Ohio State Studies

Ohio State Studies

Early studies on leadership were done at Ohio State University using the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire to identify the leader's observable behaviors. Ohio State study on leadership found two behavioral characteristics of leadership - people-oriented (consideration) and task-oriented (initiating structure) leadership style.

Ohio State Studies on Leadership Styles:

As leadership studies that were aimed at identifying the appropriate traits didn't yield any conclusive results,, Stogdill (1957) at the Bureau of Business Research at Ohio State University initiated ‘a series of researches on leadership in 1945. He, along with his colleagues, studied leader behavior in numerous types of groups and situations by using a “Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ)”.

Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ):

The Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ) was developed by the staff of the Personnel Research Board, The Ohio State University, as one project of the Ohio State Leadership Studies, directed by Dr. Carroll L. Shartle. LBDQ constituted of a list of 150 statements from their generated responses that included 1,800 statements. The resulting questionnaire is now well-known as the “LBDQ” or the “Leaders Behavior Description Questionnaire”. The LBDQ is published by the Bureau of Business Research, College of Commerce and Administration, The Ohio State University; Columbus, OH. The version presented below was copyrighted in 1957 and may still be ordered if you wish to use it.

The LBDQ’s list of questions was designed to measure nine different behavioral leadership dimensions. The LBDQ provides a technique whereby group members may describe the behavior of the leader, or leaders, in any type of group or organization, provided the followers have had an opportunity to observe the leader in action as a leader of their group. LBDQ questions given below are only for research and knowledge purposes.

SN

Leader Behavior Description

Factors

1

S/he does personal favors for group members.

Consideration

2

S/he makes her/his attitudes clear to the group. A B C D E

Initiating Structure

3

S/he does little things to make it pleasant to be a member of the group.

Consideration

4

S/he tries out his new ideas with the group.

Initiating Structure

5

S/he acts as the real leader of the group.

Not Used

6

S/he is easy to understand.

Consideration

7

S/he rules with an iron hand.

Initiating Structure

8

S/he finds time to listen to group members.

Consideration

9

S/he criticizes poor work.

Initiating Structure

10

S/he gives advance notice of changes.

Not Used

11

S/he speaks in a manner not to be questioned.

Initiating Structure

12

S/he keeps to her/himself.

Consideration

13

S/he looks out for the personal welfare of individual group members.

Consideration

14

S/h assigns group members to particular tasks.

Initiating Structure

15

S/he is the spokesman of the group.

Not Used

16

S/he schedules the work to be done.

Initiating Structure

17

S/he maintains definite standards of performance.

Initiating Structure

18

S/he refuses to explain her/his actions.

Consideration

19

S/he keeps the group informed.

Not Used

20

S/he acts without consulting the group.

Consideration

21

S/he backs up the members in their actions.

Consideration

22

S/he emphasizes the meeting of deadlines.

Initiating Structure

23

S/he treats all group members as her/his equals.

Consideration

24

S/he encourages the use of uniform procedures.

Initiating Structure

25

S/he gets what s/he asks for from her/his superiors.

Not Used

26

S/he is willing to make changes.

Consideration

27

S/he makes sure that her/his part in the organization is understood by group members.

Initiating Structure

28

S/he is friendly and approachable.

Consideration

29

S/he asks that group members follow standard rules and regulations.

Initiating Structure

30

S/he fails to take necessary action.

Not Used

31

S/he makes group members feel at ease when talking with them.

Consideration

32

S/he lets group members know what is expected of them.

Initiating Structure

33

S/he speaks as the representative of the group.

Not Used

34

S/he puts suggestions made by the group into action.

Consideration

35

S/he sees to it that group members are working up to capacity.

Initiating Structure

36

S/he lets other people take away her/his leadership in the group.

Not Used

37

S/he gets her/his superiors to act for the welfare of the group.

Not Used

38

S/he gets group approval in important matters before going ahead.

Consideration

39

S/he sees to it that the work of the group members is coordinated.

Initiating Structure

40

S/he keeps the group working together as a team.

Not Used

How the Study was conducted?

The studies were conducted on Air Force Commanders and members of bomber crews, officers, non-commissioned personnel, civilian administrators in the Navy Department, manufacturing supervisors, executives, teachers, principals and school superintendents and leaders of various civilian groups. As part of the study, the LBDQ was administered to these various groups of individuals which ranged from college students and their administrators, private companies including military personnel. One of the primary purposes of the study was to identify common leadership behaviors. The LBDQ was administered in a wide variety of situations.

They did not have any satisfactory definition of leadership. They also did not think leadership is synonymous with `good' leadership. After compiling and analyzing the results, the study led to the conclusion that there were two groups of behaviors that were strongly correlated. The Ohio State studies examined leaders’ task versus people orientation. Two dimensions of; leadership continually emerging from the study were `consideration' and the other was ‘initiating structure’. These were defined as Consideration (People Oriented behavioral Leaders) and Initiating Structure (Task Oriented Leaders). 

Consideration – People Oriented: 

Consideration reflects the extent to which individuals are likely to have job, relationship characterized by mutual respect for subordinates, ideas and consideration of subordinates, feelings. You may like to describe it as the behavior of the leader indicating friendship, mutual trust, respect and warmth in the relationship between the leader and his group members. The people oriented leaders are focusing their behaviors on ensuring that the inner needs of the people are satisfied. Thus they will seek to motivate their staff through emphasizing the human relation. People oriented leaders still focus on the task and the results; they just achieve them through different means. 

