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The Seton Hall University Stillman Schoolâs Department of Management research team
presents the results of the 2024 edition of its annual The Future of Leadership Survey.
The results highlight a generation that is inclusive, yet uncertain, and seeking trust
in their leaders.
Background
Congruent with its mission to be a thought lead0er in the field of leadership, the
Department of Management research team launched groundbreaking research in 2021 in
the field of leadership. This longitudinal study, now in its fourth year, continues
to obtain the insights and foresight of those entering their professional lives. When
the team began this endeavor, it recognized that previous leadership research tended
to center on C-suite executives, and then either on their own behaviors or as observed
by those who report to them or by other stakeholders.
There was a significant gap in the literature on how the next generation viewed leadership
and how best to develop the leaders of tomorrow. This, we believed, was a serious
omission in research for two reasons. First, the absence of research did not help
guide organizations on how they may want to respond to the leadership aspirations
and expectations of tomorrowâs professionals. Second, there was a dearth of guidance
on how to develop the leaders of tomorrow based on their own motivations.
Further, the nature of work â both its time and its physical place â has markedly
changed since the survey began. It has become much more compelling to unearth trends
in leaders and leadership development.
The groundbreaking results from the 2021 survey revealed several notable shifts in
the future of leadership from broadly perceived norms. We saw a move to widen the
aperture of âwho can be a leaderâ and a shift toward accepting diversity in the ranks
of future leaders. The survey also showed that how the most influential leaders are
perceived in their formative years â when they are still at home or at school â does
not appear to predict the persona of a midlevel leader in the workplace.
The survey results also showed an increased desire for engagement from employers âwhether
it is in dealing more effectively with crisis and failure, in preventing worker alienation,
or in managing work-life balance.
The 2022 findings built upon the results of the first survey and added insights. We
added a question to understand if Gen Z has experienced a lack of leadership development
because of remote work. Unfortunately, the answer was yes, with 76 percent of the
respondents saying so.
The research also indicated that if firms manage to keep remote work to less than
50 percent, there was a slight positive uptick in leadership growth. However, if employees
experience more than 50 percent of their work remotely, a negative impact on leadership
development was observed.
The results also affirmed that future leaders are looking for ethical and adaptive
leaders who can inspire and lead organizations through change, as the business environment
becomes even more volatile and uncertain. They are open to diverse leaders, but still
expect them to be healthy, well-attired and with well-groomed hair, as indicated by
their responses to the question about physical traits. Gender, race and ethnicity-related
physical characteristics do not rank as high for this generation.
The findings from the survey allowed the team to contribute to the national discussion
on the CROWN Act of 2022 (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act
of 2022) and the Future of Work.
Recognizing the connectedness of organizations around the world, in 2023 we took an
important and critical step in expanding our research globally. In addition to Seton
Hall University students and alumni, the survey was distributed across the United
States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the European Union, China, Japan and Singapore. We
undertook the first step in understanding leadership from colleagues on the African
continent by surveying a small subset of leaders in Nigeria.
We also broadened the age group of target respondents from 18- to 25-yearolds to those
18 to 30, to get insights not only from the generation getting ready to enter the
workforce but also from those who have already gained some work experience.
We concluded that we are looking at a global workforce that is more similar than not.
At a macro level, this workforce was open to new ideas, but short on extraversion
and emotional stability, as gathered from the responses to the personality traits
question. Respondents still wanted leaders to be well-attired, well-groomed and healthy.
They wanted leaders who have a learning mindset and can deal with constant change
with empathy. And they seemed to have adapted well to remote work, which was not excessive
in the first place, based on the respondent set.
Employees also saw their employers as the source of leadership development, and wanted
them to invest more in the same. Employees indicated that employers were doing many
things right â providing meaningful work that is impactful and investing in development
opportunities â but they wanted more.
However, the fact that 70 percent of respondents reported that they considered leaving
their job the same amount or more in the last year is an area of concern because an
unhealthy, disengaged workforce cannot be good for any organization. Salary, burnout
and mental health concerns were the reasons given for considering new jobs. We advised
employers to take these insights to heart and orient their human capital strategies
accordingly, and issued a news release cautioning them on issuing broad mandates for
return to office.
