Behavioral Theory of Leadership

Behavioral Theory of Leadership is a leadership theory that considers the

observable actions and reactions of leaders and followers in a given situation.
Behavioral theories focus on how leaders behave and assume that leaders can be
made, rather than born and successful leadership is based on definable, learnable
behavior.

1. Ohio State University

As leadership studies that were aimed at identifying the appropriate traits yield
any conclusive results, a group of people from Ohio State University developed a
list of 150 statements from their generated responses that included 1,800
statements. The list was designed to measure nine different behavioral leadership
dimensions. The resulting questionnaire is now well-known as the LBDQ or the
Leaders Behavior Description Questionnaire.

Ultimately, these studies narrowed the description of leader behavior into two
dimensions:
a) Structure Behavior: The behavior of leaders who define the leader subordinate
role so that everyone knows what is expected, establish formal lines of
communication, and determine how tasks will be performed.

b) Consideration Behavior: The behavior of leaders who are concerned for

subordinates and attempt to establish a warm, friendly, and supportive climate.

2. University of Michigan
• A well-known series of leadership studies that commenced at the University of
Michigan in the 1950s by Rensis Likert, with the objective of identifying the
principles and types of leadership styles that led to greater productivity and
enhanced job satisfaction among workers. It includes two dimensions

a) job-centered Leadership: Managers pay close attention to subordinates’ work,

explain work procedures and are keenly interested in performance.
b) Employee-centered Leadership: Managers are interested in developing a
cohesive work group and ensuring that employees are satisfied with their jobs.

3. Leadership Grid Theory

The managerial grid model is a style leadership model developed by Robert R.
Blake and Jane Mouton.This model originally identified five different leadership
styles based on the concern for people and the concern for production. The optimal
leadership style in this model is based on Theory Y.

This grid is based on two different behavioral dimensions to consider when

accomplishing a task:
a) Concern for Production: how much a leader emphasizes on concrete objectives,
high productivity and organizational efficiency.
b) ) Concern for People: how much a leader considers team members’ interests,
needs and areas of personal development.

4. University of lowa state leadership styles

The university of lowa studies explored three leadership styles to find which
was the most effective.
a) Autocractic style – A leader who dictated work methods,made unilateral
decisions,and limited employee participation.
b) Democractic style – A leader who involved emplyoees in decision
making,delegated authority,and used feedback as an opportunity for
coaching emplyoees.
c) Laissez – faire style – finally,the laissez faire style leader let the group
make decisions and complete the work in whatever way it saw fit.