Leadership Style and Member Satisfaction
in Treatment Groups
As treatment groups continue to flourish, little knowledge exists about members'
satisfaction with them. How satisfied are group members with leadership style as a function of
group type? The purpose of this paper is to report on a research study of member satisfaction
with leadership style in treatment groups. Satisfaction consists of achieving dominant
motivational tendencies and gratifying a motive (Chaplin, 1973). It is a fulfillment of members'
psychological and self-actualization needs as a result of participating in the group (Maslow,
1954). This report examines concepts of treatment group leadership. Previous studies have not
explicitly addressed the issue of group type as an aspect of member satisfaction with leadership
style.
A variety of practitioners conduct small treatment groups. The practitioners' leadership
stems from their training and personal attributes. The knowledge from the present study will
have implications for education in leadership. Furthermore, the potential exists for contributing
to the well-being of members, leaders, and groups. If there is a direct relationship between
leadership styles and member satisfaction the practical implications are clear: The potential
exists for improving member satisfaction and positive in-group emotional tone through training
leaders in regard to particular leadership styles.
Leadership Styles
The present study examines seven leadership styles within three clusters and one group
type. Leadership style is the way in which the leader guides the group toward its goals (Fiedler,
1967).
In the first cluster of leadership styles, classic research studies dealing with group climate
were employed (Lewin, Lippitt & White, 1939; Lippitt & White, 1952). The autocratic
Convention