1.What’s Fiedler’s contingency theory of leadership?

Fiedler’s Contingency Model states that there’s no one best style of leadership. Instead, a leader’s effectiveness is
determined by whether the leader’s style and the environment in which the leader is performing complement each
other.
Fiedler’s Contingency Concept is based on a theory developed in the mid-1960s by Austrian psychologist Professor
Fred Fiedler after studying the personalities and characteristics of leaders.
He found that a leader’s readiness level came down to two things:- Natural leadership style, Situational favorableness
Leadership style
Fiedler identified two different styles of leadership behavior based on a test called the Least Preferred Coworker
(LPC) scale.
Leaders think of the person they’d least like to work with. They then rate their least-preferred coworker from 1-8 on a
variety of different criteria.
If you have a high score, you’re known as a high LPC leader. This means you’re a relationship-oriented leader. Your
leadership style is characterized by your effectiveness at building relationships and managing conflict.
If you have a low score, you’re known as a ‘low LPC leader’ or a task-oriented leader. Task-oriented leadership is
characterized by a strong ability to organize teams and projects for more efficiency and effective task
accomplishment.
Situational favorableness
The second important factor in leadership effectiveness is situational favorableness.
How favorable a situation is depends on three situational variables: - Leader member relations, Task structure,
Leader position power
Regarding leader member relation levels, a favorable situation would be one where your team trusts you implicitly.
The higher the trust between two parties, the more favorable the situation is.
In terms of task structure, a favorable situation has very clear tasks. If it’s obvious what the team should be doing and
how they should carry out their tasks, the leader has more situational control

The benefits of Fiedler’s contingency model of leadership

There are some real benefits to using this theory to help improve your leadership effectiveness.
First, it’s a simple rule of thumb that will help you manage your own situational leadership. This ensures you’re in the
right place while also helping you organize your lower-level managers and supervisors.
42% of leaders say they want a better assessment mechanism to diagnose leadership strengths. This contingency
model provides a way for you to assign leadership roles based on the situation at hand. Do you have a supervisor
who’s less personable but great at task accomplishment? Stick them in an unfavorable situation and watch them
thrive.
The second benefit of this contingency theory is its flexibility. Previously, it was understood that there was only one
management style.
This theory allows you to delegate leadership roles to your supervisors based on the different situations that arise. It
also allows you to work out where your leadership behavior fits best, so you can have the most positive influence
over your team.
What’s more, as a situational leadership theory, it invites you to recognize how the situation impacts your ability to be
an effective leader. If your situational leadership isn’t correct, you can either work on your interpersonal relationship
with your team or tweak situational factors. For example, you may integrate more two-way feedback mechanisms or
solidify the task structure better.
How to use the Fiedler’s theory of leadership to build a more successful team
According to this theory, effective leadership comes down to a leader’s style and the situational favorableness of the
environment they’re in.
Here’s how you team those two factors together to make sure you’re the best leader you can be.

2. Group:
A group can be defined as two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who come together to achieve particular
objectives. A group behavior can be stated as a course of action a group takes as a family.

Types:
1. Formal group:-This group is defined by the organizational structure. After planning, organizations group the activities and
put those under a formal structure, deciding their goals and objectives and strategies to achieve the same. Formal group
members report to their superiors and interact with each other to achieve the common goals.
2. Command group:-This group is also known as task group. A task is defined as cross-functional activities, carried out by group
members to accomplish a common goal. A team represents the nature of a command group. A command group can be formed
by drawing members from various formal groups. For example, to achieve success in new product launches, organizations may
form a command group. Once the task is achieved, group members may be sent back to their specific formal groups.
3. Committees:- To achieve results, organizations often form permanent or temporary committees, drawing members from
various formal groups. Committees also represent the presence of cross-functional members. While for a command group,
goals may be specific, for committees, it is varied.
4. Informal groups:- Informal groups are formed within a formal organizational structure. Informal group members primarily
meet the social or affiliation needs sharing their commons interests. Thus informal groups are not organizationally determined;
the members themselves from such groups to fulfil their needs for social interaction.
Propoties:
Properties of Group

