Last week, I saw my nephew at a family gathering. He is a 26 year old business analyst, and his company was trying to promote him to manager. He was heavily leaning toward saying no. I know he doesn’t lack ambition, so as we discussed it, his conclusion was that it just didn’t make sense for him.
That hesitation is becoming increasingly common. People still want to grow their impact, but they’re far less certain that management is the right path.
If you’re a manager now, you probably understand that hesitation. If you're a specialist thinking about stepping into leadership, you may be wrestling with it yourself.
Not just an odd trend
Recent data shows that many younger employees are actively avoiding manager roles. Studies from Gallup show that only about one in five employees actively wants to move into management, while nearly two-thirds would prefer to grow their careers without managing people at all.
Many of us grew up believing leadership was the only way to move up. Today, it often looks like extra pressure with unclear upside. What companies still frame as “moving up” can feel more like stepping into constant responsibility, heavier workload, and less control over your own time.
Research from Deloitte also highlights that younger workers increasingly prioritize flexibility, well-being, and meaningful work over traditional promotion paths. So, it's not surprising that many future leaders are choosing to stay exactly where they are.
Younger employees also tend to be far more protective of their health, energy, and personal life than previous generations were encouraged to be.
The issue
The problem isn’t just that the leadership pipeline is shrinking. In many cases, it’s being bypassed altogether. Roles that once attracted the best employees are now viewed as a trade-off many don’t want to make.
Workers used to see promotion as recognition and opportunity. Increasingly, they see management as added responsibility with limited additional control, support, or reward.
They watch current managers closely. They see people who are constantly busy but rarely feel caught up. They see calendars filled with meetings and work that often goes unnoticed. They see managers absorbing pressure from senior leadership while trying to shield their teams from it. And they see how often managers are forced to balance team needs against company policies they didn’t create.
The role itself has also shifted. Management is less about shaping direction and more about coordinating work, resolving friction, and managing the emotional load that comes with team performance. Those responsibilities matter, but they rarely look appealing from the outside.
For a generation that places high value on sustainable workloads and personal well-being, the decision to step away from that path isn’t surprising. In many cases, they’re not rejecting leadership. They’re rejecting the version of leadership they see exhausting the people currently doing it.
The bottom line
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that younger employees avoid responsibility or are being lazy. It’s about them making deliberate choices. They watch what leadership actually looks like day to day and decide the cost is often higher than the benefit.
Organizations don’t just have a leadership development problem. They have a leadership design problem. Until the role itself improves, the pipeline will continue to narrow.
Do you agree?
See you next Tuesday
– Good Enough