From voice to value: A thematic analysis of inclusive leadership among Gen Z employees in fintech start-ups

Abstract

Orientation: Inclusive leadership is widely associated with employee voice, well-being, innovation and performance. However, existing research offers limited insight into how inclusion is enacted in everyday organisational practice.
Research purpose: This study develops a context-sensitive understanding of how inclusive leadership is enacted, interpreted and associated with innovation and performance among Generation Z employees in Indonesian fintech start-ups.
Motivation for the study: Prior scholarship emphasises behavioural dimensions and linear mediation models, offering limited insight into how inclusive leadership operates within highly regulated digital environments.
Research approach/design and method: A qualitative design using reflexive thematic analysis was employed. Data were collected via open-ended online responses from 138 Generation Z employees across Indonesian fintech start-ups and analysed through iterative coding and theme development.
Main findings: Inclusive leadership was experienced through everyday practices such as leader accessibility, invitation to voice and priority clarification. Employees interpreted these through meaning-making processes, including feeling heard, psychological safety and role alignment, associated with safe experimentation and incremental innovation. Performance was described as adaptive action shaped by regulatory and resource constraints.
Practical/managerial implications: Inclusion can be fostered through consistent micro-practices that legitimise employee voice while clarifying boundaries in high-pressure environments.
Contribution/value-add: This study provides a context-sensitive experiential account of how inclusive leadership is experienced and interpreted by Generation Z employees in fintech start-ups.