Relationship Between Leadership Style and Follower/subordinate Behavior Style

OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to investigate how the subordinate's perception of the effectiveness of the leader changes based on how the leader interacts with the subordinate.

METHODOLOGY
A random sample of 51 employees (46% response rate) from a community college in West Central Illinois assessed their perception of leader effectiveness by completing both a pretest and post-test survey utilizing the Leadership Practices Inventory. They identified their behavior style by completing the As I See Myself Behavior Style profile (The Effectiveness Institute, 1999), and provided demographic information. The typical respondent was female (80%) and held either an administrative (24%), professional support (39%) or classified staff (37%) position.

KEY FINDINGS
No significant difference was found between the pre and post-test regarding the perception of the leaders' effectiveness based on the leaders' utilization of the subordinates' behavior style. No significant relationship was found between the leadership style and the demographic variables of gender and employment classification.

Given the lack of findings, the author concludes: "that utilization of behavior style may not be as much of an influencing factor on the perception of leader effectiveness as has been inferred in the literature" (p. 80).