Cox, Sims, and Yun (2006) published empirical research that examined
"individual differences in the way some people respond to opportunities for enhanced
self-leadership. According to this belief, some people want to be self-leaders; others do
not" (2006, p. 375). Cox, Sims, and Yun (2006) focused on the behavior of the follower
within a self-leadership context (p. 375); their study examined "the influence of leaders on followers' self-leadership. More specifically, the study deals with conditions under
which empowering leadership is more likely to enhance follower self-leadership" (p.
375). It is important to note Cox, Sims, and Yun's qualification that "an empowering
leader is one who leads others to influence themselves to achieve high performance, not
one who leaves others doing whatever they want to do" (p. 378). Their research
hypothesized that effective leaders "create the context within which followers more fully
utilize their capabilities" (p. 378).