Bridging the generation gap | Designing the future.
Over 25 years, directive, autocratic leadership has been replaced by democracy. By dialogue and feedback. By showing authenticity and giving autonomy. This is hardly news. What has changed is the extent to which executives will need these qualities if they are to retain and grow their new gen successors.
“We need to unlearn, and relearn from the new generation,”
- İrem Yüksel, Managing Partner of Amrop Türkiye and the CIS.
Anna Bonde, Managing Partner of Amrop Sweden, agrees that current leaders must adapt - if the leadership fundamentals hold true. This won’t be easy, admits Clarisa Vittone, Managing Partner of Amrop Argentina. “They belong to their own generation, with its own characteristics.”
She compares leading the new gen to a fast-moving river. The new gen will doggy-paddle towards the boss if s/he agrees to join them in the torrent. Mansour Abdulghaffar, Managing Partner of Amrop Saudi Arabia adds: “The younger generation is concise. Corporates are verbose. Both sides need to meet in the middle.”
Neurodiversity is another example. “We must enable executives to be more sensitive to these arising phenomena, and address them in a way that's not perceived as offensive, but supportive and embracing. Not always easy,” says Jeff Rosin, Managing Partner of Amrop Rosin in Canada and an Amrop Board Member. Marko Mlakar, Managing Partner of Amrop Adria, agrees. “Managing today is not only about Gen Z, but the whole complexity of a changed world.”
Tarunesh Madan, Co-Managing Partner of Amrop India, is confident that some leaders in their early 50s can flex to a clear case for deliberate disruption. “They focus on empowering younger leaders. They acknowledge that some things don't come naturally to them. Thinking digital first, for example. And without biases.”
Mind The Gaps
Clarisa Vittone sees three core leadership needs: productivity, ownership, and accountability. “Do new gen understand what these mean in leadership language? Do leaders understand what they mean in new gen language? It goes both ways.” New gens must accept prompting, guidance, inspiration and training. Mansour Abdulghaffar: “They need to move closer to what’s acceptable in a corporate environment. And hiring organizations must realize that the old style is no longer feasible.”
Anna Bonde sees new gen potential, but has concerns about resilience. “They must toughen up and understand that it’s not about them all the time.” “Technically, everyone will be superb,” adds Marko Mlakar. “But social skills will be the differentiator.”
The new gen topic should be considered like risk management, says Tarunesh Madan. “Differentiating between a risk and an opportunity. That’s what boards and management councils are for.” İrem Yüksel prescribes multi-level cultural reality checks.
"The CHRO role will be more strategic, close to the CEO, defining culture objectively, reducing turnover and building a psychologically safe, sustainable organization. Learning and development are essential to business objectives. We’re seeing CHRO’s moving into CEO positions.”
Blowing in the wind - adapting organization design
This is an architectural matter. Mansour Abdulghaffar: “Generation Alpha might have 30 jobs in their lifetime. If the career lifecycle keeps shrinking, how can companies plan talent strategy the way they did?” He is particularly concerned about retaining new gens long enough to see the returns on their investment in developing them. Tarunesh Madan adds: “If you tell them: this is our traditional bureaucratic structure, your role will be housed here, and you'll report into one senior legacy leader, they disengage.” For İrem Yüksel, good organization design translates into good leadership. “Psychological safety. Authenticity. A coaching mindset. High pressure management paralyzes this generation.” Clarisa Vittone asks clients to name their desired culture. Do they see any divergence with the culture emerging with the new entrants? “They can describe behaviors - especially among Gen Z - but not yet the culture itself. That is fine. We encourage a discovery mindset.”
