New Dissertation Finds Authentic Leadership Builds Gen Z’s Psychological Capital

Koroye-Emenanjo, B. (2026). An exploration of the relationship between authentic leadership and psychological capital in Gen Z mentees: A study of mentoring relationships [Doctoral dissertation, Our Lady of the Lake University].

Introduction

Generation Z enters the workforce carrying greater psychological vulnerabilities—higher rates of anxiety, depression, and notably lower resilience compared to prior generations at the same life stage. At the same time, this cohort has made one thing clear: they want authentic mentors and leadership. What has been missing from the research literature is direct empirical evidence of whether a mentor’s authentic leadership actually predicts psychological capital—the internal resources of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism—in Gen Z mentees. Koroye-Emenanjo (2026) addressed that gap directly.

Methods

This cross-sectional, correlational dissertation study surveyed 565 Generation Z adults (born 1997–2007) with mentoring experience across Nigeria, the United States, and twelve other countries. Mentor authentic leadership was measured with the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (Walumbwa et al., 2008), mentee psychological capital with the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (Luthans et al., 2007), and mentoring relationship quality with the Mentoring Functions Questionnaire (Castro et al., 2005). Hierarchical multiple regression across five models tested whether authentic leadership predicted overall psychological capital and each of its four dimensions after controlling for mentoring quality, relationship length, demographics, ethnicity, country, and education.

Results

When mentors lead authentically, their Gen Z mentees benefit psychologically. Authentic leadership significantly predicted overall psychological capital, self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism—four out of the five psychological capital dimensions controls. Mentoring relationship quality was the single strongest predictor across all five outcomes, and mentor authentic leadership builds on top of this foundation rather than replacing it. Simply having a mentor is not enough—having a good one is what generates psychological benefits. Ultimately, character matters more than authority as quality mentoring relationships are the most valuable tools programs can leverage.

Discussion

The data clearly highlights the importance of ethics and honesty. Mentors who acted from genuine values and communicated openly rather than projecting a polished image were the ones whose mentees showed the strongest psychological gains. Strategic thinking and analytical balance, by contrast, had no measurable effect. Authentic behavior alone does not build a mentee’s sense of direction and goal-driven motivation. For that, mentors need to go further: sitting down with mentees to set concrete goals, map out pathways, and plan for obstacles. Authenticity opens the relationship, but structured coaching is what builds hope.

Implications for Mentoring Programs

Organizations should invest in training mentors in relational skills, not just domain expertise. Authentic leadership is developable, and mentor selection criteria should broaden beyond technical competence to include self-awareness and ethical consistency. For Gen Z specifically, building resilience and efficacy through authentic mentoring relationships is, the author argues, a public health strategy as much as an organizational one.

Read the full article here