According to DDI Global Leadership Forecast, Robert Walters, and Forbes, 2026: 57% of Gen Z consciously avoid management positions. 67% consider the role of middle manager stressful and lacking in prospects. This phenomenon has been named “conscious unbossing” — a deliberate rejection of power.

Gen Z looks at their managers and sees people squeezed between pressure from above and burnout from below — buried in administrative work and stripped of real authority.

Gen Z is 1.7 times more likely than other generations to turn down leadership roles for the sake of their own wellbeing. Meanwhile, 80% of HR professionals are already unsure about their leadership pipelines.

What does this mean for business?

Companies are losing future leaders before they even get the chance to become one. Succession planning is falling apart. And management positions are going unfilled — not because there aren’t candidates, but because fewer and fewer people want them.

The answer isn’t convincing young people that management is a good thing. The answer is changing the role itself. Less administrative pressure. More real authority. Leadership as a tool of influence — not a trap between two fires.

ACPM’s programmes shape exactly this type of manager — one with the competencies that make leadership appealing rather than exhausting.

Source: DDI Global Leadership Forecast 2025, Robert Walters Research 2026, Forbes April 2026