What do people expect from leaders in today’s world? Building on the connectionist perspective—an extension of leadership categorization theory—we explore how workplace transformations over the last decade may have reshaped implicit leadership theories (ILTs), the cognitive frameworks individuals use to evaluate leaders. Through two preregistered online studies with 1,653 U.S. employees, we replicate and extend Offermann and Coats’ (2018) methodology. Our findings reveal the enduring relevance of six dimensions—Sensitivity, Strength, Dedication, Charisma, Creativity, and Intelligence—while uncovering four new dimensions: Ethical, Reliable, Understanding, and Communication. Ethical leadership emerges as central to ILTs, reflecting heightened societal expectations for fairness and care that align with Moral Foundations Theory. Simultaneously, traits such as Tyranny, Masculinity, and Well-Groomed are no longer prominent, signaling a shift in leadership prototypes. We demonstrate how ILTs are both stable and adaptable to contextual factors. Furthermore, our findings highlight that ILTs align closely with expectations of ideal versus typical leaders, with most participants envisioning leaders as working in person and balancing face-to-face and virtual communication. These findings contribute to ILT and ethical leadership literature by demonstrating the growing prominence of moral and relational attributes. They also advance the future of work literature by revealing that people associate ideal leaders with in-office presence and hybrid communication styles. The study advances theoretical understanding in the fields of ILTs, ethical leadership, and the future of work, emphasizing the critical role of moral and relational attributes in contemporary leadership prototypes.
