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Shaping the Leaders of Tomorrow: An Assessment of Intergenerational Perceptions of Leadership Traits

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Date Issued:
2018
Abstract/Description:
In the last few decades, the world has witnessed an unparalleled increase in human longevity, accompanied by more years of employment and declining birth rates. These unusual events have dramatically raised the portion of older employees who are still active in the global labor force. Scholars have recognized that, along with the overall aging of the workforce, older individuals will increasingly occupy leadership positions. Since the current knowledge economy promotes a globalized, competitive, and rapidly evolving educational and business environment, organizational leaders are increasingly facing challenges to keep their leadership knowledge base current. Organizational leaders must attract and retain the best human capital, competent individuals who can act strategically to move their organizations forward. Consequently, it is prudent to believe that, in order to face the new challenges of an aging work force, organizations will require exceptional leaders to maintain a cohesive organizational system in which diverse generational cohorts may interact and work together efficiently and effectively. Using leadership identity theory, dynamic capabilities, and the leadership trait approach as the conceptual framework, this study assessed intergenerational perceptions of the importance of seven leadership traits: intelligence, decisiveness, compassion, innovation, organization, ambition, and honesty using a national sample of almost two thousand adults in the United States representing four generational cohorts: Millennials, Generation X, Baby Boomers, and the Silent generation. This quasi-experimental quantitative study sought to identify the differences in perception of the importance of leadership traits that each of these generational cohorts may have and the interaction that gender and educational level may have on generational cohort perceptions of the importance of leadership traits. Descriptive statistical analysis and comparative analyses including one-way and two-way ANOVA were conducted to determine any statistically significant differences in means among the differences in means of the perception of the importance of leadership traits among generational cohorts moderated by gender and educational level. Statistically significant findings for some, but not all, of the seven leadership traits included in this study were found by generational cohort and these differences were moderated by gender and educational level. Implications and recommendations for policy, practice, and future research are offered.
Title: Shaping the Leaders of Tomorrow: An Assessment of Intergenerational Perceptions of Leadership Traits.
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Name(s): Hidrowoh, Jacob R., author
Shockley, Robert, Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
College of Education
Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2018
Date Issued: 2018
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 127 p.
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: In the last few decades, the world has witnessed an unparalleled increase in human longevity, accompanied by more years of employment and declining birth rates. These unusual events have dramatically raised the portion of older employees who are still active in the global labor force. Scholars have recognized that, along with the overall aging of the workforce, older individuals will increasingly occupy leadership positions. Since the current knowledge economy promotes a globalized, competitive, and rapidly evolving educational and business environment, organizational leaders are increasingly facing challenges to keep their leadership knowledge base current. Organizational leaders must attract and retain the best human capital, competent individuals who can act strategically to move their organizations forward. Consequently, it is prudent to believe that, in order to face the new challenges of an aging work force, organizations will require exceptional leaders to maintain a cohesive organizational system in which diverse generational cohorts may interact and work together efficiently and effectively. Using leadership identity theory, dynamic capabilities, and the leadership trait approach as the conceptual framework, this study assessed intergenerational perceptions of the importance of seven leadership traits: intelligence, decisiveness, compassion, innovation, organization, ambition, and honesty using a national sample of almost two thousand adults in the United States representing four generational cohorts: Millennials, Generation X, Baby Boomers, and the Silent generation. This quasi-experimental quantitative study sought to identify the differences in perception of the importance of leadership traits that each of these generational cohorts may have and the interaction that gender and educational level may have on generational cohort perceptions of the importance of leadership traits. Descriptive statistical analysis and comparative analyses including one-way and two-way ANOVA were conducted to determine any statistically significant differences in means among the differences in means of the perception of the importance of leadership traits among generational cohorts moderated by gender and educational level. Statistically significant findings for some, but not all, of the seven leadership traits included in this study were found by generational cohort and these differences were moderated by gender and educational level. Implications and recommendations for policy, practice, and future research are offered.
Identifier: FA00013143 (IID)
Degree granted: Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Leadership--Research
Generations
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013143
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.