Reverse mentoring and what younger employees can teach your senior team
Feb 2026
Mentoring has traditionally been understood as experience flowing from senior leaders to those earlier in their careers. This model has guided generations of professionals, but experience alone is no longer enough to navigate the pace and complexity of today’s workplace.
Modern organisations are shaped by constant change. Digital tools evolve faster than many leaders can fully master, while younger employees bring new expectations and ways of working that may feel unfamiliar to those who have spent decades in leadership roles. Insight no longer belongs exclusively in the boardroom.
Reverse mentoring recognises this shift. It creates space for younger employees to share perspectives that can reshape how senior teams lead and understand the modern world of work.
Younger employees are often the first to notice changes in behaviour, how people use technology, how they communicate and how workplace culture is experienced day to day. These observations may seem subtle, but they can have significant implications for leadership effectiveness.
Technology is often the most obvious starting point. New platforms, apps and systems are introduced with the expectation that everyone will adopt them seamlessly. Yet the greatest barrier to digital transformation is rarely the technology itself. It is how people interact with it and how well leaders understand those interactions.
According to HR Review, 62 % of Gen Z employees have taken part in reverse mentoring programmes and 72 % report that it improved productivity and confidence within teams. Younger employees can show senior leaders how habits form, where friction appears and what feels intuitive versus forced, helping decisions land more effectively across the organisation.
Culture is equally revealing when seen from the ground up. Values and policies look one way on paper but can feel entirely different in day-to-day life. Younger employees often notice when inclusion is inconsistent and when communication lacks clarity, or when wellbeing is spoken about more than it is practised. Their feedback shows leaders where intention and reality drift apart and highlights opportunities to make small adjustments that have a real impact. Reverse mentoring also strengthens relationships and human connection. Senior leaders regain curiosity and humility. Younger employees gain confidence and a sense of agency. Over time, trust deepens, and assumptions are softened.
Deloitte’s global survey of 23,000+ Gen Zs and millennials found that organisations encouraging learning from all levels are significantly more likely to retain younger talent and foster innovation. Meanwhile, People Managements report on How reverse mentoring could help Gen Z and older colleagues understand each other found that 83 % of younger workers consider culture when choosing an employer, judging it by everyday experience rather than corporate statements.
The environment in which these conversations take place is crucial. Traditional boardrooms, with their long tables and hierarchical cues, can stifle dialogue. Informal spaces, arranged to encourage eye contact, reflection, and shared focus, create conditions where honesty and connection can flourish. At Collaborate Works, we have seen how intentional design of both physical and social spaces makes reverse mentoring more effective. When hierarchy is softened and curiosity is valued, people speak freely with a deeper understanding of one another and the organisation.
Ultimately, reverse mentoring recognises that understanding today’s workplace requires listening to different experiences. Those closest to the everyday reality of work often see changes first and their insight can shape better leadership at every level.
Modern organisations are shaped by constant change. Digital tools evolve faster than many leaders can fully master, while younger employees bring new expectations and ways of working that may feel unfamiliar to those who have spent decades in leadership roles. Insight no longer belongs exclusively in the boardroom.
Reverse mentoring recognises this shift. It creates space for younger employees to share perspectives that can reshape how senior teams lead and understand the modern world of work.
Younger employees are often the first to notice changes in behaviour, how people use technology, how they communicate and how workplace culture is experienced day to day. These observations may seem subtle, but they can have significant implications for leadership effectiveness.
Technology and Gen Z
Technology is often the most obvious starting point. New platforms, apps and systems are introduced with the expectation that everyone will adopt them seamlessly. Yet the greatest barrier to digital transformation is rarely the technology itself. It is how people interact with it and how well leaders understand those interactions.
According to HR Review, 62 % of Gen Z employees have taken part in reverse mentoring programmes and 72 % report that it improved productivity and confidence within teams. Younger employees can show senior leaders how habits form, where friction appears and what feels intuitive versus forced, helping decisions land more effectively across the organisation.
What Gen Z can teach other generations about culture
Culture is equally revealing when seen from the ground up. Values and policies look one way on paper but can feel entirely different in day-to-day life. Younger employees often notice when inclusion is inconsistent and when communication lacks clarity, or when wellbeing is spoken about more than it is practised. Their feedback shows leaders where intention and reality drift apart and highlights opportunities to make small adjustments that have a real impact. Reverse mentoring also strengthens relationships and human connection. Senior leaders regain curiosity and humility. Younger employees gain confidence and a sense of agency. Over time, trust deepens, and assumptions are softened.
Deloitte’s global survey of 23,000+ Gen Zs and millennials found that organisations encouraging learning from all levels are significantly more likely to retain younger talent and foster innovation. Meanwhile, People Managements report on How reverse mentoring could help Gen Z and older colleagues understand each other found that 83 % of younger workers consider culture when choosing an employer, judging it by everyday experience rather than corporate statements.
Physical and social space in the workplace
The environment in which these conversations take place is crucial. Traditional boardrooms, with their long tables and hierarchical cues, can stifle dialogue. Informal spaces, arranged to encourage eye contact, reflection, and shared focus, create conditions where honesty and connection can flourish. At Collaborate Works, we have seen how intentional design of both physical and social spaces makes reverse mentoring more effective. When hierarchy is softened and curiosity is valued, people speak freely with a deeper understanding of one another and the organisation.
Ultimately, reverse mentoring recognises that understanding today’s workplace requires listening to different experiences. Those closest to the everyday reality of work often see changes first and their insight can shape better leadership at every level.