Are You Open Enough to Be Challenged by the Next Generation?
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One of my long-held assumptions got challenged last week.
I was in conversation with a few people in their twenties who were talking about their recent job interviews. One person shared that if they were asked to provide a work sample during the hiring process, they would request compensation for their time.
My internal reaction was immediate:
Wait…what? Get paid for part of an interview? At a nonprofit? Good luck—they probably wouldn’t even let you continue the process.
It wasn’t their confidence that startled me—it was their readiness to assert the value of their time and skills right from the start.
As a leadership coach, I often ask my clients to “listen to learn,” especially when something challenges them. This time, I realized I needed to take my own advice.
Why was my reaction so quick and strong?
What assumptions about work and worth am I carrying that I didn’t even know I had?
And what is it about claiming value that made me pause?
After a breath, my actual response was:
“Wow…I’d never considered that. Tell me how you’re thinking about it.”
I’m still not sure where I land on the issue of paying candidates for interview tasks. It’s a new idea for me. But what struck me most was how my initial reaction mirrored what I often hear from my clients: that our human nature is to default to familiar paths.
Many leaders struggle to stay open when they don’t understand the assumptions or motivations of newer employees, especially those entering the workforce with very different experiences and expectations.
As the parent of three Gen Z adults, I see every day how this generation challenges long-standing perspectives and systems. They’ve grown up with unprecedented access to information, options, and voices. They question what many of us once accepted as “just how it is.”
That doesn’t mean they’re always right, or that organizations should automatically meet every request. But their questions, especially the “what if” ones, can be powerful catalysts for change.
According to IBM’s Global CEO Study, creativity was found to be the most sought-after leadership trait. In a world that demands new solutions to complex problems, our youngest workers might just hold the very mindset needed to find them.
My hope is that, as leaders, we can notice our own reactions first—and stay open long enough to let some new light in.
How open are you to having your assumptions challenged by those newer to your field or company?
