Leading a team today feels like putting a large jigsaw puzzle together. So many pieces and they’re all so different. It’s a mammoth undertaking that can wear an employer out. People join a team with needs and requirements that supervisors haven’t seen in the past.

Especially for Generation Z job seekers.

According to McKinsey research, “From “job apocalypse” fears to mismatched values and AI-driven career pivots, the Gen Z workplace story keeps morphing—and so do the stakes for employers.” Leaders often feel like the research is a moving target. One study says this, and the other survey says that. So, what continues to be true for leaders? Just how do we create a workspace they won’t want to leave? Here are four lasting ideas.

1. Create a focus on wellness.

What this communicates: I care about you as a person, not just an employee.

When leaders first get personal, not just professional, those team members feel “heard,” which is their top request as they begin their careers. In short, when you lean into them, they’ll usually lean into the job. Once they feel cared for, you’ll be amazed at how they learn to care about the larger mission and not just themselves. Keep in mind—parents, the media and other influential voices have conditioned them to be consumers; to look out for number one. As they finish their educational journey, life has been about them, much of the time. Jobs usually force them to collaborate on a team, where they must mature into good teammates. It’s part of their “adulting” journey. If leaders can put on the “mentor” hat, not just the “manager” hat, it makes a world of difference in employee attitudes.

2. Allow them to reach a goal their way.

What this communicates: You have our respect, and we trust you.

Most of the 59 million members of Generation Z have been led by coaches, bosses, parents, and teachers in a prescriptive manner. We tell them what to do and offer the specific steps to take. This has left them knowing what to think, but not how to think. When we allow them to use their ingenuity to achieve a task, our message is one of respect. But keep this in mind: the research shows they want multiple check-ins during the first few months on the job. This data seems to stand in contrast to what I just suggested. Here’s the catch. We must first micro-manage Gen Zers for the first four to six months, then manage by objectives. They want to know that their supervisor affirms their work daily, and then they want to be trusted to do it on their own. We move from commander to consultant in our leadership style.

3. Welcome AI as a growing part of their job experience.

What this communicates: We’re future-focused and want you to grow with us.

Aaron De Smet, an expert on employee engagement and corporate culture, put it this way: “One of the things that leading organizations are doing is redefining career advancement, away from ‘promotion through the hierarchy.’ There’s a push for organizations to be leaner and more agile, with fewer hierarchical layers. And when you bring agentic AI into the workforce, that’s going to allow for even flatter organizations. So, when people say they want a promotion every one or two years, it becomes possible.”

One of the big ideas in my new book, The Future Begins with Z, is that the age of authority is dropping. By this, I mean Gen Zers arrive with some skills that give them authority and don’t require a position. Increasing your use of smart technology and AI makes them feel right at home.

4. Demonstrate that they have a seat at the table right away.

What this communicates: They belong with you, and their voice will be heard.

In my focus groups with members of Generation Z, they expressed a huge desire to find a place where they “belonged.” While that may sound cheesy, there’s a deep desire among these young professionals for a community that is safe and shares their values. They affirmed they want to accomplish something big with others but explained the difference between “fitting in” and “belonging”: fitting in feels forced, as though the boss wants to fit a round peg in a square hole. Just blend in with the team. Belonging feels like they can be genuine, yet invited to be themselves on behalf of a larger team and goal. This means everyone is more important than their job, but no one is more important than the mission. Everyone has a voice but not a vote. We are here not to compete—but to complete each other.

If these ideas feel like I am asking you to cave into all their requests, I am not. We must find a way to be flexible without compromising your values. After 15 years of leading Gen Zers, I have noticed that the answer is almost always in the middle, somewhere between our past strategies and their future intuition. If you look at the four ideas above, I think you’ll see they’re steps every leader should take, regardless of whether Gen Z is on your team. Let’s let them make us better leaders.