RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN LEADER BEHAVIOR VARIABILITY INDICES AND SUBORDINATE RESPONSES1,2

The relationships of leader behavior variability indices to a variety of subordinate affective responses and experienced psychological states were examined for two samples differing in perceived job characteristics. In the sample facing routine task demands, little relationship was evident between leader behavior variability indices and subordinate responses. In the sample characterized by greater variability in task demands, correlations between responses and leader variability indices were generally significant and stronger than those between responses and absolute levels of leader behaviors. For both samples, leader behavior variability was negatively related to subordinate responses. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are presented.