10/07/2025

THURSDAY | JULY 10, 2025

11

Reinventing leadership roles for Gen Z

COMMENT

by Elman Mustafa El Bakri

R ECENTLY, I came across a headline on Fortune.com that made me pause: “Executives are drowning. Blame the vanishing middle management layer.” It is obviously referring to the “unbossing” trend among the Gen Z of the workforce and it stopped me in my tracks because it is the kind of line that stirs up intergenerational debates, with older leaders questioning the younger generation’s sense of responsibility and younger workers feeling misunderstood or unfairly judged. As someone who works with both industry players and fresh graduates, I can see where the tension lies. But let’s be clear: pointing fingers will not solve what is ultimately a deeper, more structural challenge. The truth is more complex than blaming Gen Z for opting out of middle management. Yes, the “unbossing” trend is real but so is the burnout among executives. The solution, however, lies not in forcing Gen Z to adapt to old models but in rethinking how we define leadership itself. We have known for some time that Gen Z is reimagining what careers look like. Many of them are not aspiring for traditional middle management roles, not because they do not want responsibility but because they do not see these roles as meaningful or sustainable. Research conducted by talent solutions firm Robert Walters found that more than half of Gen Z professionals have no interest in becoming middle managers. Their reasons are straightforward: high stress, low autonomy and limited personal growth. Add to this is the rising expectation for purpose-driven work and it is clear why the conventional ladder is losing its appeal. At the same time, we are seeing increasing strain on senior leadership. Reports indicate that nearly two-thirds of executives feel burned out and this is not surprising. As the middle layer shrinks, the workload often trickles upward. Tasks that used to be filtered or managed by middle managers now land directly on C-suites and VPs, many of whom are juggling more decisions, more people and more pressure than ever before. But to attribute all this to Gen Z’s reluctance to be part of middle management is to miss the bigger picture. Executive fatigue is not just a generational issue; it is the result of wider shifts – rapid technological change, the rise of hybrid work, the demand for constant innovation and post-pandemic organisational rewiring. What is happening is not a collapse; it is a recalibration. And this moment calls for something deeper than complaint; it calls for reinvention.

If Gen Z is rejecting middle management as it stands today, perhaps the smarter move is to redesign what leadership means in this new era. – SYED AZAHAR SYED OSMAN/THESUN

“Gen Z may not want to ‘manage’ in the way we once did but that does not mean they are not ready to lead. What they want is a version of leadership that reflects today’s realities, which

movement” and “land instability”. But it later became clear that the real issue was water – water redirected, mishandled and neglected as part of an uphill housing project approved with little regard for environmental consequences. Eventually, that water weakened the slope, leading to the collapse of Block One and the loss of 48 lives. That tragedy, too, was cloaked in terms like “land failure” and “hydrostatic pressure”. The Putra Heights incident may not have claimed lives but it could have and the parallels are too glaring to ignore. So, to the authorities, if you are going to hold a press conference, make it worth the public’s time. Don’t hide behind technicalities or feed us half-truths. We are not asking for miracles – just accountability, transparency and answers that treat the public with the respect we deserve. Rizal Ishak Concerned Observer To get there, we need a mindset shift across the board. Executives, too, must be part of the redesign. Rather than waiting for the next generation to conform, they can take the lead in redefining what good leadership looks like. That means clearer mentorship pathways, more inclusive decision making and a stronger focus on building resilient teams, not just reporting lines. The challenge is not that the next generation refuses to lead; it is that the pathways we offer no longer make sense to them. If leadership continues to be packaged as stress-heavy, impact-light and overly hierarchical, people will continue to hesitate to step up. What is needed is not persuasion but a redesign, and that starts with listening – not to flatter but to understand what leadership can look like when built with – not just for – the people expected to carry it forward. In the end, it is not about Gen Z picking up the slack; it is about all of us picking up the tools to build something better. ElmanMustafa El Bakri is the CEO and founder of HESA Healthcare Recruitment Agency and serves on the Industrial Advisory Panel for the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Universiti Malaya. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

ballroom dancer. This is precisely where the public’s frustration lies. It is not that we cannot accept the possibility of soil movement – Malaysia is no stranger to that. It is the evasiveness in answering the most basic follow-up question: Why did the soil move? What led to the weakening of the ground? Who may be responsible for that change in condition? To pin the entire catastrophe on“soil”without elaborating is not only intellectually lazy but frankly, insulting. Are we to believe that soil, acting entirely on its own volition, decided one day to sink or shift just enough to rupture a gas pipeline and set off an explosion? If that is the story, we deserve more than vague descriptions and technical mumbo jumbo. We deserve the truth! This selective storytelling reminds me all too well of the Highland Towers tragedy back in 1993 – a national disaster that many of us still remember vividly. Here, too, the explanation pointed to “soil If Gen Z is rejecting middle management as it stands today, perhaps the smarter move is to redesign what leadership means in this new era. Instead of insisting they take on outdated roles, why not create roles they would be proud to grow into? Imagine more fluid leadership structures, where influence does not require hierarchy and where impact is not tied to a title. Instead of gatekeeping, middle managers could function as facilitators, mentors and cross functional connectors. These are roles that align better with Gen Z’s preference for collaboration, autonomy and continuous learning. Companies can rethink job scopes, introduce project-based leadership or rotate leadership responsibilities, for example, all without compromising accountability. The value of middle management has not disappeared. If anything, it is needed more than ever, just not in its traditional form. Gen Z may not want to “manage” in the way we once did but that does not mean they are not ready to lead. What they want is a version of leadership that reflects today’s realities, which are fast-moving, tech-enabled and people-first. And organisations that understand this shift and respond to it will be the ones that retain not just talent but also energy and innovation.

are fast-moving, tech-enabled and people-first.

If you are holding a press conference, make it count

conditions for a toaster warranty. His delivery was so saturated with jargon that unless you were a geotechnical engineer or had a PhD in pipeline integrity, you would be completely lost. Not once did he pause to explain the implications of what he was saying in plain language. This was not a briefing; it was a public relations exercise disguised as a press conference. Now, let’s talk about the content or the lack thereof. The results of the inquiry were, frankly, disappointing. According to DOSH, the pipeline failure was due to “movement of soil” and “soft soil conditions underneath the pipe”. This is what I call a textbook case of stating the obvious without saying anything useful. When pressed by journalists to explain what caused this mysterious soil softening. Rainfall? Leaking water pipes? Adjacent construction? A cosmic fluke, perhaps? The spokesperson side-stepped the question like a seasoned

LETTERS

letters@thesundaily.com

I RECENTLY watched the much-anticipated announcement of the Putra Heights pipeline blast inquiry results. I use the word “announcement” deliberately because that is exactly what it was: a formality devoid of genuine engagement or any meaningful attempt to help the public understand what really happened. For those of us who tuned in hoping for clarity and closure, we were instead handed a technical monologue wrapped in bureaucratic detachment. Let us start with the spokesperson from the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). He appeared at the podium, presumably with a prepared script in hand, and proceeded to read it out with the energy and conviction of someone reciting terms and