Emily Ott, a candidate in the first-ever cohort of Fairfield’s Executive Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) program, has turned a simple workplace curiosity into her doctoral dissertation. She is examining how Generation Z employees and Millennial managers relate to one another—and how their management styles diverge.
Motivational differences between generations often go unnoticed in the workplace. Through her dissertation research in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business’s Executive DBA program, Ott found that Millennial managers are more likely to remain in roles where they feel valued than in those that simply offer the highest pay. Building on these relational and motivational dynamics, Ott’s mixed-methods study leveraged survey-based structural equation modeling (SEM). She also conducted interviews with 40+ Gen Z employees and Millennial managers.
Ott’s findings produced a new dyadic leadership framework—Guided Stewardship—which considers how generational dynamics shape collaboration, mutual learning, and retention. Statistical testing validated the model, showing that contextual expertise and authority strongly predict collaboration, which in turn drives intention to stay at a company.
To support research such as Ott’s, the Executive DBA, designed for working professionals, connects students with a personalized faculty mentor who guides them throughout the process. For Ott, that mentor was Mousumi Bose Godbole, PhD, associate professor of marketing and director of the MBA program, whom she found accessible every step of the way.
“Part of the [Executive DBA] program is that it transforms you into a scholarly practitioner,” Ott said. “I began asking myself why I was seeing these different relationships [in the workplace], and my faculty mentor encouraged me to further investigate as part of the dissertation process.”
As Ott advances as a scholar-practitioner in the program, her research highlights the importance of dyadic relationships—the one-to-one connections that shape workplace dynamics. She found, both through her studies and her experience, that personal encounters and social situations outside the office can significantly influence how individuals “show up at work.”
Currently, this research has only examined Millennial managers and Gen Z employees, but Ott sees the potential of applying the same lens to other generations.
Reflecting on her experience of conducting research within the Executive DBA program, Ott shared that she would recommend the program to anyone who is ready for a challenge. “The Executive DBA is one of the most valuable degrees a business professional can pursue,” she noted. “I would recommend this program to someone willing to invest in themselves, pursue a higher degree while remaining in the business world, and elevate their leadership through a deeper understanding of human relationships.”
