Latin American leadership: El Patrón & El Líder Moderno

Abstract

Previous cross‐cultural leadership research has provided limited information about Latin American leadership. In an effort to address this gap in the literature, this paper is designed to aid in understanding the similarities in Latin American leadership. The author proposes that the core of Latin American cultures is a common culture, which has a consistent effect on leader behaviors. Based on this common culture, it is proposed that leaders in most Latin American countries can be characterized as traditional leaders (El Patrón). In some countries, leadership is evolving toward a modern conceptualization of leadership, El Líder Moderno. Preliminary data supported the dominance of El Patrón and a movement in Mexico toward El Líder Moderno.