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46 PART 2: RESEARCH PERSPECTIVES ON LEADERSHIP
indicates that leaders can adopt behaviors that are almost in direct opposition to
their natural traits when its necessary. Jay Vogt, a consultant to Applegate, says of
McDonnell: “If he’s at the company on some days he might do more harm than
good, and he knows that. How many CEOs have that self-awareness?” 23

Ohio State Studies
The idea that leadership is reflected in behavior and not just personal traits pro-

vided a focus for subsequent research. One early series of studies on leadership
behavior was conducted at the Ohio State University. Researchers conducted sur-
veys to identify specifi c dimensions of leader behavior. Narrowing a list of nearly
2,000 leader behavirs into a questionnaire containing 150 examples of defi nitive
leader behaviors, they developed the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire
(LBDQ) and administered it to employees. Hundreds of employees responded to
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behavior examples according to the degree to which their leaders engaged in the
various behaviors. The analysis of ratings resulted in two wide-ranging categories
of leader behavior types, later called consideration and initiating structure.
Consideration
Consideration Consideration describes the extent to which a leader cares about subordinates,
the extent to which a leader
the extent to which a leader respects their ideas and feelings, and establishes mutual trust. Showing apprecia-
is sensitive to subordinates,
is sensitive to subordinates,
respects their ideas and feelings, tion, listening carefully to problems, and seeking input from subordinates regard-
respects their ideas and feelings,
and establishes mutual trust
and establishes mutual trust ing important decisions are all examples of consideration behaviors.
Initiating Structure
Initiating Structure Initiating structure describes the extent to which a leader is task oriented and
the extent to which a leader
the extent to which a leader directs subordinates’ work activities toward goal achievement. This type of leader
is task oriented and directs
is task oriented and directs behavior includes directing tasks, getting people to work hard, planning, provid-
subordinates’ work activities
subordinates’ work activities
toward goal achievement
toward goal achievement ing explicit schedules for work activities, and ruling with an iron hand.
Although many leaders fall along a continuum that includes both con-
sideration and initiating structure behaviors, these behavior categories are
independent of one another. In other words, a leader can display a high degree
of both behavior types, or a low degree of both behavior types. Additionally,
a leader might demonstrate high consideration and low initiating structure, or
low consideration and high initiating structure behavior. Research indicates that
all four of these leader style combinations can be effective. The following ex-
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amples describe two U.S. Marine leaders who display different types of leader-
ship behavior that correlate to the consideration and initiating structure styles.
Sometimes these styles clash.
Col. Joe D. Dowdy and Maj. Gen. James Mattis, U.S. Marine Corps
IN THE LEAD Only a few weeks into the war in Iraq, Marine Col. Joe D. Dowdy had both ac-
complished a grueling military mission and been removed from his command by

Maj. Gen. James Mattis. The complicated and conflicting tales of why Col. Dowdy
was dismissed are beyond the scope of this text, but one issue that came under
examination was the differing styles of Col. Dowdy and Gen. Mattis, as well as the
diffi cult, age-old wartime tension of “men versus mission.”
Gen. Mattis has been referred to as a “warrior monk,” consumed with the study
of battle tactics and whose own battle plans in Iraq were considered brilliant. Gen.
Mattis saw speed as integral to success in the early days of the Iraqi war, pushing
for regiments to move quickly to accomplish a mission despite signifi cant risks.
For Col. Dowdy, some risks seemed too high, and he made decisions that delayed
his mission, but better protected his Marines. Col. Dowdy was beloved by his fol-
lowers because he was deeply concerned about their welfare, paid attention to
them as inviduals, and treated them as equals, going so far as to decline certain
privileges that were available only to offi cers.