| Abstract: | The study examined subordinates' responsiveness to supervisor requests in conflict situations as it relates to leadership type and subordinate level of performance. Police captains (N = 40) completed the Bass and Avolio (1991) Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and an evaluation of their subordinates' performance. Independently, subordinates (N = 240) completed the Interpersonal Power Inventory (IPI), derived from Raven's (1992) power interaction model, which measures the extent to which they are willing to comply with their supervisors' requests. Findings indicated that police officers (subordinates) reported greater willingness to comply with soft rather than harsh power bases. Although performance evaluation was not a significant factor here, officers who worked for high transformational captains reported a significantly greater likelihood to comply with both harsh and soft power bases than their cohorts who worked for low transformational captains. The discussion addressed the issue of leadership type as one of the determining factors in gaining compliance. |