Role: The role is a set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit. Role
identity:Attitudes and actual behaviors consistent with a role, and they create the role identity. People have the ability to shift
roles rapidly where they recognize that a situation and its demands clearly require major changes. For instance, when reunion
stewards were promoted to supervisory positions it was found that their attitudes changed from reunion to management
within a few months of their promotion. Roles perception: Activities of managers and workers alike are guided by their role
perceptions, that is, how they are supposed to act in their own roles and how others should act in their roles. Roles
Expectation: Roles expectations are defined as the way others believe you should act in a given situation. It can be helpful to
look at the topic of role expectations from the perspective of the psychological contract-an unwritten agreement that exists
between employees and their employer. Role conflict: When others have different perception or expectations of a person’s
role, that person tends to experience role conflict. Such conflict makes it difficult to meet one set of expectations without
rejecting another. A company president faced role Conflict, for example, when she learned that both the controller and the
personnel director wanted her to allocate the new organizational planning function to their departments. Role ambiguity:
When the role is inadequately defined or is substantially unknown, role ambiguity exists, because people are not sure how they
should act in situations of this type. When role conflict and role ambiguity exist, job satisfaction and organizational commitment
will likely decline.

Norms: -Norms is an acceptable standard of behavior within a group that are shared by the group members. It tells the
member what they ought and ought not to do under certain circumstances. From individual subpoint, they tell what is expected
of you in the certain situation. When agreed to. and accepted by the group, norms act as a means of influencing the behavior of
group members with a minimum of external control .norms differ among groups .communities and societies but they all have
them. Performance norms: Here workgroups typically provide their members with explicit cues on how hard they should work.
how to get the job done. Appearance norms: A second category encompasses appearance norms. This includes things like
appropriate dress. loyalty to the workgroup or organization, when to look busy, and when it is acceptable. Arrangement norms:
These norms come from informal work groups and primarily regulate social interactions within the group.

Status:- The status that is, a socially defined position or rank is given to group or group’s member by others permeates every
society. Evan the smallest group will develop roles, rights, and rituals to differentiate its members. Status is an important factor in
understanding human behavior because it is a significant motivator and has major behavioral consequences when individuals
perceive a. the disparity between what they believe their status to be what others perceive it to be.

Size:- The size of a group affects the group’s overall behavior. The impact of size on a group’s performance depends on the type
of task in which the group is engaged. In an organization, the group can be formed either large or smaller. Smaller group: In
smaller groups- those are faster at completing tasks that are large ones and that individuals perform better in smaller groups than
in large ones. Those are better at doing something productive with that input. Large group: Large groups- those with a dozen or
more members- are good for gaining diverse input. So if the goal of the group is fact-finding, large groups should be more
effective. However, for groups engaged in problem-solving, large groups consistently get better marks than their smaller
counterparts.

Cohesiveness:- Group differs in their cohesiveness- that is, the degree to which members are attracted to each
other and are motivated to stay in the groups. For instances, some work groups are cohesive because the members
have spent a great deal of time together, or the group’s small size facilities high interaction, or the group has
experienced external threats that have brought members closer together. Cohesiveness is important because it has
been found to be related to group productivity

Stages:
Forming- The initial forming stage is the process of putting the structure of the team together. Team members feel
ambiguous and conflict is avoided at all costs due to the need to be accepted into the group. Team members look to
a group leader for direction and guidance, usually CORAL project guides.

Storming - This stage begins to occur as the process of organizing tasks and processes surface interpersonal
conflicts. Leadership, power, and structural issues dominate this stage.

Norming - In this stage, team members are creating new ways of doing and being together. As the group develops
cohesion, leadership changes from ‘one’ teammate in charge to shared leadership. Team members learn they have
to trust one another for shared leadership to be effective.

Performing - True interdependence is the norm of this stage of group development. The team is flexible as
individuals adapt to meet the needs of other team members. This is a highly productive stage both personally and
professionally.

