LEADERSHIP CHARACTERISTICS OF ... - Drake University

establish ground rules; (2) supportive: ieadership sensitive to
subordinates' needs; (3) participative: decision-ma king leadership based
on group consultation; and (4) achievementsriented: leadership to
establish and attain high group goals.
While the contingency theorists believed that the leader was the
focus of leader-subordinate relationship, situational theorists believed that
the subordinate played a more important role in defining the relationship.
Situational leadership theory suggests that leadership style should be
matched with the maturity of the subordinates. Paul Hersey and Kenneth
Blanchard's Situational Leadership Model was first introduced in 1969.
They theorized that there was no best way to lead and that leaders, to be
effective, must be able to adapt to the situation and modify their leadership
style between task-oriented and relationship-oriented (Hersey &
Blanchard, 1977). They suggested that the maturity of the group or
individual would determine the most effective leadership style.
They developed the four leadership styles of telling, selling,
participating, and delegating and advocated the importance of matching
those styles with the subordinate's "maturity level" and the current task.
The dynamic among these factors was based on the amount of guidance
and direction (task behavior) and socio-emotional support (relationship
behavior) required by the followers, and the readiness level (competence