The Ohio State Studies on Leadership
The Ohio State Studies on Leadership is one among the behavioral theories of leadership. A gaggle of researchers at Ohio State University conducted an in-depth study of leadership behavior and effectiveness. The essential purpose of this study was to spot the independent dimensions of leader behavior and to work out the effect of those dimensions on work performance and satisfaction.
After the Ohio State Studies, they found the 2 dimensions of a leader’s behavior, 1st is initiating structure and 2nd is a consideration.
Initiating structure refers to the extent to which a pacesetter (leader) probably going to line goals, define and structure his or her roles, define and organize the task which his followers need to do, specifies work relationships and directions, and regulates the performance of his group members. Leaders scoring high initiating structure could achieve high productivity or performance.
Consideration is defined because of the extent to which the leader features a supportive work relationship characterized by warmth and mutual trust, good relations, and respect for feelings, ideas, and suggestions of group members. there’s a robust concern for follower’s comfort, well-being, status, and satisfaction. The leader is friendly, approachable, and treats subordinates fairly.
These two leadership dimensions also can be represented within the following diagram:
Describing the above diagram:
- 1 – Leaders retreats to a generally passive role of allowing the situation to take care of itself.
- 2 – Leader strives to promote group harmony and social needs satisfaction.
- 3 – The leader strives to achieve a productive balance between getting the job done and maintains a cohesive friendly workgroup.
- 4 – Leader devotes primary attention to getting the job done. And, personal concerns are strictly secondary.
The Ohio State Studies’ two leadership orientations are independent of every other. That is, a pacesetter could also be high in both, high in one while low on the other or low on both. However, the studies concluded that the mixture of high consideration and initiating structure in leader behavior were likely to end in high productivity and satisfaction at an equivalent time.