LYNDY VAN DEN BARSELAAR

South Africa is entering what I call a leadership blackout, a slow but unmistakable dimming of the leadership pipeline that many organisations have not yet fully acknowledged.

What makes this moment so unusual is that the crisis is not being driven by a lack of talent. It is being driven by a lack of desire.

The people who should be stepping into leadership roles are increasingly choosing not to, and the reasons behind that choice reveal a profound shift in how work, ambition and wellbeing are understood.

According to the latest ManpowerGroup “Human Edge” Trends Report, companies worldwide are facing the same pattern: younger workers are not inspired by the leadership roles they see around them.

In South Africa, where economic pressure, workplace fatigue and structural inequality already shape the labour market, this reluctance is even more pronounced. The leadership pipeline isn’t empty; it’s opting out.

For decades, leadership was framed as the natural next step for high performers. It was the reward for hard work, the marker of progress, and the sign that you were “moving up”. But for many Millennials and Gen Z professionals, that narrative no longer holds. They are not rejecting growth; they are rejecting the version of leadership they see before them. One that often appears to be a trade‑off between career advancement and personal well-being.

This is how a leadership blackout begins: the deep institutional knowledge held by senior leaders is steadily leaving organisations as they retire or shift to more flexible work arrangements, while those who should step forward to replace them hesitate

This shift is happening in a labour market defined by instability. The latest Stats SA figures show youth unemployment at 43.8%, and 3.7-million South Africans are now classified as discouraged work‑seekers. When your economic reality is shaped by uncertainty, stepping into a role that appears to offer more pressure than protection feels like a risk, not a reward. As I often tell clients: “Leadership has not lost its importance; it has lost its appeal.”

The traditional leadership contract — long hours, constant availability, emotional labour and limited support — was built for a different era. It assumed stability, predictability and a clear hierarchy. Today’s workplace offers none of those things. Instead, leaders are expected to navigate economic volatility, rapid technological change, hybrid teams and rising employee expectations, often without the training or support to do so.

Younger workers see this clearly. They value autonomy, flexibility and meaningful work, and they are not convinced that leadership, as it currently exists, offers any of those things. They want influence, not authority. They want impact, not titles. And they want careers that allow them to thrive, not just survive.

One of the most striking insights from the report is that 57% of workers globally have never had a mentor. In South Africa, where access to senior leaders is often limited by organisational structure, geography or inequality, the gap is even wider. Mentorship is the mechanism through which leadership potential is identified, nurtured and transferred, and without it, the pathway into leadership becomes opaque.

This is how a leadership blackout begins: the deep institutional knowledge held by senior leaders is steadily leaving organisations as they retire or shift to more flexible work arrangements, while those who should step forward to replace them hesitate.

The systems that once connected one generation of leaders to the next have weakened to the point where the transfer of knowledge is no longer guaranteed. When experience outpaces replacement, the lights dim quietly until the gap becomes impossible to ignore.

In a labour market where youth unemployment remains above 43%, gig work is not a trend; it’s a survival strategy

The report highlights the rapid rise of gig and portfolio careers globally, noting that 27% of Gen Z workers supplement their income with gig or part‑time work. In South Africa, this trend is even more pronounced. According to the Student Village/Flux Trends “Gen Z Economy” report (2025), 45% of Gen Z workers take on side gigs or short‑term projects, not only to earn additional income in a challenging economy, but also to build skills, diversify their experience and maintain a sense of autonomy.

This gap between the global average and the South African reality tells an important story: young South Africans are embracing portfolio careers at nearly double the global rate. In a labour market where youth unemployment remains above 43%, gig work is not a trend; it’s a survival strategy. And when gig work offers more flexibility and control than traditional corporate pathways, leadership roles must compete with an entirely different value proposition.

If organisations want people to choose leadership again, they need to rethink the role from the ground up. That starts with redesigning leadership for modern work, shifting away from command‑and‑control models and towards coaching, collaboration and shared decision‑making. It also means rebuilding mentorship as a core organisational practice. The “Human Edge” report makes it clear that mentorship is no longer a “nice to have”; it is the backbone of succession.

Businesses must also open leadership pathways beyond degrees. The report shows that the gap between degree and non‑degree holders is the narrowest it has been in 30 years. Skills, not credentials, should drive succession decisions. And if leadership roles are to compete with the gig economy, they must offer autonomy, flexibility and project‑based opportunities inside the organisation, not just outside it. Finally, wellbeing must become a leadership competency. A sustainable leadership model is one that people will actually choose.

South Africa is not running out of leaders. It is running out of reasons for people to want to become leaders. The future belongs to companies that build a new leadership contract, one that is flexible, human‑centred, skills‑based and genuinely aspirational. If we want the next generation to lead, we must give them something worth leading.