Preferences for and Perceived Effectiveness of Leadership Styles for Multigenerational Technical Teams in the Public Sector

Systematic and thematic literature reviews identified a gap in the current literature concerning preferred leadership styles and their impacts on perceived team effectiveness for those working on multigenerational public-sector technical teams. The goal of this research is to fill this gap by examining if there is a preference of leadership styles among the different generations found in the current technical workforce, and if those styles impact perceived team effectiveness. This dissertation consists of three manuscripts. The first manuscript is a systematic literature review, which examined the body of knowledge on multigenerational teams and identified key themes found in the over 100 articles analyzed. The second manuscript used survey data to determine three main factors representing different leadership styles, and which leadership style was the most preferred among Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y working in technical teams within a public-sector organization. It was determined that collaborative leadership was most preferred among those surveyed. Furthermore, it was determined that the Baby Boomer Generation preferred the laissez-faire style more than Generation Y did. The third manuscript used survey data to determine if there were statistically significant effects of leadership style and generation on perceived team effectiveness. Autocratic and laissez-faire leadership styles were found to have statistically significant negative effects on the perceived team effectiveness, while collaborative leadership styles (consensus, consultative, and participative) were found to have positive effects on perceived team effectiveness. There were both planned and unplanned limitations in this research. The research team planned that the surveys would be distributed anonymously. Thus, team members and team leaders could not be matched, and determining which leadership styles were being used by the team leaders would be based only on the participants’ perceptions. Furthermore, although large, only one public-sector organization was studied. Some of the unplanned limitations include a lower than preferred Cronbach’s alpha for the laissez-faire factor of the second manuscript, and the introduction of virtual work when the survey was distributed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is also limited to technical, public-sector teams. Although the results could translate to other groups, this study specially surveyed those in the public-sector working in a technical organization. This study not only increases the body of knowledge, but it also can be used to guide team leaders, especially those in the technical public-sector. The research shows that those working on technical teams in the public-sector prefer to collaborate when making decisions. Furthermore, it shows that when collaboration occurs, it is perceived as increasing team effectiveness.

Embargo status: Restricted until 06/2027. To request the author grant access, click on the PDF link to the left.