Preferred Leadership Communication Styles Across Cultures

ABSTRACT The Implicit Leadership Theory, GLOBE study, and Norton’s Communication Styles frame this study into how employees from different cultures expect leaders to communicate effectively. Survey data collected from 160 college students with prior work experience who represented 56 different countries, identified the three most preferred leadership communication styles (i.e. impression leaving, friendly, attentive), across six cultural clusters (i.e. African, Anglo, Confucian Asian, Latin American, the Middle Eastern, South Asian clusters). Focus group data collected from 25 participants provides insight on how employees expect leaders from these six clusters to enact these styles. Guidelines emerge from the findings.