Behaviour theory of leaders behaviour

This theory studies leadership by looking leaders in terms of what they do. The leader’s effectiveness is judged in terms of individual subordinate outcome or work group outcome. Considerable investigations into this approach have been conducted at OHIO State University. These studies isolated two particular factors affecting the leadership dimension. These are:

a. Consideration connotes support between the leader and the group, mutual warmth and trust, a concern for the needs of the members of the work group and attitudes that encourages a participative management, two way communication and respect for the feedback of the followers.

b. Initiating structure this involves creating a work environment, so that the work of the group is organised, coordinates sequential, organisationally relevant, so that people know exactly what is to be done and how it is to be done. Structure involves having the leader organise and define the role each member is to assume, assign tasks and push for the realization of organisational goal.

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An Important discovery made by the Ohio studies was that the leader does not necessarily have to rate high both on consideration and structure element. He could be high on one and low on the other.