Abstract

As a beginning, from leadership research, one finds that at least two separate functional demands are placed upon a leader, a concern for achieving the goals and purposes of the organization, and a concern for maintaining an adequately high level of member satisfaction and harmony within the group. This is not meant to imply that only two important functions characterize the leadership task, particularly the manager task, but the abundance of literature concerning the task function and social-emotional function would seem to warrant examining their dual demands in some detail. The leader frequently finds himself in conflict over responding to the demands implied by these terms. The task-related demand can seem to require that he pursue the group's goal at the cost of ignoring subordinates' individual needs. The maintenance of the group's social stability can seem to it- quire that he address interpersonal issues at the expense of the task. Occasionally a leader is effectively able to fulfill both of these leadership functions adequately-to pursue enthusiastically the goals of the organization while sill being liked and admired by his followers. Much of the early leadership research was an at- tempt to identify those traits which enabled a leader to do this.