3. Power and Politics : Put simply, the definition of power is: having the capacity or ability to act in certain ways or impose
your will on others. But in a work context, people interpret the concept of power in different ways.Some people see power as
something they receive from an external source. This could be an assigned title or position that gives someone control and
authority over others. Other people believe power is an innate quality that can be cultivated internally and that manifests
externally. In this sense, a person’s personal power grows as they develop. True power is a combination of both internal and
external power. This means that anyone can access a certain amount of power, regardless of their position in the hierarchy
Types:

1. Coercive Power- This kind of power involves the usage of threat to make people do what one desires. In the
organizational set up, it translates into threatening someone with transfer, firing, demotions etc. it basically
forces people to submit to one’s demand for the fear of losing something.
2. Reward Power- As the name suggests, this type of power uses rewards, perks, new projects or training
opportunities, better roles and monetary benefits to influence people. However an interesting aspect of this
type of power is that, it is not powerful enough in itself, as decisions related to rewards do not rest solely with
the person promising them, because in organizations, a lot of other people come into play like senior managers
and board.
3. Legitimate Power- This power emanates from an official position held by someone, be it in an organization,
beurocracy or government etc. The duration of this power is short lived as a person can use it only till the time
he/she holds that position, as well as, the scope of the power is small as it is strictly defined by the position
held.
4. Expert Power- This is a personal kind of power which owes its genesis to the skills and expertise possessed by
an individual, which is of higher quality and not easily available. In such a situation, the person can exercise the
power of knowledge to influence people. Since, it is very person specific and skills can be enhanced with time; it
has more credibility and respect.
5. Referent Power- This is a power wielded by celebrities and film stars as they have huge following amongst
masses who like them, identify with them and follow them. Hence, they exert lasting influence on a large
number of people for a large number of decisions; like from what car to buy to which candidate to choose for a
higher office in the country.

4. Stress
Stress can be defined as any type of change that causes physical, emotional or psychological strain.
Stress is your body's response to anything that requires attention or action. Everyone experiences
stress to some degree.
1. Demand Stress -Being challenged at one’s job is often a rewarding experience that leads to employee satisfaction. However,
poorly designed assignments foster unrealistic demands when a team member doesn’t have the necessary skills or knowledge
to meet the task. The disconnect is evident, considering 60 percent of employees want to do their best on the job. According to
the Gallup State of the American Workplace Report, only 21 percent of employees feel that their organizational leaders direct
their performance to do their best work. It’s not surprising then that a poor job fit is one of the most common reasons
individuals cite for quitting their current position.

2. Effort/Reward Balance Stress -Expecting high effort on the job from employees without an adequate reward can create the
perfect storm for stress within an organization. One of the primary fallouts is disengagement. Only one-third of American
workers are actively engaged in their job. Disengaged individuals are more likely to leave their jobs, costing organizations more
than just the loss of productivity.
3. Control Stress -A balance between responsibility with commensurate authority and control is imperative to empower
employees. It is a vital step on the path to self-actualization. Without this equilibrium, an employee feels powerless and without
a voice in the matters that affect them directly. The lack of control becomes an unscaleable hurdle toward performing one’s
best. Employees want autonomy to be able to manage their future, and they require the tools to do it. It frees them to achieve
their personal best. Without control to do their job well, engagement suffers, and burnout increases.
4. Organization Change Stress -Change is inevitable as organizations pivot to navigate the evolving landscape shaped in a
pandemic world. Nevertheless, clear communication is vital to lessen the uncertainty caused by these transitions, whether they
involve new policies, restructuring, or other workplace shifts. Otherwise, it poses a threat to what psychologist Abraham
Maslow referred to as humans’ hierarchy of needs.
It’s essential to put this type of stress in context. The pandemic has turned people’s worlds upside down, with uncertainty
jeopardizing even the fabric of the things we take for granted. Adding occupational ambiguity to the mix can push employees to
the brink of manageable stress. The cascading effects will become evident in other areas of their work and personal life.

