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Hersey and Blanchard's situational leadership theory (SLT) proposes a taxonomy consisting of four leadership styles, ranging from directing to delegating, and a framework for matching each style to specific situations. SLT has undergone a number of cosmetic and substantive changes since it was first introduced as the "Life Cycle of Leadership" (Hersey and Blanchard, 1969), and has emerged most recently as a restated set of prescriptive principles (Blanchard, 2010). Blanchard (2010) has identified four levels of follower development and their corresponding alternate optimal styles of leadership. For the enthusiastic beginner, characterized as low on competence but high on commitment, a directive style of leadership would be appropriate (directive defined as low-supportive behavior in conjunction with high-directive behavior). The disillusioned learner, characterized as being low on competence to having some competence in combination with low commitment, should benefit from a coaching style of leadership (coaching defined as high-supportive behavior in conjunction with high-directive behavior). The capable but cautious performer, who is moderate to high on competence but has variable commitment, should benefit from a supportive style of leadership (supportive defined as high-supportive behavior in conjunction with low-directive behavior). The self-reliant achiever, who is high on both competence and commitment, responds best to a delegating style of leadership (delegating defined as low-supportive behavior in conjunction with low-directive behavior).
However, SLT has been tested several times and researchers have identified difficulties in terms of measurement, content, and research design (Thompson and Vecchio, 2009; Vroom and Jago, 2007). In particular, follower competence and commitment pose several problems for testing the validity of the theory. A key premise underlying SLT is the appropriate calibrated applied leader style in response to follower/subordinate need for leadership. While leader styles seem fairly well understood, establishing follower need for a specific style of leadership has proven to be more difficult. This study seeks to quantify follower need from three perspectives: first, measuring subordinate competence by objectively quantifying experience; second, examining the leader-follower dynamic along a continuum of job levels; finally, comparing degree of self-other agreement in follower competence and commitment ratings to identify whether higher correlation more adequately validates the SLT model.
Subjective and objective indices
The first research topic is measurement of follower competence and commitment. A number of studies have used subjective...