Why I’m writing about this topic at all

This whole journey started over coffee with a friend—a senior manager who's been in his industry for decades. He’s seen it all, done it all… except this. Lately, he finds himself completely baffled by “these people”—his Gen Z employees. Not because they’re not talented (they are), but because he just can’t seem to crack the code: What drives them? What keeps them engaged? Why do they ghost meetings and reply in emojis?

That conversation stuck with me. Not because it was unique, but because I’ve heard versions of it again and again. Gen Z is often painted as mysterious, frustrating, or “hard to manage”, especially by those who came up in very different professional worlds. And yet, these same people genuinely want to understand and lead better—they just don’t know how.

My second reason for writing this is even closer to home: I’m the mom of two little Alphas (i.e. born before 2024). And while they’re still years away from LinkedIn profiles and quarterly check-ins, I’ve come to realize something important—if I can’t connect with Gen Z now, how will I ever relate to the generation that follows?

This series is my way of learning out loud: to map the patterns, explore the friction points, and build bridges. Between managers and teams. Between generations. And maybe even between my present self and the future parent I want to be.