After spending most of her life denying she had feelings, Christy Pretzinger built a business based largely on helping others develop them. Now CEO of WG Content and founder of The Better Leader Project, she's on a mission to help Gen Z develop the human skills that will make them irreplaceable in an AI-driven world—while creating workplaces where Sunday scaries become extinct.

In this conversation, Christy reveals a crucial insight: while AI might excel at tasks, our survival depends on our humanity—except we're terrible at being human. We struggle with vulnerability, curiosity, and empathy—the very skills that make us irreplaceable. This paradox sits at the heart of the workplace crisis facing younger generations who crave authenticity but lack the tools to practice it professionally.

Christy shares her observations about Gen Z's relationship with work: they want genuine connection, refuse to leave their emotions at home, and are opting out of traditional management roles after watching their elders get "chewed up and spit out." But notably, they're not opting out of leadership—they just can't reconcile being themselves with the management models they've witnessed.

The conversation takes a personal turn when Christy discusses her COVID-era leadership challenges, including having to lay off a third of her company while navigating her own tendency to err too far on the empathy side. Her vulnerability about not being able to do any of the jobs in her company anymore, despite having done them all, offers a refreshing take on what authentic leadership really looks like.

We explore practical approaches to bringing appropriate emotion into professional settings, the difference between kindness and weakness, and why the leader's primary job is to remove barriers to their team's success. Christy's framework for helping people practice their humanity in small cohorts offers a tangible path forward for organizations struggling to bridge generational divides while maintaining professional standards.

For anyone wondering how to create environments where people can be both human and high-performing, or leaders trying to model authenticity without sacrificing effectiveness, this conversation provides both philosophical grounding and practical guidance.

Resources & Links Mentioned

Your Cultural Balance Sheet by Christy Pretzinger
The Better Leader Project - Movement to help Gen Z develop human skills for work
ChristyPretzinger.com
LinkedIn
WGContent.com

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