Leadership Preferences of Millennials: Exploring How Generation Y Wants to be Le

This qualitative study explored the leadership preferences of the older half of the Millennial generation born between 1980 and 1990 in the United States. As Millennials rapidly enter the workforce, organizations will inevitably change. With that, the way leaders lead will also need to change. Literature has provided suggestions for how to best lead Millennials, but very little research has been done from the Millennial perspective asking Millennials how they want to be led. In-depth interviews explored the leadership preferences of the Millennial participants. The 23 participants were purposefully selected from a population of Millennials who were born in the United States between 1980 and 1990, lived in the United States until at least the age of 18, and have been working full time for a minimum of 5 years. The research revealed that Millennials want peer-like relationships with their leaders that are characterized by transparency, collaboration, and two-way feedback. They want hard-working leaders who lead by example and can serve as experienced mentors. Millennials want leaders who care about them as individuals, both inside and outside of the workplace. They want selfless leaders who put the needs of others first. Millennials want empathetic leaders who recognize that life is more than just work and will allow flexibility accordingly. As Millennials continue to join the workforce in substantial numbers, organizational leaders need to reevaluate their current leadership style to ensure they can effectively lead the newest generation in the workforce. Millennials believe they are unique, and they want their leadership tailored. One leadership style will not work for all Millennials. Leaders will need to be flexible enough to adjust their leadership approach to each unique individual and each unique situation. Recommendations for future research consist of expansion to include individuals from the entire generation born from 1980 to 2000 and to conduct a longitudinal study to determine if the leadership preferences of Millennials change over time.