What if we stopped treating young talent like a warm-up act?

Serving as Chair at BNG (Brussels New Generation) has given me a front-row seat to how much young talent is already shaping the future – not someday, but right now.

It made me realize: we still talk about youth like they’re a warm-up act for “real” leadership. But the reality is, the young workforce isn’t waiting in the wings. They’re already in the play, rewriting scenes as they go.

Photo Credit: Martina Cilia

Here are six ways (or my very own suggestions) to stop underestimating them and start unlocking what they bring.

1. Youth as the now, not the future

“Tomorrow’s leaders” is a polite way of saying not yet. But young people are already founding companies, steering social movements, and building technologies that redefine industries. If they can run a start-up at 22, they can sit on your strategy table today.

2. Reverse mentorship as competitive advantage

We assume learning flows from tenure to newcomer. But in a world where culture and technology move faster than corporate hierarchies, learning upwards is survival. A 25-year-old might be the key to understanding emerging communities or shifting public sentiments before others in your field do.

3. The “youth discount” problem

We pay young people less. We trust them less. Yet we use their energy, ideas, and cultural fluency to drive growth. If you’re extracting high-value insight from someone, their pay, title, and decision rights should reflect that – not their birth year.

4. Youth as disruptive outsiders

Fresh eyes see the cracks we’ve stopped noticing. Sometimes, that makes established leaders uncomfortable – but it’s also why those eyes are priceless. Invite young people into your most “settled” rooms. Stagnation dies in the presence of a good question.

5. Stop measuring youth by “readiness”

When we say “they’re not ready,” we often mean “they don’t think like us yet.” Readiness, in that sense, becomes a synonym for conformity. What if readiness was redefined as adaptability, courage, and curiosity – qualities that young professionals often have in spades?

6. The age of learning from the unfinished

Youth isn’t “unformed” – it’s in motion. But so are markets, industries, and even the leaders who think they’ve arrived. The moment we start seeing ourselves as also unfinished, generational exchange becomes a partnership of peers, not a top-down tutorial.

The focus shouldn't be “giving” the next generation a voice. It should be recognizing they already have one and making sure it’s in the room where things get decided.

[This article was originally published on LinkedIn].