I'm 21 and Already Allergic to LinkedIn Wisdom

You know that feeling when you scroll through LinkedIn and see the same recycled "insights" for the thousandth time? Yeah, me too. And I'm only 21.

📌 "Leadership is about people."
📌 "Success comes from showing up."
📌 "Here's what I learned after 10 years in the industry." (spoiler: nothing new)

Cool. Groundbreaking stuff, really.

But here's the thing: while everyone's busy posting the same motivational wallpaper quotes, my generation is out here watching what leaders say and what they actually do. And frankly? We're not impressed.

The Leadership Playbook Needs an Update

But here's what my generation is actually thinking about your leadership:

→ "If you don't care about mental health, we don't care about your title."
→ "You can't lead people you don't listen to."
→ "We don't follow vision. We follow values."

This is where our heads are at. We're done with buzzword bingo. We want authenticity that shows up in your actions, not just your LinkedIn bio.

The Fresh Eyes Advantage

Look, I don't have 15 years of management experience. I can't tell you about leading through three economic downturns or building teams from scratch. But I do have something else: a fresh perspective. One that's been shaped by watching how spectacularly leadership has failed over the past decade.

And maybe, just maybe, that's exactly the perspective companies need right now.

While seasoned leaders are busy defending "how things have always been done," we're asking "but why do they have to be done that way?" While they're focused on maintaining systems, we're questioning whether those systems even make sense.

What We Actually Want to See

Instead of the same recycled wisdom, here's what would actually make us stop scrolling:

Real talk about failure. Not the humble-brag kind where everything worked out perfectly in the end, but the messy, uncomfortable truth about what it's like when things actually go wrong.

Transparency about decision-making. We don't need you to be perfect, but we need you to be honest about how and why you make the calls you make.

Acknowledgment that you don't have all the answers. Admitting you're still figuring it out is way more compelling than pretending you've cracked the code.

The Allergy is Real

Maybe I'm developing an early allergy to corporate speak because I've been exposed to it during the most performative era of professional networking in history. Maybe it's because I've watched too many leaders say one thing and do another.

Or maybe it's because my generation has been raised to spot inauthenticity from a mile away, and LinkedIn has become ground zero for professional performance art.

Here's My Hot Take

So here I am, 21 years old and already sick of the same recycled leadership advice that floods my feed every day. Call it generational pickiness, call it unrealistic expectations. I call it pattern recognition.

We've been watching. We've been learning. And we're ready for leaders who match their actions to their LinkedIn posts.

The allergy is real, but the hunger for authentic leadership? That's even more real.

What do you think? Are you tired of the same recycled professional advice too, or am I just being a typical Gen Z with unrealistic expectations? Let me know in the comments, but please, spare me the motivational quotes.