The basic idea behind this theory is that leadership motivates the people to work and not the power of money as in custodial model. Through leadership, management provides a climate to help employees grow and accomplish in the interest of the organization, the things of which they are capable. Management's orientation, therefore, is to support the employee's job performance, rather than to simply support employee benefit payments as in the custodial approach.
Supportive behavior is not the kind of behavior that requires money. Rather, it is a part of management's lifestyle at work, reflected in the way that it deals with other people. The manager's role is one of helping employees solve their problems and accomplish their work.
Under the supportive model, the workers feel a sense of participation and task involvement in the organization. The manager's role is one of helping employees solve their problems and accomplish their work. This model has been found to be effective in affluent countries where workers are more concerned about their higher level needs affiliation and esteem. This model has limited application under Indian condition because a vast majority of operative workers are still working for the satisfaction of their physiological and security needs.