Managers spend a great deal of their time with other people, about 50 per cent of it with subordinates, at scheduled or informal meetings. There have been a number of studies of the effects of the different supervisory styles of second—line leaders on productivity and job satisfaction; these show that they have a greater influence on productivity and satisfaction than first-line leaders. A number of studies have shown that delegation and the use of participatory methods of leadership are effective at both levels.

Styles of leadership are often passed down the hierarchy as each person copies his or her immediate superior and may be rewarded by the superior for so doing. This "falling dominoes" effect has been found for participatory leadership, closeness of supervision, charismatic leadership and amount of interaction with subordinates.

Managers need the skills used by first-line superiors and the additional skills of managing organizations. These include chairmanship, presenting skills, appraisal and personnel interviewing skills. Not all managers are socially skilled. Some may have been promoted through their expertise at engineering or accountancy, and these are the people for whom management courses were originally devised.

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