Leadership prototypes: a Russian perspective

Purpose: The aim of this research is to study leadership prototypes of Russian employees, which are dependent on their gender, organizational position and age. Design/methodology/approach: As a research method a cross-sectional survey was employed where 223 employees of Russian middle-sized company were interviewed. Instruments included a questionnaire containing 21 leadership dimensions adopted from the global leadership and organisational behaviour effectiveness (GLOBE) Research Program Project, together with three factual questions. Respondents had to rate it using seven-point Likert Scale. Findings: The research findings revealed that leadership prototypes of Russian employees differ depending on gender, organisational position and age. All three factors influence the leadership prototype simultaneously. Female managers value leaders who are more humane-orientated, open and being capable of solving conflicts, whereas male managers are more willing to exercise power and authority in their positions. The younger employees are less concerned for others, which may be a result of major cultural changes in the society. Operational level employees, middle and senior managers. Originality/value: So far, this is the first research of its type on Russian leadership, as the GLOBE program, one of the most prominent studies on cross-cultured leadership, considered only middle managers regardless of age or gender.