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Authors: Steve Dion Tamarah Saif Kathleen Schulz

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Leadership isn't the automatic next step it used to be — especially for early‑career talent. Heavier workloads and added stress have lessened its appeal.

Instead of trying to "fix" today's struggling managers, a talent crossroads is an opportunity for HR professionals across organizations to re‑engineer leadership. Especially for Gen Z, the path into leadership roles needs to feel purposeful, sustainable and worth choosing. Wellbeing now matters as much as results.

Making leadership more sustainable and appealing

For years, management was the expected next step on the career ladder. Today, early-career workers are evaluating the trade-offs more critically. High stress, blurred boundaries and role overload have pushed many away from leadership tracks.

Data shows the scale of the challenge. Workplace-related mental health struggles are costing the global economy an estimated $1 trillion annually in lost productivity. 1

"When we look at self-perceived wellbeing scores, the results are concerning." explains Kathleen Schulz, global innovation leader, Organizational Wellbeing. "So, if our early talent is already perceiving their wellbeing as poor, what does that mean for us as their healthcare costs inevitably rise with age?"

Millennials experience the highest burnout rates, and managers are disproportionately affected. Meanwhile, less than a quarter of workplaces offer mental health training for managers, leaders and HR as support to deal with stress and burnout.

“
The youngest employees, our Gen Zers, perceive their total wellbeing as worse than any other generation in the workplace
Kathleen Schulz, global innovation leader, Organizational Wellbeing

"Work-life balance is central for people in their 20s, our early-talent demographics. More than 60% prioritize it over salary, a signal that the old value proposition for leadership no longer resonates with them" explains Steve Dion, national managing director of Leadership and Organizational Development.

Rather than encouraging reluctant employees into roles they perceive as exhausting, organizations' HR leaders must redesign leadership so it feels achievable and worth pursuing.

Building work environments that sustain engagement

When teams are energized, organizations feel it: higher productivity, fewer absences and stronger customer relationships. The biggest level of that engagement is the manager. The opposite is equally true: when managers are disengaged, this shows up as lower team performance, rising absenteeism and higher employee turnover.

In other words, burnout is largely an organizational design problem. Left unaddressed, it can erode leader effectiveness and discourage early talent from stepping up.

"Gen Z isn't rejecting leadership, they're rejecting how it's structured today: the overload, misalignment and insufficient support," notes Tamarah Saif, national managing director for People Development and Insights. "Organizations need to figure out the best way for work to be accomplished so their people and leaders aren't overwhelmed. It's about creating an environment where leadership is sustainable and appealing."

The good news is that early-career talent is deeply driven by purpose, social responsibility and impact. Aligning work with personal values opens the door to rethinking the leadership value proposition.

"When we create leadership roles that emphasize impact on people's lives, the narrative changes from 'Why take that burden?' to 'How can I make a difference?'," adds Steve Dion.

“
Organizations need to figure out the best way to accomplish work, so their people and leaders aren't overwhelmed. It's about creating an environment where leadership is sustainable and appealing.
Tamarah Saif, national managing director for People Development and Insights

What changes when leadership becomes a craft?

  • Better fit and engagement: People who want to lead step forward.
  • Sustainability: Clear scope, realistic spans of control and shared load reduce burnout.
  • Alignment with purpose: Early career talent sees a path consistent with their personal values.

From hero to architect: The evolution of leadership

The 20th‑century "hero leader" model — one person carrying the team on their back — is no longer viable. Today's high‑performing organizations need architect leaders who design clear, safe systems and create environments that help people do their best work.

The next generation wants people-centric leaders, coaches who build networks, empower others and make a visible difference to their teams.

Trust in senior decision-making remains one of the top drivers of engagement and retention across industries. Building that trust requires leaders who set priorities, reduce noise and communicate the "why" behind decisions.

To address this, some top-performing companies have designed dual career pathways to develop people managers and technical leaders. This model addresses needs and priorities while avoiding overload.

Leadership ecosystem: AI and allies

Constantly evolving agentic artificial intelligence (AI) tools can help with scheduling, report generation and basic performance tracking. By doing this, leaders can spend their time where it matters most: on emotional intelligence and empathy, coaching and decision-making.

Resilience can also be built through load‑sharing models, such as co‑leadership, rotations or deputy coverage. Surrounding leaders with a support ecosystem that includes frequent coaching, peer communities and accessible mental health resources can help build a more attractive professional pathway.

When all levers pull together, leadership stops being an endurance test and becomes a sustainable craft that consistently delivers results.

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Incorporating wellbeing as a core KPI

To make leadership roles attractive and sustainable means redesigning leadership roles around wellbeing, support and achievable goals. "This can look like greater autonomy, regular workload reviews and visible upskilling paths. This way, leaders and teams can perform without burning out," explains Tamarah Saif.

For HR leaders across organizations, choosing not to address the challenges identified by their managers and employees can ultimately erode the employer brand, making future talent attraction and retention much harder. Instead, keeping people motivated, supported and connected is almost always less costly than replacing them.

Focus, then, needs to shift toward a holistic overview of leadership wellbeing. Addressing factors like stress levels, workload manageability and perceived support from leaders may signal pain points and opportunities for improvement across the enterprise.

Enabling other team members to reflect on and internally evaluate work dynamics is a good indicator for how well managers support workloads, encourage boundaries and foster psychological safety. These are all elements that contribute to effective leadership.

“
When we create leadership roles that emphasize impact on people's lives, the narrative changes from ‘Why take that burden?’ to ‘How can I make a difference?'
Steve Dion, national managing director of Leadership and Organizational Development

Analysis of these measures is as important as any other operating metric. Setting baselines, targets, trend reviews and designing action plans can lead to sustainable and constant improvement. Fostering trust is also a core driver of culture, results and retention.

"When leaders feel supported, they're more likely to make better decisions, stay longer in their roles and create healthier, more effective teams. This, in turn, should help address downstream issues like absenteeism and healthcare costs, reducing disruptions to performance and helping the business achieve its goals," adds Tamarah Saif.

"Organizations need to understand that they cannot afford to take their eyes off culture and leadership; these aspects need to evolve and look different," says Kathleen Schulz.

This inflection point is a chance to protect culture, reduce risk and rebuild a pipeline fit for the next generation. "If we do this right, it can be a positive transformation where we create sustainable jobs, companies and cultures," stresses Steve Dion.

When wellbeing sits on the scorecard and career paths align with purpose, leadership becomes a role people actively choose. Developing leaders who design environments where people thrive can pave the way to a confident future, one that sustains organizational health, culture and performance.

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Author Information

Sources

1 "Workplace Mental Health in 2025: Trends and Best Practices of Top Employers," Mental Health America, Aug 2025.

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