Leadership Expectations of Generation Z Employees from Managers’ Perspectives

Abstract

Purpose – In this study, it is aimed to determine the leadership style expectations of the generation Z, from the perspective of the managers. Design/methodology/approach – This research was carried out with the interview method, which is one of the qualitative research method. The population of the research is all managers who have managed or currently manage Generation Z employees. The sample of the research is 30 managers who live in İstanbul and Ankara and operate in different sectors, have managed or are currently manage Generation Z employees. In the first part of the interview, demographic questions were asked to the participants, including age, gender, education level, seniority, sector and department information. The questions of the interview were prepared on the basis of leadership characteristics in the literature. Findings – As a result of the qualitative analysis, it was found that, the most expected leadership style of Gen Z is Transformational Leadership and the least is Autocratic Leadership. Discussion – Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended to managers who work with Gen Z who expects motivation and open communication and wants to participate in decisions to adopt transformational leadership characteristics.