Leading Gen Z Through Change: When Leadership Care Isn’t Enough

Jun 16

In moments of change, I’ve noticed that many young professionals don’t just show up with questions about the task at hand, they often carry something heavier.
There’s a quiet undercurrent of disorientation, anxiety, or guardedness that surfaces in ways that can easily be misread: silence, defensiveness, or even disengagement.

As someone who coaches and facilitates across generations, I’ve also noticed something else: how differently leaders respond to this unease.

Two Common Leadership Styles in the Face of Change

Some leaders instinctively lean into what I’d call Leadership Care:

They offer empathy
They listen actively
They prioritize psychological safety

These leaders focus on understanding what’s beneath the surface. They see emotional reactions as data not drama.

Others take a “Thriving Under Pressure” approach:

They raise expectations
Push for results
And hold on to the belief that tough situations build tougher people

Both camps are acting in good faith. But too often, I’ve seen these styles come into tension, especially during moments of organizational change, stress, or generational conflict.

When Pressure Isn’t Grounded in Trust

Here’s the catch: when pressure is applied without an emotional foundation of trust, it doesn’t build resilience.
Instead, it tends to produce:

Withdrawal
Resistance
Or emotional shutdown

And this reaction is often misunderstood.

To older generations (especially Gen X and Boomers) the default response might be:

“I didn’t complain. I struggled, and I made it. Gen Z is too sensitive — we need to toughen them up.”

But this reaction overlooks an important context shift.

Why Different Generations Respond Differently to Pressure

Let’s be honest: every generation was shaped by different circumstances: economically, technologically, socially. And these shape not only how we work but how we respond to challenge.

Here’s a quick generational breakdown:

Boomers were raised in a time of structure, hierarchy, and job stability. Resilience meant enduring and rising through the ranks.
Gen X navigated uncertainty in the 80s and 90s, becoming resourceful, independent, and skeptical of authority.
Millennials entered the workforce during the Great Recession, reshaping what ambition and success meant. They brought emotional intelligence and values-based work into the mainstream.
Gen Z, born into global crises, climate anxiety, and hyper-digital lives, came of age in a world that constantly feels on the brink. Mental health is a survival tool.

So when Gen Z appears “sensitive,” what’s actually happening is this:

They’re more emotionally fluent and attuned to stress signals - theirs and others’. But they’re also more overwhelmed by a world that moves too fast for deep processing or stable anchoring.

The Leadership Gap: Same Pressure, Different Response

This generational mismatch creates a leadership gap.
Older leaders may see Gen Z’s emotional honesty as weakness. Gen Z may see traditional leadership as emotionally unsafe or disconnected.

We don’t need to choose between care and challenge.
We need to integrate them.

From "Toughen Up" to "Coach Through"

Recently, I came across Dr. Wendy Suzuki’s book Good Anxiety, and one idea really stuck with me:

“We can learn to reframe anxiety (not avoid it) so it becomes something that sharpens us, not shuts us down.”

That idea lit a fire in me.

What would “coached pressure” look like in practice?

Not coddling.
Not crushing.
But something in between.

What Coached Pressure Looks Like

Here’s what I’ve landed on so far:

✅ Care enough to build trust
Psychological safety is the foundation. Without it, challenge feels like a threat. With it, it feels like belief.

✅ Challenge enough to stretch people
Don’t lower the bar. Raise it but do so with presence and partnership.

✅ Coach enough to reframe stress into growth
This is where mindset magic happens. Help people turn “I’m overwhelmed” into “I’m expanding.”

This kind of leadership doesn’t happen overnight. But it pays off, especially with Gen Z, who crave clarity, growth, and meaningful feedback more than rigid authority or performative praise.

Coaching the Inner Game of Resilience

There’s a growing body of research in neuroscience and adult learning that backs this up:

We perform better when we feel safe and challenged.
The brain interprets psychological safety as a condition for curiosity and growth.
When we label our emotions (e.g., “I feel anxious”), the amygdala response lowers.

Leaders who embrace this blend > trust + challenge + reflection, are strategic.
They’re building teams that thrive, not just survive.

A Reflection for Leaders

I’m still exploring what this looks like in my own practice, whether as a coach, facilitator, or partner in change.

But here’s what I know:
If we want to develop future-ready teams, we need future-ready leadership, the kind that sees emotional agility, not just KPIs, as a measure of growth.

So I’ll leave you with this question:

What helps you stay engaged during uncertain times? Is it the care, the challenge, or how it’s delivered?

And if you're a leader:

How might your leadership look different if you saw anxiety as a signal to coach, not a flaw to fix?

Your Coach,

Jocelyne