Explain why some researchers have predicted that transformational leadership may be less effective with Millennials. Do you agree with those predictions? Explain.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Some assume that Millennials may be less willing to collaborate with others to achieve common goals. Relatedly, today’s transformational leaders communicate in a way to encourage followers to prioritize organizational and task needs and goals over individual interests (Anderson et al., 2017). However, it is predicted that this will be met with resistance as Millennials have expressed a greater desire for work-life balance and want to “work to live” rather than “live to work,” (Ng, Schweitzer, & Lyons, 2010). Finally, it has been suggested that because Millennials expect frequent promotions and value extrinsic rewards (transactional factors), two of the fundamental components of transformational leadership--idealized influence and inspirational motivation--may be ineffective (Anderson et al. 2017). Students may then provide support for their arguments to support or to refute these predictions.