiles that fit the path require a cross-functional, strategic mindset. “The CEO must also be involved. It takes time, not a two‑day workshop.” 

Clarisa Vittone asks leadership candidates what younger employees would say about them. “Usually they’ve never asked.” İrem Yüksel also wants organisations to resist speed. “Not a one‑hour interview and then a decision. Even when we know who will be a good fit, we sometimes spend 3–4 months on the process.” Candidates also need time to assess their own fit. Jeff Rosin agrees. “If I see value in an exploration which will double my time with a candidate, I will do it. There's too much risk of a mis-hire by not doing the process justice.” 

Exploration: assess the person behind the profile 

A live deep dive will uncover the reality behind an online image. “It’s not easy to fake,” says İrem Yüksel. Jeff Rosin uses subjective and objective lenses. “My point of view on a candidate is based on meeting their peers in the market every day. I get a sense of their working experiences. These are table stakes. We pre-screen on those before I meet them. But when I'm interviewing, it's around all those other interesting nuances. This requires more contextual than traditional interviewing. Not only listening for what is said, but for what's not being said, interpreting and probing where need be. That's a subjective lens.” 

Psychometric assessments are objective lenses: “Pointers of where else you might want to probe.” Can the existing psychometric instruments deal with new gen minds? İrem Yüksel is confident. “We can see most of the relevant traits, including resilience and leadership style.” This combination of evidence and judgement helps organisations move beyond profile-led hiring and make more confident decisions about future leaders.

“Each tool tells a story, but you do need to look at people differently,” says Jeff Rosin. “Perhaps through that generational lens.” For organisations, the new executive contract is clear: future leaders need purpose, fair reward, growth, freedom and credible leadership pathways. Executive hiring strategies must test not only experience, but motivation, resilience, leadership style and future potential.