Raise your hand if you’re a Gen Xer still waiting for your shot at the corner office. You’re not imagining things—your chances of reaching the C-suite may be shrinking. Why? Because Baby Boomers are still parked in the top jobs, and when they finally decide to leave, the fast-rising Millennials are already being handed the keys.
According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, Generation X is getting squeezed out of the CEO pipeline. Despite representing a significant share of leadership-ready professionals, Gen X is often overlooked in favor of the “seasoned wisdom” of Boomers or the “disruptive energy” of younger generations.
But let’s be real: Gen X isn’t just ready. We’ve BEEN ready.
We are the bridge generation—raised in analog, built careers in digital. We:
- Went from rotary phones to smartphones.
- Survived dial-up, launched into broadband, and now live on fiber and streaming.
- Learned BASIC programming before it was cool.
- Transitioned offices from file cabinets and fax machines to the cloud and CRMs.
- Watched Saturday morning cartoons evolve into bingeable Netflix weekends.
- Actually used encyclopedias—and libraries—to do our homework.
We’ve seen more transformation in our working years than most execs plan for in a decade—and we didn’t just survive it. We led it.
Gen X is the embodiment of resilience, pragmatism, and adaptability. We came of age during recessions, dot-com busts, and corporate restructurings. We’re fluent in the language of change and allergic to fluff. We don’t need a focus group to make a decision—we just get it done.
So, what’s the holdup?
Corporate boards are busy talking about “future-proofing” leadership—but they’re missing the very generation that’s been future-proofing everything since we learned to reboot a computer by hitting Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
Here’s the inconvenient truth: Gen X leaders didn’t grow up expecting trophies. We earned results. But while we’ve been quietly holding down the fort, the spotlight’s moved elsewhere.
If organizations want leaders who:
- Know how to cut through the noise,
- Balance idealism with realism,
- And can lead transformation without needing a 3-slide deck just to get buy-in…
They need to stop sleeping on Gen X.
So the question isn’t can Gen X lead. We’ve been leading—just without the title. The real question is: Will anyone finally let us?
I know a bit ironic for me to write, but, I know the data doesn’t lie.
Written by:
A proud GenX’r, Kelly Jackson, SLC3