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LEADERSHIP THEORIES AND MILLENNIALS: AN EQUATION WITH TWO VARIABLES
Abstract
Most specialists agree with the fact that while the number of employees belonging to the Millennial generation (Gen Me) increases, problems related to their motivation and performance become more complicated because this young generation has different preferences, expectations and attitudes towards work when compared to previous generations. At the same time, as a leader of the organization, the mission to motivate and inspire a Millennial is significantly different from the same mission as a leader of a Baby- Boomers team. In this paper, we use as methodological approach a comprehensive literature review. We explore the way in which “classical” theories of leadership – namely transactional and transformational leadership – meet the needs of a dynamic, permanently changing workforce, predominantly consisting of young people born after 1982 and generally known as Millennials. Secondly, we analyze how the leader-follower relationship has changed and discuss the challenges and impact of this new type of relationships on the workforce productivity and performance, in the context of LMX (leader-member exchange) theory of leadership. In our attempt to “dig” into the viability of well-known “classical” leadership theories, in the last section of the paper, we suggest that LMX (Leader-Member Exchange) theory, since it highlights the importance of reciprocity-based relationships in an organization, may be extended. LMX theory also includes the idiosyncratic work arrangements (ideals), working as a tool for improving Millennials’ performance and, consequently, the organizational performance. In the end, some conclusions and future research directions are discussed, so that leadership theories may address the identity of Gen Me better.
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