2024 Research Design
In 2024, the global nature and overall objectives of the survey remained consistent:
- Better understand the expectations of college students and entry-level workers regarding
the leaders they seek to work with or want to become; and - Develop insight and foresight on values, competencies and preferred models of leadership
development for the future
The survey started with a reflection on leadership traits as noted in leadership literature.
We again asked about the relevant physical traits, nested in the prior research. The
next set of questions focused on the values, character and competencies of mid-level
leaders, and the challenges they face.
These questions were posed to obtain a form of leadership trajectory for young leaders.
In other words, we wanted to learn the competencies and values important in a leadership
position they envisioned 10 years or so into their own future, as well as the competencies
and values they would be seeking from their own bosses. There was also a series of
questions posed on how best to develop the leaders of tomorrow.
The survey again probed the impact of remote work on leadership development. The team
surveyed the respondents on their job satisfaction to understand what leadership dimensions
influenced this the most. Further, we surveyed the respondents to assess their sentiments
on artificial intelligence.
In February 2024, target survey respondents across the globe were sent electronic
copies of the survey instrument through collaboration with our partner, Atheneum.
The survey was translated into local languages for global respondents. Several reminders
were also sent. Over 4,000 completed surveys were returned, with a distribution of
respondents highlighted in Figure 1. The results were tabulated in the aggregate at
global and regional levels.
Insight #1
Attitudes toward physical traits converge globally.
Yet again, respondents overwhelmingly ranked controllable attributes of physical appearance
â such as attire, health and hair â as key leadership qualities. Genetic traits like
height and voice were deemed less important. This trend is consistent both globally
and regionally, with South America placing slightly more emphasis on these attributes.
In contrast, respondents from Asia ranked attractiveness as the second most important
trait, following attire. Additionally, females tend to prioritize controllable traits
more, whereas males show a slight preference for genetic traits.
With four years of survey data yielding consistent results, we can affirm that the
emerging workforceâs expectations of a leaderâs appearance are not a passing trend
but a significant aspect of their perception of leadership. Skeptics may argue that
these are surface-level factors and do not address the deeper competencies that make
a leader truly effective.
We did notice that the importance of physical traits as a mark of a leader diminish
with respondents who have more work experience. However, these findings affirm the
old saying that first impressions matter, and adhering to these traits can place one
on the path to leadership positions.
Our message to future leaders is loud and clear â dress appropriately for the role
you are in. Keep yourself healthy â physically, mentally and emotionally â and keep
your hair well-groomed while avoiding unconventional styles. Overall, respondents
expect organizational leaders, those that represent them, to be the figureheads of
their firms.
Insight #2
The ability to instill trust is the most significant predictor of effective leadership.
When surveyed on what the respondents look for when hiring their immediate supervisor,
we notice convergence in the values and character traits expected from a leader at
the global level.
This year, âinstills trust,â âis a continuous learnerâ and âadmits mistakesâ ranked
as the top three. In 2023, âadmits mistakes,â ârecognized the dignity of employeesâ
and âis a continuous learnerâ were ranked at the top. We did not find differences
at geographic level, other than the fact that in South America, these traits were
ranked even more prominently.
We drilled down further to understand the attributes of a leader who âinstills trust,â
finding that to be someone who creates an environment where employee work is valued.
Males communicated preference for environments that are organization- and performance-focused,
while the female preferences centered on experience and what leaders can do to develop
them.
Surprisingly, similar to last year, âdriven by higher purposeâ again ranked the lowest
across all geographies, except for Asia. This continues to be in stark contrast to
the significant emphasis on purpose in leadership literature today, and the narrative
that Gen Z prioritizes purpose over profit.
Our hypotheses: one, increased volatility in the job markets is making Gen Z nervous
about their financial futures; and two, it could be that Gen Z knows they will not
be employed by a given company for a long time, so it is best to extract as much as
they can to develop themselves.
A review of key challenges faced by leaders confirms our hypotheses, that âdealing
with crisis and failure,â âcreating an environment where employee work is valued,â
âcreating an adaptive organizationâ and âmanaging work life balanceâ are the key challenges
facing leaders today.
For females, managing risk and inclusive culture emerged as more significant challenges.
