The purpose of this study was to test the prescriptions for effective leadership as specified in Hersey and Blanchard's (1969, 1982, 1988) Situational Leadership Theory (SLT). The interac tion between leader behavior (initiating structure and consideration) and follower readiness hypothesized by the SLT was not supported. In addition, no support was found for Hersey and Blanchard's (1988) most recent predictions regarding the Best, Second Best, Third Best, and Worst leadership styles for given readiness levels. In fact, the findings were more consistent with results obtained in traditional leadership research. Implications for use in management training are discussed.
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