If you have spent any time recently trying to recruit a teacher for your school, fill a ministry role in your church, find a project manager for your NFP, or hire a rising team leader for your business, you already know the ground has shifted beneath our feet.
The old ways of attracting and holding onto talent (dangling a static job description, offering an annual performance review, and expecting long-term loyalty) simply don’t work anymore.
Today, Gen Y (Millennials) and Gen Z make up over 60% of the Australian workforce. They aren’t just sitting in entry-level roles anymore; Gen Ys are running executive teams and boardrooms, while Gen Zs are stepping rapidly into key operational roles.
Yet, many purpose-driven leaders across schools, non-profits, small-to-medium businesses, and churches find themselves asking the same frustrated question behind closed doors: “How do we stop our best young leaders from walking out the door after 18 months?”
What We Are Embedding This Month in The Collective
This exact challenge is why this month inside the Higher Deeper Collective, our core focus topic is Leading Leaders.
Throughout October, we aren’t just talking about theory; we are actively embedding a complete change of mindset and practical helps into our day-to-day leadership habits. We are looking at how to move out of the operational weeds, shift from managing execution to mentoring leaders, and build sustainable frameworks that keep our best talent engaged, equipped, and eager to stay for the long haul.
What the Research Tells Us About Rising Leaders
To lead rising talent effectively, we first have to understand the workplace landscape they are navigating. Research from McCrindle Research, Deloitte’s Gen Z and Millennial Survey, and Gallup Workplace Insights paints a very clear picture of what Gen Y and Gen Z actually care about:
1. The Tenure Reality
According to research by Australian demographer Mark McCrindle at McCrindle Research, the average tenure for a Gen Z worker is currently 1 year and 8 months, while for Gen Y it sits at around 3 years and 4 months. McCrindle estimates that a school leaver today will hold up to 18 different jobs across 6 distinct careers in their lifetime.
Leadership Insight: If you want rising leaders to stay longer than 18 months, you have to offer dynamic internal growth and visible career velocity. If they feel stagnated, they won’t wait around for a traditional promotion; they will move on.
2. Purpose Over Paycheck
Global findings from Deloitte’s Gen Z and Millennial Survey consistently highlight that over 40% of Gen Ys and Gen Zs have turned down job offers or work assignments because they didn’t align with their personal values or ethics. They are drawn to purpose-led organisations, but they are quick to exit if they sense hypocrisy or toxic, burnout-driven work rhythms.
3. A Craving for Mentoring & “Reverse Mentoring”
Workplace studies published by Gallup Workplace Insights show that younger generations don’t want a traditional “boss” who simply delegates tasks and monitors hours. They crave a coach and mentor: someone who invests in their capability, gives frequent feedback, and provides real room for decision-making autonomy.
Bonus Value (Two-Way Mentoring): Mentoring younger talent isn’t a one-way street. When you build a culture of open mentoring, you unlock reverse mentoring, tapping into your younger leaders’ native fluency with emerging technology, digital tools, cultural shifts, and fresh perspectives that keep your organisation innovative and agile.
The Key Shift: Task Dumping vs. Ownership Delegation
When executive leaders feel stretched for time, our natural reflex with rising talent is Task Dumping.
We hand over a list of step-by-step instructions (“do steps A, B, and C”). It feels like delegation, but all we’ve really delegated is execution. The mental load, problem-solving, and decision-making remain firmly on our shoulders. The moment something strays from step B, the young leader stops, panics, and waits for instructions.
To retain high-potential Gen Y and Gen Z leaders, we must replace Task Dumping with Ownership Delegation.
When you delegate ownership, you hand over the problem or opportunity and the desired outcome, granting them the authority and creative space to navigate the solution within agreed guardrails. This builds the exact portfolio of skill evidence younger leaders need to see their clear progression pathway within your organisation rather than somewhere else.
3 Practical Helps to Raise Up and Retain Rising Leaders
Here are three practical tools we are embedding with our leaders this month:
1. Define the “Outcome”, Not the Footsteps
When handing over a project, stop prescribing every operational detail. Instead, agree on the Definition of Done:
- The Target Outcome: What does final success look and feel like?
- The Guardrails: What budget, reputational, or resource limits exist?
