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Introduction
Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership theory (SLT) is often cited in academically orientated management textbooks, and is among the most widely known leadership theories popular in management training programs and school teacher-training settings. However, it remains among the least-researched views of managerial effectiveness (Thompson and Vecchio, 2009). Considering the enormous popularity of the theory over many decades, strong evidence-based testing of its prescriptive principles is disproportionately lacking. However, recent research on SLT has proposed a new research avenue where SLT predictions are more likely to hold when leader rating and follower self-rating are congruent, rather than when using leader rating alone as in previous studies (Thompson and Glasø, 2015). The present study aims at extending this leader-follower congruence approach to testing SLT.
SLT was first introduced as the “life cycle of leadership” (Hersey and Blanchard, 1969). This version presented SLT’s principles for dealing with newer employees by using more directiveness, and then gradually substituting directiveness with supportiveness as employee seniority increased. In the revised 1977 version, Hersey and Blanchard provided a thorough description of the theoretical foundation for their original model. Since then SLT has undergone a number of cosmetic and substantive changes (e.g., Blanchard, 1988; Blanchard et al., 1985, 1993) and has emerged more recently as a restated set of prescriptive principles (Blanchard, 2007, 2010). In this updated version, follower development level is a crucial moderator of the relationship between leader behavior and efficiency. The moderator variable comprises follower competence and commitment. Competence is defined as the follower’s task-relevant knowledge, and skills gained through formal education, on-the-job training and experience. Commitment is defined as follower motivation and confidence. Motivation is follower interest in the task, and confidence is follower sense of security or self-assuredness, the extent to which the follower trusts that he or she has the ability to work independently and perform well. Leader behavior consists of two major dimensions of supportiveness and directiveness. Supportiveness refers to the leader displaying warmth and consideration, whereas directiveness refers to the leader initiating structure and monitoring results. Favorable leadership behavior is assumed to shift with changes in follower development level. For inexperienced followers, effective leadership calls for low supportive and high directive behavior. As followers become more competent, the need for directive behavior would...