Examples of observed behavior of the leader under consideration are as follows: 

Consideration:

  • The leaders find time to listen to group members
  • The leader is willing to make change
  • The leader is friendly and approachable
  • The leader is Encouraging
  • The leader is observing
  • The leader is listening
  • The leader provides coaching and mentoring 

Initiating Structure – Task Oriented: 

Initiating structure reflects the extent to which individuals are likely to define and structure their roles and those of their subordinates towards goal attainment. In other words, it is the behavior of the leader which deals with the relationship between him and the work-group and tries to establish well-defined patterns of organization, channels of communication and method of procedure. The task concerned leaders are focusing their behaviors on the organizational structure, the operating procedures (S.O.P.) and they like to keep control. Task-oriented leaders are still concerned with their staff motivation; however it's not their main concern. 

Examples of observed behavior of the leader under initiating structure are as follows: 

Initiating Structure:

  • The leader assigns group members to particular tasks
  • The leader asks the group members to follow standard rules and regulations
  • The leader lets group members know what is expected of them
  • The leader initiates
  • The leader organizes
  • The leader clarifies
  • The leader works towards information Gathering 

Prescribed Activity:

In the above example of items check how frequently as a leader you engage yourself by marking A(Always), O(Occasionally) or N(Never), against each one of the items in the list of statements given above. This may help you to know your own style of leadership. One can do this exercise by observing and judging the behavior of the leader in a work situation.

Conclusions from the Study: 

Conceptually, the Ohio State studies helped to shift the focus of the field from a universal trait approach to a more situational, behavioral-based view. The Ohio State studies contributed a model of programmatic construct, validation and investigation, and provided future researchers with useful research instruments. These studies, attempted to find what behaviors substantially accounted for most of the leadership behavior described by employees.  Beginning with over a thousand dimensions, researchers narrowed the list to two explained above. Both factors were found to be associated with effective leadership.  Followers of leaders who are high in consideration were more satisfied with their jobs; more motivated, and had more respect for their leader.  Leaders who were high in initiating structure typically had higher levels of group and organization productivity along with more positive performance evaluations. The findings of the LBDQ indicate that a successful leader will possess a strong ability to be considerate of others, as well as an ability to initiate structure. In the workplace this might be a manager who is very personable and understanding, but is also able to set expectations and guidelines that require workers to be motivated, efficient, and able to produce high-quality work.

Related Links

You May Also Like

  • The Major Leadership Traits

    The Major Leadership Traits

    Leadership traits refer to personal qualities that define effective leaders. Here are the major leadership qualities that can make someone a good leader. Five key traits that are common in leaders can be learned and sharpened with time.

  • Hawthorne Studies - Leadership

    Hawthorne Studies - Leadership

    The Hawthorne studies were conducted on workers at the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company by Elton Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger in the 1920s. This study established the behavioral change that happened due to an awareness of being observed, resulting in active compliance with the supposed wishes of researchers, because of special attention received, or positive response to the stimulus being introduced.

  • Situational Leadership Model

    Situational Leadership Model

    The Hersey and Blanchard Situational Theory model suggests that a leader must adapt his leadership style based on task and relationship behaviors appropriate to the situation. Leadership style is dependent on the maturity level and abilities of followers. Under this model, successful leadership is both task-relevant and relationship-relevant.

  • Sociotechnical Systems

    Sociotechnical Systems

    Socio-technical theory of leadership focus on the presence of two subsystems in every organization, the interrelatedness of social and technical aspects of an organization. Theory pertains to the social aspects of people and technical aspects of an organization, which means structure and processes within the organization.

  • Continuum of leadership

    Continuum of leadership

    Continuum of leadership is a leadership theory based on the relationship between the level of freedom given to the team and the level of authority used by the manager. The chosen leadership style will depend on multiple factors, including the leader's personality.

  • Investment Theory of Creativity

    Investment Theory of Creativity

    Sternberg in the year 2006, proposed the investment and confluence theory focused on understanding creativity. According to the investment theory, creativity requires a confluence of six distinct but interrelated resources known as intellectual abilities, knowledge, styles of thinking, personality, motivation, and environment. It emphasizes that creativity is not about one thing, but about a system of things.

  • Trait theories

    Trait theories

    Trait theories of leadership identify the specific personality traits that distinguish leaders from non-leaders. The trait model of leadership is based on the traits or characteristics of leaders that make them successful in their leading role. These theories use heritable attributes to predict leadership effectiveness.

  • Contingency Theories of Leadership

    Contingency Theories of Leadership

    Contingency theories of leadership focus on both the leader's persona as well as the situation/environment in which that leader operates. These theories consider the context of leadership which means whether or not the leadership style suits a particular situation and states that a leader can be effective in one circumstance and a failure in another one. A leader will be most effective when he applies the right leadership style to a given situation and environment around him. Contingent leaders are flexible and adaptable.

  • Definition of Leadership

    Definition of Leadership

    Leadership has been defined in different ways by different sets of scholars. In very simple terms leadership can be defined as the skill of a person to influence an individual or a group for achievement of a goal in a given situation. One can use different dimensions and perspectives to define leadership. Through the evolution of leadership thought, leadership has been defined in various ways discussed here.

  • Theory of Idiosyncrasy Credit

    Theory of Idiosyncrasy Credit

    Idiosyncrasy Credit Model of Leadership builds upon the awareness that when the emergent leader meets the team's expectations, idiosyncrasy credits are awarded. These credits depend on how the leader fulfilled follower's expectations and what is the impact of the leader's decisions on the follower. When the balance of credits shifts, another leader will emerge.

Explore Our Free Training Articles or
Sign Up to Start With Our eLearning Courses

Subscribe to Our Newsletter


© 2023 TechnoFunc, All Rights Reserved