A blog by Kysen MD Clare Rodway, capturing interesting conversations she has in the course of her work...
Alisa Grafton
"I don't think Gen Z is fragile - I think they're survivors", Alisa told me over lunch, after first meeting her at a recent Next 100 Years of Women in Law event. She had my attention right away. "They've grown up navigating a digital background, shaped by social media scrutiny, global crises, and a collapsing trust in traditional systems. If anything, they've got grit - just not the kind older generations are used to recognising".
It was this perspective - both refreshing and quietly radical - that set the tone for our conversation. We started talking about networking (inevitably because Alisa literally wrote the book on it: Great Networking - the Art and Practice of Building Authentic Professional Relationships). But the conversation soon turned to the workplace's newest generation, Gen Z, and how she thinks business leaders need to rethink some long-held assumptions. I was all ears.
Alisa wears a number of professional hats. First, she's a much sought-after notary with a flourishing practice. Alongside that, she lectures on UCL's Notarial Practice course, leading the second-year programme and helping shape the next generation of notaries. But it's her work coaching law firms and other organisations on leadership of intergenerational teams that really lights a fire under current workplace issues.
And right now, there's no hotter topic than how to lead, manage - and truly understand - Gen Z.
Alisa doesn't mince her words when it comes to some of the unhelpful narratives circulating in leadership circles. "I hear the same tropes repeated over and over: that they're entitled, overly sensitive, or lazy. But these labels themselves are lazy. They tell us more about our discomfort than their deficiencies." She recalls one senior figure referring to Gen Z team members as "a bunch of work-shy snowflakes". Her response? To dig deeper - not to shut down the conversation, but to reframe it.
"Just look at their mental health statistics" she says. "This isn't about weakness, it's about the consequences of growing up online, without the emotional buffer previous generations had. Gen Z are carrying the mental health impact of a society that through them into a 24/7 comparison culture before they'd even formed their own identities".
This lens helps explain what many misread as hypersensitivity. "In corporate life, we prize 'constructive feedback' but if your frame of reference is social media, feedback has often meant public shaming. Of course they're cautious, of course they're guarded. Wouldn't you be?"
We talked about the now-familiar terms like lazy girl jobs and bare minimum Mondays - often used with a sneer. "These aren't trends born out of entitlement," Alisa argues. "They're coping mechanisms. They're attempts to introduce boundaries into a world that's historically rewarded burnout and called it commitment."
Alisa shared her own story from early in her career: being told by her boss to stay late on Christmas Eve to close a file - not because it was urgent, but because he was determined to clear his desk. "I obeyed," she says, "and I missed a really important family event. Had I refused, I'd have been labelled lazy. My reputation would have taken a hit. And back then, that would have been career-limiting."
Another area where Gen Z is misunderstood? Networking.
Alisa points to recent research that found nearly 90% of Gen Z rate networking as one of the top five skills for career success, but only 15% felt they're getting what they need from their employers to build those skills. "They want to network - but not in the traditional, performative way. For them, it's about creating genuine, mutually beneficial relationships. The days of transactional schmoozing are over."
She recalls a young woman coming up to her after one of her talks, saying "Networking always feels like something I'm supposed to do for my firm, not for me. I want to build relationships that align with my own values and future, not just hand out business cards for someone else's goals." That sentiment, Alisa says, is becoming more common - and leaders ignore it at their peril.
"The truth is, Gen Z have had a front-row seat to chaos: Covid, job market instability, political unrest, economic uncertainty. They've watched their parents work long hours only to be laid off. So they've learned to be strategic. To keep options open. To invest in their own networks, because loyalty to an employer no longer feels like a sure bet."
So what's Alisa's advice for senior leaders today?
"First, stop comparing. They're not a flawed version of you. They've had a different education, a different world, a different set of motivators. Respect that. Second, be intentional with your coaching - generic mentoring won't cut it. You need trainers and programmes that understand the psychology and context of this generation. And third - don't dismiss the discomfort. Use it. It's a signal that something in your leadership needs updating.
For someone whose career is built on connecting people - through her notary practice, through her teaching at UCL and through professional coaching - Alisa has a gift for cutting through complexity with clarity and compassion. She reminds us that every generational shift brings new friction - and new opportunity. If Gen Z are shaking things up, perhaps it's because the foundations need rethinking.
More power to them. And to Alisa, for helping us see it.
