The Future Belongs to Millennials — But Only If We Lead Them Well

Millennials. Centennials. Generation Z.

Call them what you like, but let’s be honest about one thing: they are the future, and the future will rise or fall on the quality of leadership they receive today.

Last night, I had the pleasure of hearing Simon Sinek in conversation with Reggie Yates at Union Chapel in London. The topic was millennials in the workplace, a continuation of the now-famous interview he did with Tom Bilyeu on Inside Quest.

Shortly after that original interview, I wrote an article titled “Simon Sinek on Millennials in the Workplace: Truth, History or Opportunity?” I understood his perspective, but I couldn’t fully share it. His argument placed the blame for millennial dissatisfaction on parenting, impatience, technology, and the environment, but the unrest he described isn’t exclusive to millennials.

It’s a human problem — and a leadership problem

Technology addiction?

We all know fifty‑ and sixty-year-olds who can’t put their phones down for five minutes.

Impatience?

I’m not a millennial, and I’ve spent a lifetime wrestling with it.

The environment?

That’s where leadership matters most.

And yet, in that same interview, Sinek said something that resonated deeply with me:

“We’re taking this amazing group of young fantastic kids… and we put them in corporate environments that care more about the numbers than they do about the kids… We care more about the year than the lifetime.”

He’s right, and that’s not a millennial problem; that’s a leadership problem.

The Leadership Crisis We Don’t Talk About

As a presentation skills and public speaking coach, I see the consequences of poor leadership every week.

Mindful Presenter was born out of frustration, curiosity, and passion. Frustration at watching brilliant professionals numb their audiences with lifeless presentations; curiosity about whether there was a better way; and passion for helping people communicate like human beings again.

For years, I sat in boardrooms, wondering why highly intelligent, creative, responsible leaders read text-heavy slides in monotone voices, avoided eye contact, and drained the life out of every idea they shared.

Then I realised, they were simply repeating what they had seen from the leaders before them.

Generations of professionals have been implicitly taught that presenting is about information, not connection. That it’s about data, not meaning and speaking, not communicating, and millennials have suffered through it more than anyone.

Millennials Want Something Better — And They’re Right

We work with millennials every day. They’ve endured years of information dumping, endless bullet points, and presentations that feel more like endurance tests than communication.

When we show them another way, a way that is human, memorable, and emotionally intelligent, their eyes light up like children on Christmas morning. They want to present themselves clearly, with energy and authenticity and to connect, not just inform, but then reality hits.

They return to workplaces where:

• leaders present the exact opposite way
• connection is dismissed as “soft”
• information is valued over impact
• courage is quietly discouraged
• and innovation is politely suffocated

We hear it all the time:

“Our leaders don’t present like that.”
“My boss would hate this style.”
“In our business, it’s all about information.”
“I wish I had the courage to challenge the status quo.”
“Can you train our leadership team? They need this more than we do.”

These gifted millennials, full of potential, creativity, and insight, end up presenting exactly like the leaders they hoped to learn from.

Their leadership culture handcuffs their enthusiasm before it ever has a chance to grow.

Imagine the power millennials hold to transform the workplace, to end decades of mindless, disengaging communication, but they can’t do it alone. They need leaders who show them how to use that power, and who give them permission to use it boldly.

Curiosity: The Spark That Changes Everything

For more than 25 years, I wondered whether there was a better way to present, a way that was professional and enjoyable, informative and emotional, structured and human.

A way where:

• presenters inspired action, not boredom
• stories and metaphors were normal, not indulgent
• confidence and calm were accessible to everyone
• presenters were truly present, not trapped in fear of judgment

We found that way, it’s called mindful presenting, and millennials embrace it instinctively.

The question is whether their leaders will take the handcuffs off long enough to let them speak with their authentic voices.

Passion: The Fuel Millennials Are Waiting For

Last night, Sinek said something powerful: Passion isn’t something you simply ‘have.”
It’s what happens when the truth speaks to you, when your “why” becomes impossible to ignore.

When he asked Reggie Yates for his “why,” Reggie said:

“To be the example that I never had.”

That’s a powerful reason to show up in the world, and it’s exactly why so many workplace presentations lack passion: people don’t know their “why.”

Passion comes from clarity, from knowing the message you want to share and believing it matters. When presenters speak from that place, audiences feel it. They remember it and act on it.

The Real Problem Isn’t Millennials — It’s Leadership by Example

One day, someone will write an article about the next generation. Right now, we have the opportunity to influence what that article says.

The future belongs to millennials and the generations that follow, but the one thing they need more than anything else is strong, empowering, inspirational leadership.  Leadership that models curiosity, clarity, courage, and connection.

If we want millennials to communicate with impact, we must show them how.

If we want them to lead with humanity, we must lead with humanity first, and f we want them to speak with passion, we must help them find their “why.”

The future is theirs, but the responsibility is ours.

If you’d like to develop good presentation skills:

– Book yourself onto a powerful public speaking course.

– Invest in some really good one to one public speaking coaching.

– Get yourself some excellent presentation training