The Effects of Subordinates' Behaviour on Managerial Style

A manager faced with variations in subordinates' behaviour will accommodate his behaviour to fit the interpersonal circumstances. This will happen even if it means reversing a stated preference for a particular managerial style. This hypothesis was tested in a laboratory experiment. Subjects acted as managers working with subordinates to devise an itinerary for a visiting head office executive. In a 2 x 2 design, democratic and autocratic managers, classified according to scores on a leadership belief scale, were assigned both democratic and autocratic subordinates. On observing their responses, it was found that both types of managers behaved democratically with democratic subordinates and autocratically with autocratic subordinates. The results show that subordinates' influence is strong enough to bring about a response from managers that is opposite to their own preference. The influence of subordinates, therefore, must be included in theories that seek to understand the manager-subordinate relationship. It is suggested that the concept of interpersonal accommodation may be useful in describing reciprocal influence.