Temple or sandcastle? Culture is a matter of trust
Cultural cohesion requires faith and loyalty. Today, neither can be assumed. “Multinationals rely on reporting and control. Young people aren’t structured that way,” says Marko Mlakar. Leaders must expect interrogation from younger employees demanding 'sustainable capitalism', says Mansour Abdulghaffar. “This links to wise leadership. If you focus only on shareholder returns at the expense of employees, you’ll lose them.” Some constructive pushback is desirable (within reason). “Many great ideas come from people who ask, “Why do we do it this way.” İrem Yüksel agrees. “Leaders should manage from the center, reaching all generations in a diverse way and hearing everyone’s thoughts.”
But virtuality is getting in the way.
“In person, trust can develop naturally and fast,” says Clarisa Vittone. “When upcoming leaders are asked what they miss if they are physically apart from their role models, the answer is "trust." ” İrem Yüksel views intrapreneurial tasks as markers of trust. “When we give them room to implement an idea, they engage far more.” But trust works both ways, warns Clarisa Vittone. “Without trust, there is no promotion.”
The day-to-day – Implications for managers and leaders
Beyond corporate architecture, real impact happens in rooms (live or virtual). What interpersonal leadership, practices will secure the new gen’s business-building potential and the firm’s future? “The biggest problems are prejudice, bias, and deafness,” says Clarisa Vittone. If you meet the new gen, encourage them, and truly listen, things change.” In her leadership advisory practice, she facilitates frequent, structured group exchanges such as discovery programs and roundtables, sharing challenges and fears. “We listen with empathy.” For İrem Yüksel, “The ideal leader today connects authenticity, psychological safety and social impact. But this doesn’t mean ignoring profitability and KPIs. It’s about keeping those two worlds coherent.”
Being real - authenticity and vulnerability
For new gens to open up, leaders must take a first step. “We find showing vulnerability difficult, because it’s perceived as a weakness. But I believe it’s bravery,” says İrem Yüksel. In today’s VUCA world, it’s not easy to be unshakeable. “The solution is to humanize the struggle. To openly say, “I’m stressed. I’m frustrated.” Anna Bonde agrees. “You can even be authentic about being tough - it’s about knowing who you are.” Authentic leaders who show their own vulnerabilities (within reason) have the edge. “People need to trust that feedback comes from an honest place. This authenticity fosters psychological safety.”
Getting things done - structured autonomy
Do we risk turning the business arena into a bouncy castle? How can rookies meet their KPIs, especially when they demand autonomy? “I sometimes talk with people about the difference between being functional and effective. "I can multitask and do it effectively. So, why don't you just let me do what I can do?" I understand that.” says Jeff Rosin.
Earlier, Clarisa Vittone summarized three core leadership needs: productivity, ownership, and accountability. What are the implications? “When new gens have entrepreneurial opportunities where they feel like owners, the output is incredible,” says İrem Yüksel.
Tarunesh Madan dislikes regimented monoliths. But total freedom is impossible in a large organization. He recommends clear operating zones, within which new gens have autonomy. Whilst outcomes matter to them, “they want to figure out their own way of delivering.” This also means feedback and dialogue. “Having straight discussions, setting crystal clear priorities and explicitly telling them that they must be accountable. Then they will strike to make it happen."
Coaching and mentoring - a win-win
When it comes to activating new gens’ leadership potential, individualized coaching and mentoring are powerful and mutually enriching. But they are often missing from daily practice. “We always ask our clients: “What does your 2026 competency model look like?” Some encourage coaching as a core skill,” says Clarisa Vittone. She advises boards and senior management: “Articulate your ideal vision of the new gen, and reconcile it with who they really are. Coaching is not only about listening, but also detecting and voicing gaps.”
Reverse mentoring typically involves new gens guiding older leaders through digital change and diversity. A longstanding mentor in Amrop’s global program, Anna Bonde has been and argues for constructive mutual mentoring. “We need to challenge new gens and help them gain the knowledge they need.” This enables senior leaders to revitalize while supporting new gens’ move into leadership. She calls for more formal mentorships “between the generation soon to be pushed out of the job market and the one trying to get in.” Jeff Rosin agrees, “Many companies are doing it around succession planning, but it is even more important to figure out how to truly develop that next cohort, and expose them to different things than what they are being exposed to in their peer group.”
