Differences in leadership styles and behaviour across hierarchical levels in UK organisations

Abstract

Several studies have examined the leadership styles and behaviour of managers across hierarchical levels to see whether or not the styles and behaviour are similar. The present study collected data from over 400 managers in the UK to research the topic. It found that generally there are significant differences in the leadership styles between senior and first‐level managers, but not between senior and middle‐level managers or between middle and first‐level managers. The study suggests that differences in the leadership styles practised by managers may be blurred in organisations with short chains of command, while it will tend to be pronounced in organisations with long chains of command, other things being equal. Overall, while there was a weak but statistically significant difference between the leadership styles of senior and first‐level managers, the differences in their leadership behaviour was statistically strong. The implications of these results are explored.