Leadership Across Demographics: Exploring the Effects of Minority and Non-Minority Leaders on Workplace Outcomes

Date of Award

Spring 2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership (EdD)

Committee Chair

Bora Pajo

Committee Member

Michelle Geiman

Committee Member

Rachel Altof

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between organizational culture, employee performance, and leadership styles, with a specific focus on minority women leaders in the workplace. Using a qualitative approach, the research employed an open-ended survey with Likert-scale items, to collect and analyze the data that were gathered. The study categorized leadership styles based on gender and minority status, exploring how these factors influence employee performance and job satisfaction. By addressing gaps in existing literature, this research identified unique leadership styles of minority women and other groups. Participants included leaders and employees from all demographic groups, including non-minority men, minority men, and non-minority women, to facilitate comparisons across leadership styles. A combination of snowball and convenience sampling yielded an initial sample size of 106, which was reduced to 86 participants after data were cleaned. Thematic findings show that while there is no difference in leadership styles based on demographics such as race and gender, these different groups have unique characteristics in the way they lead. Practical implications of the findings are discussed.

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