Maritime Managers of the Future – What do They Think is Good Leadership?

The maritime industry is multinational and multicultural. Understanding which leadership skills that are effective in such environments is necessary to be a successful leader. Work experience in multinational companies will give a different insight into which management practices are seen as desirable for future maritime leaders within a global industry. According to trait theories there are properties that can be trained and some that are linked to personality, which are not easily trainable. Since leadership skills are a combination of both trainable and not so trainable skills, it is necessary to understand what types of skills are seen as endorsed, and not endorsed by the future maritime managers. The present paper shows results from a questionnaire study using the GLOBE Leadership questionnaire where 52 master of maritime management students (i.e. maritime managers of the future) rates 112 different leadership skills according to which degree these skills support outstanding leadership or not. The results show which leadership skills the maritime leaders of the future believe will support outstanding leadership. Contrasts between participant with and without work experience form multinational corporations will be shown – giving an indication of how the perception of leadership is changed through work experience in a multi-cultural context. The result will give an insight in how future management practices should be. Knowledge of the universally endorsed maritime leadership skills can be used as a guideline in the recruitment process for maritime managers.