Relationship between the congruence of preferred and actual leader behaviors and subordinate satisfaction with leadership

The purpose of this study was to test the discrepancy theory (Yukle, 1971) portion of Chelladurai's (1979) contingency model of leadership in athletics by determining whether athlete's satisfaction with leadership was related to the discrepancy between preferences for and perceptions of actual leadership behaviors. The two aspects of leadership satisfaction which were measured were: (a) satisfaction with general leadership, and (b) satisfaction with specific leader behaviors. The five leader behaviors which were measured were: (a) training and instruction, (b) social support, (c) positive feedback, (d) democratic behavior, and (e) autocratic behavior. Forty male university level track and field athletes responded to satisfaction scales and two forms of the Leadership Scale for Sports (Chelladurai S Saleh, 1980). Discrepancy scores were determined by subtracting the perception of the actual leader behavior from the preference score for that same leader behavior. The results showed that general satisfaction with leadership was related to discrepancy scores in social support and democratic behavior. Satisfaction with specific leader behavior factors was related to discrepancy scores in training and instruction, social support, and positive feedback. Since there were significant linear relationships between satisfaction and discrepancy scores in a total of five cases, there was some support for the discrepancy theory of YukI (1971).