Expected supervisory behavior, interpersonal trust and environmental preferences

Abstract

Preferences regarding “ideal” supervisory behavior, organizational climate, and measures of interpersonal trust were collected from two samples, college students and industrial managers, to test four hypotheses derived from a dyadic model of the behavioral requirements of a leader's role. The results indicated: (a) The popular hypothesis arguing for higher preferences for freedom and self-actualization opportunities in the work role was not supported completely by these leadership preference results; (b) being employed affected the preferences for “ideal” leadership; (c) preference for organizational climate was related to the pattern of leadership behaviors preferred; and (d) the relationships between interpersonal trust and preferences for leader behavior appear more complex than anticipated in this paper.