What makes a good mentor? “Open‑mindedness. A good communicator,” says Anna Bonde. “The ability to inspire, be a role model, and transfer knowledge without patronizing. Seniors need to show a little humility toward the younger generation and what they bring.”
The outlook – is business safe in new gen hands?
When it comes to activating new gens’ leadership potential, individualized coaching and mentoring are powerful and mutually enriching. But they are often missing from daily practice. “We always ask our clients: “What does your 2026 competency model look like?” Some encourage coaching as a core skill,” says Clarisa Vittone. She advises boards and senior management: “Articulate your ideal vision of the new gen, and reconcile it with who they really are. Coaching is not only about listening, but also detecting and voicing gaps.”
Reverse mentoring typically involves new gens guiding older leaders through digital change and diversity. A longstanding mentor in Amrop’s global program, Anna Bonde has been and argues for constructive mutual mentoring. “We need to challenge new gens and help them gain the knowledge they need.” This enables senior leaders to revitalize while supporting new gens’ move into leadership. She calls for more formal mentorships “between the generation soon to be pushed out of the job market and the one trying to get in.” Jeff Rosin agrees, “Many companies are doing it around succession planning, but it is even more important to figure out how to truly develop that next cohort, and expose them to different things than what they are being exposed to in their peer group.”
What makes a good mentor? “Open‑mindedness. A good communicator,” says Anna Bonde. “The ability to inspire, be a role model, and transfer knowledge without patronizing. Seniors need to show a little humility toward the younger generation and what they bring.”
“Both sides will make the right conscious decisions. The train left the station long ago. But adaptation must happen on both sides.” All need to step up. “If a company continues to exist, one day its Chair will once have been a Gen Z.”
It will take time
“Our C‑suite clients have Zoomers in their teams, but they are not yet leaders,” says Anna Bonde. Jeff Rosin adds: “It’s going to take a generation of putting people into roles, challenging them, seeing how they perform, and having them mentor others who could step up more readily than they did. That takes a long time.”
Corporate systems and processes mean that talent takes longer to grow into leadership roles. Will new gens stay the course? “They have to grow through checks and balances,” warns Mansour Abdulghaffar. “If they leave, the company loses institutional memory, which is hard to replace overnight.” Multinationals could once rely on high potentials patiently scaling their career ladders. As we have seen, today’s HiPos may prefer lively start-ups. Are the giants going the way of the dinosaurs? Will the business landscape become a fragmented world dominated by smaller, nimble (and short-lived) organisms?
The new landscape
Tarunesh Madan is hopeful. Life finds a way. Just as today’s junior could be tomorrow’s Chair, today’s start-up can become tomorrow’s mid-cap. Abundant capital and the ability to execute at speed mean scale-up is easier than it has ever been. “It once took a decade to build a meaningful business model. But the next gen is willing to challenge those assumptions. They are set apart by conviction, ability, the confidence to work it out as they go.”
AI is of course powering scale-up. “Companies aren’t adapting fast enough,” warns Mansour Abdulghaffar. “When AI becomes as capable as humans, we’ll have to rethink everything.”
The generational handover is a long, iterative process of exposure, challenge, calibration and mutual learning. Yes, differences matter; they shape readiness, pace, and the skills required for big roles. But similarities anchor collaboration, rather than division.
What emerges is a pragmatic optimism. New gens must grow into responsibility; established leaders must adapt their assumptions and redesign legacy systems. Companies must find ways to retain talent long enough for wisdom to accumulate, while embracing start up energy. And all must prepare for an AI accelerated landscape that will redraw job design, leadership models, and the very architecture of organizations.
Generational transition succeeds when curiosity replaces judgment. When leaders see potential, not shadows. When younger professionals step up, rather than out. The future will be defined by the strength of the bridges between them.