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Educational Management

Notes research in this field prior to 1960 concentrated on finding out if personality traits were in any way
associated with leadership. A large number of researches were counducted with this aim in view
But, the results were disappointing. As early as 1948 Ralph Stogdil, after a thorough survey of
literature, hed concluded that there was little to support the hypothesis that personality traits were
related to effective leadership. Research in the field did not find any relationship between personal
characteristics and leadership. Richard Mann also reported a similar view in 1959. Bernard Bass
said the same thing in 1960. Hence the trait, approach to leadership was soon discarded in the late
1950s. Then, came behavioural approaches which shifted the emphasis from personality traits to
actual behaviours of the leaders and tried to identify those behaviours that make for success as
leaders.
11.3.3 Behaviour theroies of leadership

These approaches focussed on not what leaders are like, but on what they do to help groups
accomplish their tasks. The major assumption underlying these theories was that leadership is a
highly dynamic relationship between an individual and other members of the group in a specific
environment. The relationship must be expressed in certain specific behaviours. Hence, it should be
explored through research, what these behaviours are that contribute to effective leadership. Research,
now, was directed to identifying behaviour patterns or styles of effective leadership. Voluminous
research accumulated in the field which was, finally, crystallized into certain theories of leadership.
Most of these studies were conducted during the 1960s and 1970s. A systematic analysis of the
behaviour patterns of persons in positions of leadership was made. In recognition of the fact that
leader’s behaviour patterns may change in accordance with the situation, attention was shifted
towards a situational or contingency approach.

Research based on behaviour approach to leadership was initiated in 1945 by the Bureau
of Business Research at Ohio in the U.S.A. These studies attempted to identify those
behaviours of leaders which contributed to their success and effectiveness.

Andrew Halpin used these dimensions for describing the leader behaviour of school superintendents.
He defined them as follows :
1. Initiating Structure : This means making efforts to establish well defined patterns of organization,
channels of communication, methods and procedures of work, and to specify the relationship
between himself and the members of his group.
2. Consideration : This refers to behaviours indicative of friendship, mutual trust, respect and
warmth in the relationship between the leader and the members of his staff.
These two dimensions, since then, have been used by a number of researchers and experts in the
field with different nomenclatures. Parsons (1951) and Bales (1953) have termed them as instrumental
and expressive dimensions. Stogdill and Coons (1957) and Brown (1967) have named them as System-
Oriented and Person Oriented dimensions. Brown (1967) has also given them the names of control
and cathectic dimensions. Getzels and Guba (1957) have titled them as nomothetic and idiographic
dimensions. Fiedler (1967) used the terms task-oriented and relationship-oriented for these two
dimensions. All these names and terms mean the same thing.
The history of theoretical considerations underlying these two leader-behaviour dimensions may be
traced back to the reflections of two of the earliest schools of thought, scientific management and
human relations theory. Scientific management or Taylorism started by Frederick Winslow Taylor
in the early 1900s emphasized increased production (task) by manipulating men, machines, and
technology. Setting up performance criteria to meet organizational goals by the leader was considered

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