These characteristics have to be reflected in their leadership style because a theoretical understanding of diversity leadership is not sufficient to achieve excellent results. Leaders have to be able to manage conflicts within the group, respect differences in team members’ values and preferences, and be flexible enough to adapt their leadership behaviors to the needs of diverse employees. As a result, leaders find it difficult to inspire people from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds to work together effectively.Īchieving excellent results in diverse team leadership necessitates specific knowledge and approaches to leadership.

Some research studies of diverse teams also showed that they are likely to struggle with decision-making, intragroup discrimination, and poor performance (Theodorakopoulos & Budhwar, 2015). For example, research suggests that people from varied ethnic and racial backgrounds differ in terms of their levels of organizational commitment, perceptions of leadership, and motivation (Theodorakopoulos & Budhwar, 2015). Teams comprised of both generations are likely to suffer from poor value congruence, and leaders may find it harder to ensure that all team members work well with one another.Įthnic and racial differences can also affect the way team members function together. In contrast, people from Generation X are self-reliant, value independence, and tend to question the rules (Moore, Everly & Bauer, 2016). Research suggests that different demographic variables affect people’s attitudes to work, values, and work behaviors.įor instance, research from the healthcare sector showed that Baby Boomers – the generation born between 19 – typically enjoy recognition, are work-oriented, and work well in teams (Moore, Everly & Bauer, 2016). Diverse teams usually include people with varied demographics, and thus team members may differ in terms of their gender, education, ethnicity, race, age, and similar demographic factors. In order to evaluate leadership styles and their usefulness in diverse teams, it is essential to understand the challenges that diverse teams present for leaders. Based on the results of the analysis, the work will also comment on the usefulness of the selected leadership theories to leaders of diverse project teams. The present paper will evaluate the application of various leadership styles in diverse teams through different leadership theories.

In particular, these theories could help to select the right leadership style to apply in this situation. Various leadership theories could provide support to leaders working with diverse employees, thus helping leaders to fulfill their functions when there are differences in demographics between the leader and the people they are leading.

Servant leadership in diverse contexts