A warning to all managers

Expectation vs reality is getting wider

Hey team,

There have been seasons in my career when I could feel the ground shifting beneath me. The last time was 2020, the year work itself unravelled in front of our eyes. And now, heading into 2026, I feel that same shift again.

After training and listening to thousands of managers this year alone, the pattern is too clear to ignore: We are all struggling with rising employee expectations.

Whether it’s expectations around promotion, pay, flexibility or speed, expectations are getting higher and higher. And every day I witness managers across the globe struggling to lead through it.

So consider this letter a warning: the expectations of our teams are rising faster than most of us managers realise, and ignoring that shift is already costing us trust, clarity and performance. So let’s do something about it…

The rise of self-aware employees

There’s a familiar corporate myth that employees, especially younger ones, have become “more difficult.” It’s a comfortable story for organisations because it suggests the problem lies with the individual, not the system.

But I know the truth is far more straightforward… Our teams have become more self-aware.

We now carry a “therapist in our pocket” in the form of TikTok, Instagram and even ChatGPT. Every day, millions of people are absorbing vocabulary around boundaries, burnout, emotional regulation and healthy work dynamics. Whether every piece of advice is perfect doesn’t matter, the exposure alone has fundamentally raised the emotional literacy of the workforce.

Employees arrive at work able to name what previous generations only felt:

“I need clearer expectations.”
“I want progression that reflects my effort.”
“I’m trying to protect my mental health.”
“I’m looking for psychological safety”

But this is not entitlement. It is maturity.

And maturity, naturally, brings increased expectation.

Where expectations collide with reality

So here is where we meet the tension most managers carry every day: an expanding gap between what employees want work to be and what organisations are actually able to provide. And managers sit right in the middle of that gap, forced into the role of the one who disappoints.

Businesses today are operating under constraints: tighter budgets, rising complexity, hybrid coordination challenges. Meanwhile, employees are arriving with clearer desires for development, wellbeing, boundaries, and meaning.

The space between those two realities is where the confusion, frustration and distrust is growing.

So what on earth do we do about it?

Here’s the part we must own as leaders…

It is perfectly acceptable if your organisation cannot meet every expectation.
What is not acceptable is shying away from that truth and clarity.

Many managers unintentionally make empty promises, implying progression might be possible soon, hinting at opportunities the business cannot guarantee. Not because they’re dishonest, but because they’re uncomfortable delivering clarity that might disappoint.

But clarity is never cruel. Clarity is leadership.

Transparency: The new core competency of leadership

The leaders who will absolutely boss 2026 will be the ones who communicate reality with maturity and precision.

This was a key theme in my 2024 TEDx talk: transparency is to 2025 leadership what empathy was to 2015, not a soft add-on, but the defining leadership focus of a new era.

Empathy thankfully brought connection to the workplace at a time when we desperately needed it. Now it’s time to stop caring so much about other people’s feelings that you stand in the way of telling them the kind truth.

Transparency is respect. It sounds like:

“Here’s exactly what we can offer right now.”
“Here’s what might be possible, under the right conditions.”
“And here is what we cannot offer, not at this stage of growth.”

No drama. No empty promises. Just honest, adult conversation.

And that, I believe, is the real evolution of leadership we’re stepping into: the courage to communicate limitations honestly, so people can make informed choices about their careers. Because when we’re clear about what we can deliver:

Some stay, less resentful and more grounded.
Some leave, empowered rather than blindsided.

Both outcomes build trust.

Why this matters now

This moment feels significant because it demands something deeper from leaders: the emotional courage to be fully transparent in a world that rewards polished optimism.

It asks us managers to hold space for rising expectations, without bending the truth to meet them. It asks organisations to define their reality, instead of hiding behind vague promises. And it asks employees to make choices from a place of honesty, not hope.

This, to me, is the second major shift in leadership I’ve witnessed.
Not triggered by crisis this time, but by maturity, in employees, in workplaces, and in the expectations we all carry.

Peace,

H

P.S. If 2026 is the year you want to build more transparent, courageous leaders inside your organisation, now is the perfect time to invest in their development. Bookings for March onwards are now open, enquire here.