Initiating structure is the extent to which a leader is likely to define and structure his or her role and those of employees in the search for goal attainment. It includes behavior that attempts to organize work, work relationships, and goals. A leader high in initiating structure is someone who assigns followers particular tasks, sets definite standards of performance, and emphasizes deadlines. According to a review of the leadership literature, initiating structure is more strongly related to higher levels of group and organization productivity, and to more positive performance evaluations.

Consideration is the extent to which a person’s job relationships are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees’ ideas, and regard for their feelings. A leader high in consideration helps employees with personal problems, is friendly and approachable, treats all employees as equals, and expresses appreciation and support (people-oriented). Most of us want to work for considerate leaders—when asked to indicate what most motivated them at work, 66 percent of U.S. employees surveyed mentioned appreciation.12 Indeed, one review found the followers of leaders high in consideration were more satisfied with their jobs, were more motivated, and had more respect for their leaders.

Mixed results from behavioral theory tests may lie partly in follower preferences, particularly cultural preferences. Research from the GLOBE program—a study of 18,000 leaders from 825 organizations in 62 countries, discussed in Chapter 5—suggested there are international differences in the preference for initiating structure and consideration.13 The study found that leaders high in consideration succeeded best in countries where cultural values did not favor unilateral decision making, such as Brazil. As one Brazilian manager noted, “We do not prefer leaders who take self-governing decisions and act alone without engaging the group. That’s part of who we are.” A U.S. manager leading a team in Brazil would therefore need to be high in consideration—team-oriented, participative, and humane—to be effective. In contrast, the French have a more bureaucratic view of leaders and are less likely to expect them to be humane and considerate. A leader high in initiating structure (relatively task-oriented) will do best there and can make decisions in a relatively autocratic manner. A manager who scores high in consideration (people-oriented) may find her style backfires in France. In other cultures, both dimensions may be important—for example, Chinese culture emphasizes being polite, considerate, and unselfish, but it has a high performance orientation. Thus, consideration and initiating structure may both be important for a manager to be effective in China.