No significant differences were inferred at a regional level, or whether work was
done remotely or not. Overall, survey respondents agree that the ability to deal with
challenges makes for effective leaders, and that leadership development is essential
to build skills required to do this. Interestingly, oneâs physical traits do not matter
to this population insofar as dealing with challenges.
Looking back at the data from the previous three years of the survey, âdealing with
crisis and failureâ and âmanaging work-life balanceâ have consistently ranked in the
top two challenges of a leader. These findings are most likely indicative of a generation
that sees crisis and failure as center to their life and in that context seeks control
over their life.
It should therefore not come as a surprise that the respondents want leaders to be
competent in âfinding and implementing creative solutions to problemsâ and to âhave
a positive attitude and outlook on life.â The fact that âdealing with problemsâ has
consistently ranked among the top three findings of the survey over the last four
years sets the standard for it to be a competency companies should look for in any
leadership hires.
Insight #3
Remote work has limited impact on leadership development.
Last year, we reported that more than 75 percent of respondents reported being in
the office more than 50 percent of the time. According to the current data, the number
has increased slightly over last year, with three times as many employees working
in an office at least 50 percent of the time, compared to working remotely. Of those
in the office, most believe that there has been no impact or positive impact on leadership
development. We also notice an overall perception that working remotely has had a
positive impact on leadership development.
That said, we see a clear demand for leadership development opportunities. Overall,
74 percent of the respondents favor leadership development opportunities, with only
67 percent expressing satisfaction with availability of such opportunities.
Delving deeper into where there is the most need for leadership training, every topic
surveyed scored high. Training to help improve ability to manage risk, manage change
and advance workplace well-being scored the highest, which is in line with the leadership
challenges and competencies identified by this cohort. Interestingly, in contrast,
only 61 percent of the respondents indicated a need for training to manage the impact
of AI.
Insight #4
AI a mixed bag?
When asked about the impact AI has had on the respondentâs productivity, the majority,
60 percent, noted no impact. Only 25 percent responded that it had a positive impact,
and 9 percent noted a negative impact.
When asked about the impact of AI on their jobs five years from now, one-third of
the respondents foresee no impact, 029 percent expect that less that 25 percent of
their job will be restructured, 25 percent foresee 50 percent restructuring, and only
9 percent foresee a 100 percent restructuring of their jobs.
Said another way, two out of every three respondents (67 percent) indicated that AI
will influence the workplace over the next five years, as seen in the response to
the restructuring question noted in figure 8b. Further, respondents whose work tends
to be more remote are reporting more significant impact of AI on their jobs.
Looking at the respondent demographics, most of them have an undergraduate degree
or higher and 24 months of work experience (Figure 8c), which would imply that most
of them are or will enter the âwhite collarâ professions. Their response presents
a stark contrast to the current narrative on AI â which portrays jobs and the human
race at risk because of the advances in AI.
We can only offer two conclusions here. Either the respondents are not well-versed
in the potential of AI and are underestimating its impact on their futures, or the
AI innovators are overestimating the application of AI. This tale will be an interesting
one to follow as it unfolds.
Insight #5
Not all is well on the future-of-work front.
Even though the impact of AI may be underestimated, we sense a general malaise as
we look deeper into the data. Only 36 percent of the respondents are confident in
their skills to adapt to the future of work over the next five years. Further, only
55 percent of respondents report being satisfied with their jobs.
Combined with their sentiments on crisis and failure and work-life balance, we are
looking at a generation that is uncertain about the future. No wonder that they are
looking for leaders who can instill trust.
Conclusion
Based on our work, trustworthiness and adaptability are the most critical traits for
effective leadership in the modern workplace.
This raises the question â how does one instill trust? To effectively do this, leaders
should focus on three key areas: becoming adept at giving and receiving feedback,
building high-performance teams, and managing risk effectively. These insights are
equally valuable for business leaders, employers and consultants, as investing in
training for these attributes promises a high return on investment by fostering trust
and enhancing leadership capabilities.
This article originally appeared in the Fall 2024 issue of In the Lead magazine, from Stillman School of Businessâs Department of Management and the Buccino Leadership Institute. The bi-annual magazine focuses on sharing leadership perspectives from the field,
with content that is curated from leaders across industries.
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