It’s a scene that’s becoming increasingly common in many companies.
Succession planning meeting. The organizational chart is on the screen. Someone asks:
“Who is ready to step into this role?”
Silence.
This isn’t just your company’s problem. It’s a sign of changing times.
Younger generations have done the math: more pressure, longer hours, greater responsibility, and more isolation… in exchange for what?
For decades, career advancement was considered the ultimate success story. Today, that narrative no longer feels convincing.
It’s not a lack of ambition.
It’s a different way of defining what makes a worthwhile life.
And that shift is already happening inside your organization.
The problem is this:
A leadership vacuum never stays empty.
When no one wants to step into a leadership role, the system fills the gap however it can:
- Informal leaders without authority.
- Experienced employees carrying an unsustainable workload.
- Decisions escalating two levels higher than they should.
- Teams left without real leadership.
And there’s one question very few organizations ask:
What if a position keeps pushing people away—not because of who occupies it, but because of the position itself?
Who supports the people who support everyone else?
Middle managers are the emotional shock absorbers of an organization.
They communicate decisions downward that they didn’t make.
They absorb frustration upward that they didn’t create.
It’s not that younger generations don’t want to lead.
They’ve simply had a front-row seat to what leadership often looks like.
This month, we’re taking a closer look at this issue.
On our LinkedIn page, we’re dedicating the entire month to exploring it from a systems thinking perspective—why it happens, how it affects organizations, and what can be done about it.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/eka-rrhh
And if leadership positions in your organization have become roles that nobody wants to take, let’s talk.
That’s exactly the kind of systemic challenge we help organizations solve.
Warm regards,
The eka Team