The literature contains a large number of studies which
chart the changes in leadership when the group or the
followers encounter stress. With only one or two
exceptions, when a group faces stress it demands decisive
and directive leadership, because the followers may
perceive that there is no time to generate and evaluate
alternative routes of action. As early as 1950, Hemphill
found that, in stress induced by change, leaders who
failed to make decisions quickly were quickly replaced
and similar findings were obtained by Korton (1962).
There may, however, be some exceptions to this
generalization. Strieb et al. (1985) found that in retirement
communities in “normal” times, the residents were
content to let others make decisions for them, but wanted
involvement in decision making in times of stress.
When stress among followers is induced by “ambiguity”,
it seems that the followers become easily influenced by aggressive, powerful leaders who promise to reduce the
ambiguity and restructure the situation (Dowton, 1973).
Thus, it is probably true that the opportunities for
transformational leadership are most favourable when
followers are confronted with a complex and confusing
environment, and where the leader appeals to more
general and comprehensive values that express the
follower’s underlying needs – although, of course, history
shows us that it is a mistake to believe that
transformational leaders always work for the good of
their followers. Numerous studies have suggested that
when followers are subjected to prolonged stress they
become apathetic and more susceptible to influence from
others (Fisher and Rubenstein, 1956; Leighton, 1945).