Leading the New Generation: Understanding the Leadership Styles of a Millennial School Head

Abstract

As the older generation of school heads approaches retirement and exits the workforce, millennial school heads are quickly taking over. While existing studies attribute particular leadership styles to the older generational cohorts presently engaged in the workforce, there is a dearth of prior studies identifying the leadership styles employed by millennial school leaders. This qualitative and descriptive single-case study bridges that gap by exploring and analyzing the leadership styles of a millennial school head. The study employs in-depth interviews with a semi-structured guide to unravel the essential leadership styles crucial for tackling the challenges of school management. The purposively selected participant, a millennial school head currently managing a school, holding the position of Principal, and aged between 26 and 41 years old, becomes the focal point of analysis. The findings reveal four significant themes: transformational leadership style, servant leadership style, instructional leadership style, and authoritative leadership style. In conclusion, millennial school leaders intentionally adopted these leadership styles to tackle the challenges they encounter in overseeing educational institutions. The paper emphasizes implications for pedagogy and educational management while proposing potential avenues for future research.