Millennials & Cross-cultural leadership

Abstract: As globalization and technological development have become increasingly influential in the last decade a new type of pressure on leaders around the world has emerged that entails a need for Cross-cultural leadership abilities. Being engulfed in these developments has arguably influenced the new generation of leaders Millennials, to cope with these complexities better than previous generations. This thesis therefore explores the generational differences in leadership traits by using one of the most rigorous frameworks, namely the GLOBE research program, to compare the two previously dominating generations Baby Boomers and Generation Xers to the Millennial generation. This enables an investigation of the research question: How does leadership preferences vary when comparing the Baby boomer generation and Generation X to the Millennials by utilizing the GLOBE research programs Culturally endorsed Leadership Traits? While previous research have identified key trends associated with the generational traits of Baby boomers, Generation Xers and the results of the GLOBE study, little has been researched in comparison to the Millennials. This thesis applies a quantitative method gathered in two culturally separate societies (Sweden and Taiwan), similar to the original GLOBE research program, to identify differences in the valuation of leadership traits and put the findings into a generational context. The results indicate that Charismatic/value-based leadership continues to be an important leadership trait. Team oriented leadership is regarded as increasingly important in the Millennial generation, endorsed by a high valuation of the traits team integrator and diplomatic leadership. This is possibly derived from the Millennial generations increased presence in online communities and an attained global mindset available through an increased physical and virtual mobility. It is also suggested in the valuation of Participative leadership that theories advocating that Millennials have narcissistic tendencies are not entirely applicable, as the results rather point to a practical necessity of self-reliance identified in the sample. These findings contribute to both academia and business by highlighting the limitations associated with the GLOBE research program and suggesting areas of future research. In addition, the findings could be used by human resources in recruitment and management training.