By Lauren Butler and Kabira Ferrell
In recent years, many companies have obsessed over how to navigate perceived generational differences, investing heavily in platform strategies, short-form video content, and polished digital experiences to reach different age cohorts. We’ve chased assumptions like Gen Z wants TikToks, Millennials crave authenticity on Instagram, Gen X prefers email, and Boomers want more formal interactions.
But what if we’ve been solving the wrong problem?
Ketchum’s new research, “Leadership Presence: What Employees Want from Leaders in the AI Era,” surveyed 1,817 U.S. consumers and employees to understand what truly drives followership in today’s workplace. The findings challenge conventional wisdom and deliver a clear directive to leaders: employees don’t want more content sent from afar — they want you to show up.
The Generational Myth and the Power of Presence
The most surprising finding? Employees across all generations agree far more than they differ when it comes to what they want from their leaders.
Being “in touch with employees” (50%) and accountable (47%) ranked as the top two leadership qualities, with “in touch with employees” #1 across Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers. These were followed by transparent (42%), experienced (40%), and competent (39%). Notably absent from the top tier? The highly produced, perfectly polished persona that many organizations invest in creating for leadership communications. Purpose-driven and charismatic ranked near the bottom of the list (10 & 11 out of 14).
When it comes to communication preferences, the data is equally clear:
- 72% prefer conversational over scripted
- 70% prefer simple and direct over polished and produced
- 65% prefer straightforward over entertaining
Even more telling: in-person meetings (40-47%) and face-to-face conversations (39-43%) rank in the top three preferences across all generations. Yes, even Gen Z — the generation we’ve been told only wants to communicate through screens — prefers face-to-face interaction with leaders over receiving more “content,” whether written or video.
While format and channel preferences show some variation by generation, our research found that roles and professional levels are more meaningful differentiators than age. The industry’s obsession with generational segmentation may be leading communicators astray as they develop engagement strategies.
The Frontline Communications Gap
Perhaps the most urgent finding for business leaders: frontline workers value leaders who are “in touch with employees” (54%) even more than office workers (44%). Face-to-face conversations also rank higher for this group (48% vs. 37%). And frontline workers were more likely to say the volume of leader communications is too little, 26% vs 17% for office workers.
This frontline communications gap represents a critical challenge as blue-collar industries face labor shortages and we anticipate the rise of “new blue collar” roles that combine hands-on work with digital and AI tools. Leaders who prioritize showing up in person for these critically important employee segments will have a significant competitive advantage in attracting and retaining talent.
The message is clear: leaders can’t close this gap by sending messages from corporate headquarters or just via digital/social channels. They need to go where the work happens.
What Employees Don’t Want
Against a backdrop of AI implementation and the proliferation of AI-generated content, there’s increased value placed on human interactions — on something real. The rules of content marketing simply don’t apply to internal communications.
Employees aren’t asking for:
- Polished and highly produced content
- Short-form video that prioritizes entertainment value
- Perfectly scripted messages that sound like they came from the PR department
The research shows that 5 – 10-minute content is the “Goldilocks” length — the hype around ultra-short-form video exceeds reality, even for younger generations.
Executive Visibility: An Engagement Tool, Not a Sales Driver
On the consumer side, the research reveals an important nuance about executive visibility. While 91% of consumers say it’s important for leaders to be the voice of their company, and 47% cite executive visibility as having a major impact on admiring a company, only 11% said highly visible executives impacted their brand preference.
Product quality, word-of-mouth, and reviews remain the primary drivers of purchase decisions. Executive visibility serves as an engagement and loyalty tool, not a transaction driver.
The implications for brand and executive communications strategies:
- Only 31% of consumers follow leaders of brands they admire on social platforms, reinforcing the need for multi-channel visibility strategies
- When consumers do follow executives (61% cite this as their top reason), it’s primarily to learn more about the company and products
- Visual platforms (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok) significantly outperform text and professional platforms (X, LinkedIn) for consumer audiences
- The brand should have the starring role, with executives as supporting actors
The Path Forward
For internal communications professionals, these findings demand a rebalancing of resources away from heavily produced content and toward face-to-face engagement. While generational differences exist, they are less dramatic than role-based differences. The challenge will be securing more executive time for in-person engagement — but this data provides a strong business case.
For executive leaders, the message is unambiguous: your employees want to see you, hear from you, and engage with you in person. They value empathy and the ability to understand their day-to-day challenges over charisma and polish. As organizations navigate AI implementation and an increasingly digital workplace, the human element of leadership communication becomes more valuable, not less.
The organizations that will build high-performing cultures and strong brand loyalty are those that invest in genuine leader-employee and leader-consumer connections — the kind that can only be built through presence, relevance, and real conversation.
So close your laptop, put down your smartphone, and start walking the floor. Your employees are waiting.
INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE LEADERSHIP PRESENCE REPORT, KETCHUM’S EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS OFFERINGS? Contact Lauren Butler at [email protected] or Kabira Ferrell at [email protected].
About the Authors
Kabira Ferrell is executive vice president, executive visibility and corporate reputation at Ketchum. A seasoned ‘executive whisperer’ with 25 years of experience, Kabira supports C-suite executives and board chairs to find the credible and authentic story only they can tell — aligned with their business goals, expertise and personality. Her extensive experience includes thought leadership platforms, messaging strategy, speechwriting and presentation training. Prior to Ketchum, she led Ogilvy PR’s corporate reputation practice in the U.S. West and served as Director of Media Relations at Molson Coors Brewing Company. Kabira is a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder.