- The Check-Ins: When will we formally sync before final delivery?
Real-World Example: Imagine asking a team member or volunteer to coordinate an upcoming community or family info night. Instead of handing them a checklist (“Print 50 booklets”), define the outcome: “Our goal is to ensure 50 guests leave feeling deeply connected, valued, and informed about our mission within a $300 budget.” When the office printer jams an hour before the event, an outcome-owner doesn’t freeze; they project the slides, set up a QR code for digital downloads, and keep things moving smoothly.
2. Provide Clear Decision Autonomy (The 4 Levels)
Young leaders often play it safe or constantly ping you with minor questions because they are terrified of making a mistake. You can eliminate this friction by assigning one of 4 Levels of Decision Autonomy:
- Level 1 (Research & Report): Gather facts; bring them to me to decide.
- Level 2 (Recommend): Analyse options, recommend your pick, and wait for my green light.
- Level 3 (Decide & Inform): Make the call, but let me know immediately after.
- Level 4 (Own Entirely): Make the call; no need to check in unless parameters change.
Explicitly telling a rising leader, “I’m delegating ownership of this outcome to you, and this is a Level 3 decision,” builds instant confidence and safety.
3. Reframe Mistakes as “Leadership Tuition”
If a rising leader miscalculates a decision and receives a harsh response, they will immediately retreat into playing it safe or start updating their CV.
When a genuine mistake happens in pursuit of growth, resist the urge to take back authority. Treat the cost as Leadership Tuition. Sit down in your next 1:1 sync and run a gentle 3-question debrief:
- What assumptions did we make that turned out to be incorrect?
- Where did we hit friction, and what did it teach us?
- What boundary or system tweak do we need for next time?
Sector Snapshot: How This Applies to You
- In NFPs: Young leaders enter the sector with huge hearts for the cause. Retain them by connecting their daily tasks to the bigger mission and protecting them from burnout through healthy operational boundaries.
- In Schools: Rising teachers and coordinators can quickly feel overwhelmed by compliance and admin. Give them strategic context behind leadership decisions and empower them with Level 3 autonomy over classroom and event innovations.
- In Small-Medium Businesses: Gen Y and Gen Z leaders want to know their voice matters. Involve them in strategic trade-offs and show them a clear, visible pathway for skill development and internal progression.
- In Churches & Ministries: Young leaders aren’t looking for hierarchical control; they want relational, biblical stewardship. Shift from managing volunteer rotas to mentoring young ministry leaders who truly own ministry outcomes.
Why Coaching is the Secret to Embedding This Practice
Here is a truth every seasoned executive knows: reading about leadership is easy, but changing how you lead under pressure is hard.
When deadlines loom, board meetings approach, or crises hit, our automatic instinct is to grab the wheel back, revert to task dumping, and fix things ourselves.
This is where targeted executive coaching makes all the difference. Elite athletes don’t rely on books alone to refine their technique; they rely on a coach who can observe their form, highlight blind spots, and help them adjust in real time.
As leaders of purpose-driven organisations, having a dedicated sounding board allows you to step out of the daily noise, process tricky team dynamics safely, and practise these mentoring habits until they become second nature.
Want to Build Your Leadership Capability This Month?
Retaining rising talent isn’t about working harder to keep people happy; it’s about changing the altitude of your leadership and equipping yourself with the right practical tools and coaching support.
If you are leading an NFP, school, business, or church and want to build your leadership capability alongside a tight-knit community of executive peers, I would love to invite you into the Higher Deeper Collective for the month of October.
When you join us for October, you’ll get immediate access to:
- Our complete Vault Resource: The Mentoring Framework: How to Effectively Lead and Retain Rising Talent.
- Daily bite-sized executive insights and practical tools delivered straight to your inbox.
- Weekly virtual drop-in coffee boosts and confidential peer forums to process your live leadership challenges.
- PLUS a 1:1 Executive Coaching Session with me, where we will look directly at your org chart, troubleshoot your specific team dynamics, and refine your mentoring approach together.
👉 Interested in joining us just for October? Send me a direct message or drop me an email, and I’ll personally set you up with access so you can test-drive the Collective, book your 1:1 coaching session, and map out your team’s capability this month.
Let’s keep stepping up and reaching deeper together!
