Young leaders mindset toward mature employees': A qualitative transcendental phenomenological study

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the daily-lived experiences of young leaders, ages 20-40 in the Phoenix, Arizona area who supervises mature employees, ages 50-75. The study obtained insights and viewpoints of the study participants. The information from the interviews focused on the lived experiences and insights of young leaders' concern with mature employees. The knowledge of this phenomenon that the young leaders provide may help reshape how young leaders lead mature employees and how organizations retain mature employees. A qualitative transcendental phenomenological approach was used to extract the lived experience from a sample size of 10 young leaders. The perceptions of these 10 young leaders who had firsthand experience of this phenomenon provided the data for analysis. Using a Survey Monkey questionnaire and face-to-face interviews with 10 participants the researcher collected data to analyze. NVivo for Mac (version 10) was the qualitative software used to help organize and develop the core themes. The data analysis process revealed four themes that included (a) The primary contributor to enhancing comfort level between young leaders and mature employees is respect, (b) Leadership approaches young leaders display with mature employees, (c) Identifying personal needs and addressing potential concerns, (d) and Leading by example inspires positive change in the workplace. The researcher was able to provide recommendations from the findings and from the themes that emerged. The information gathered from this study may help close the literature gap on young leaders' experiences supervising mature employees.