The future has no age

Two candidates attend interviews just a few days apart. One is in their mid-twenties and wants to know exactly what leadership looks like, what development opportunities are available and how flexible the working environment really is. The other is in their late fifties, has experienced several market cycles, reorganizations and crises, and is no longer looking for another impressive title, but for a role in which they can make a real impact once again.

Both could be extremely valuable to a company. And both risk being dismissed too quickly: the younger candidate as supposedly demanding and lacking resilience; the older one as too expensive, overqualified or resistant to change.

This is one of the fundamental problems with today's debate about generations. We turn individuals into representatives of their birth cohorts before taking the time to understand their skills, motivations and personal circumstances.

Generational models can help us understand societal change and evolving expectations. But they should never become a diagnosis of the individual. What appears to be a typical characteristic of Generation Z or the Baby Boomers may just as easily be influenced by life stage, professional experience or the economic environment.

It is nevertheless worth taking a closer look at Gen Z. Not to create another stereotype, but because this generation is accelerating changes that companies need to address anyway: clearer leadership, more credible employer branding, more transparent recruitment processes and a more contemporary understanding of performance, development and collaboration.

Gen Z is often accused of lacking the ambition of previous generations. That judgment is too simplistic. Many younger employees no longer measure professional success solely by titles, status and rapid progression up the corporate hierarchy. Learning, financial security, meaningful work and personal well-being play a greater role in their career decisions.

This does not mean that performance has become less important. What is changing are the conditions under which people are prepared to perform and take responsibility. Younger talent looks more closely at what they are committing to, what they can learn and whether an employer's promises match the reality they eventually experience.

Nor does Gen Z necessarily demand less leadership. Often, it demands more – but of a different quality…