No generation is a monolith. That should go without saying. But over the past year, there’s been a growing narrative in business and media circles that Gen Z, a cohort born between 1997 and 2012, is starting to split in two. One half is described as entrepreneurial, image-conscious and highly motivated. The other is labeled cautious, emotionally overwhelmed or disengaged from traditional career ambition. It’s a neat storyline — and it makes for a great headline.
But from where I sit — in a college classroom, year after year — it’s not that simple.
I’m a business and leadership lecturer, and I’ve worked with Gen Z since the earliest wave entered higher education. I’ve taught the same core courses for almost a decade, across a range of backgrounds and academic performance levels. And while I’ve noticed changes in behavior and mindset over the years, I don’t see a clean generational break. I see a generation that is more nuanced, more thoughtful, and yes, more internally divided at times, but not fractured in the way some would suggest.
One example comes from an exercise I’ve used every semester since 2016: the Leadership Trait Auction. It’s simple in structure but revealing in its execution. Each student receives a fictional budget and must bid on leadership traits they value most. The choices include qualities like kindness, humility, confidence, innovation, strong communication, empathy and decisiveness.
Over the years, the results have been remarkably consistent. The same traits tend to rise to the top: kindness, strong communication and knowledge/expertise. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is the way students talk about those traits.
In the earlier years, students would bid quickly, justify their picks in straightforward terms, and move on. “I want a leader who’s smart.” “Communication is key.” “Kindness is underrated.” There was conviction, but not much conversation.
In recent years, though, something has shifted. Students linger over the choices. They debate. They ask, “What does kindness in leadership actually look like?” They consider whether communication is still a key leadership trait if AI tools can help people write emails or manage schedules. They discuss whether innovation matters more now because the world feels so unstable. They ask: What will this trait do for me, not just emotionally, but practically, in a job?
There’s an intellectual curiosity that’s emerged — not in what they value, but in why they value it. That’s what I find fascinating. The traits haven’t changed. The depth of engagement with those traits has.
In a way, it mirrors how this generation has grown up. The first Gen Z students I taught had been shaped by the 2008 recession, parents who struggled to bounce back, and a high-achievement culture that still promised something at the end of the tunnel. The students I see now came of age during the pandemic, watched social movements unfold on their phones in real time and are keenly aware that success doesn’t always follow effort. They’re not any less driven, but they’re more skeptical of the path.
That skepticism shows up in small moments: a student asking if kindness in leadership is “performative” or “sustainable,” or a group discussing whether decisiveness is still admirable when leaders are often forced to pivot quickly. These aren’t signs of disengagement. They’re signs of a generation that’s grown up watching adults fail to live out the values they preach — and is determined not to be fooled by polished exteriors.
There are differences between the older and younger ends of Gen Z. I see them. But I don’t see a divide: I see a continuum, stretched across different cultural moments. Older Gen Z students entered college with a stronger belief in the system. Younger ones have been forced to question it more openly. The result isn’t a split; it’s a growing willingness to talk about discomfort, contradiction and doubt.
And here’s something else that gets lost in the generational conversation: kindness still wins. That trait, above all, remains the most consistently bid-on and defended in the Leadership Trait Auction. Not because it’s trendy or soft, but because Gen Z understands something many older generations often overlook: that kindness is a form of credibility and a show of confidence, especially in uncertain times. It’s not fluff; it’s structure. It’s a foundation.
So, am I split on the Gen Z split? Maybe. I understand where the conversation is coming from. I’ve seen students with widely different coping styles, leadership philosophies and engagement levels. But I also think that’s true of any generation — especially one that spans more than a decade and a half.
What I haven’t seen is a loss of values. I’ve seen values under stress. And I’ve seen students rise to meet that stress with reflection, humor, honesty, and in some cases, the emotional clarity that many of us didn’t learn until adulthood.
They’re not fractured so much as they’re adapting.
And if you ask me, the ability to question what matters — and still come back to empathy, communication and knowledge as core leadership traits — isn’t a sign of generational confusion. I think it might be a sign of growth.