5. Manager/Superior Stress - The goals of any organization should be realistic, reasonable, and obtainable. Moving the
goalposts or setting the bars too high creates stress in employees that can turn inward. Failure fuels even more dissatisfaction.
The quality of the work deteriorates and impacts productivity. It becomes worse when the expectations change without
explanation, mounting pressure to work quicker and harder. Stress can also occur with conflicting goals if the management
team isn’t on the same page. Employees feel like pawns, unable to enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done because the
expectations keep changing

6. Social Support Stress - An organization’s success depends upon the culture it creates among its team members. It fosters
cooperation and support among its employees at all levels. An unhealthy workplace environment lacks these basic elements.
Instead of working toward a common goal, it foments unhealthy competition that pits employees against one another. It
creates winners and losers and the inevitable cutthroat ethics.
Employees come to work thinking of it as a race or competition. It becomes a me-against-them mentality that can have deep-
rooted effects on the overall employee morale.

7. Job Security Stress -Employees want to support their families financially. They want to provide for their basic needs and feel
secure in their futures. An unstable work environment creates a highly stressful situation. It becomes a greater concern,
considering that over half of Americans don’t have enough money saved to cover their monthly expenses.

5.What Is the Blake Mouton Leadership Grid?

The Blake Mouton Grid plots a manager's or leader's degree of task-centeredness versus their person-centeredness,
and identifies five different combinations of the two and the leadership styles they produce.

The model is based on two behavioral dimensions:

Concern for People: this is the degree to which a leader considers team members' needs, interests
and areas of personal development when deciding how best to accomplish a task.

Concern for Results: this is the degree to which a leader emphasizes concrete objectives,
organizational efficiency and high productivity when deciding how best to accomplish a task.

Applying the Blake Mouton Grid

It is important to understand your management or leadership style, so that you can then identify ways
of reaching the target position of Team manager.
Step One: Identify Your Managerial Style
List five or six recent situations where you were the leader . For each situation, place yourself on the
grid according to where you believe you fit. Use our self-assessment leadership quiz to help you spot
your traits.
Step Two: Identify Areas Where You Can Improve and Develop Your Leadership Skills. Look at your current
approach. Are you settling for "Middle -of-the-Road" because it's easier than reaching for more? Think
about whether your style suits the situation you are in. If you feel that you are too task-oriented, then
you can try to involve your team members in creative problem solving, improve how you communicate
with them, or work on your mentoring skills. Or, if you tend to focus too much on people, it may mean
becoming clearer about scheduling and monitoring project progress, or improving your decision
making.
Step Three: Put the Grid in Context. The Team Management style is often the most effective approach,
but there are situations that call for more attention to one area than the other.

Types:

1. Impoverished Management – (Low Results/Low People)

The Impoverished or "indifferent" manager is mostly ineffective. With a low regard for creating
systems that get the job done, and with little interest in creating a satisfying or motivating team
environment, this manager's results are inevitably disorganization, dissatisfaction and disharmony.

2. Produce-or-Perish Management – (High Results/Low People)

Also known as "authoritarian" or "authority-compliance" managers, people in this category believe
that their team members are simply a means to an end. The team's needs are always secondary to its
productivity. This type of manager is autocratic, has strict work rules, polici es and procedures, and can
view punishment as an effective way of motivating team members. This approach can drive impressive
production results at first, but low team morale and motivation will ultimately affect people's
performance, and this type of lead er will struggle to retain high performers.

3. Middle-of-the-Road Management – (Medium Results/Medium People)

A Middle-of-the-Road or "status quo" manager tries to balance results and people, but this strategy is
not as effective as it may sound. Through continual compromise, they fail to inspire high performance
and also fail to meet people's needs fully. The result is that their team will likely deliver only mediocre
performance.

4. Country Club Management – (High People/Low Results)

The Country Club or "accommodating" style of manager is most concerned about their team members'
needs and feelings. They assume that, as long as their people are happy and secure, they'll work hard.
What tends to be the result is a work environment that is very relaxed and fun, but where productivity
suffers because there is a lack of direction and control.

5. Team Management – (High Production/High People)

According to the Blake Mouton model, Team Management is the most effective leadership style. It
reflects a leader who is passionate about their work and who does the best they can for the people
they work with.

6.Leadership

The trait model of leadership is based on the characteristics of many leaders - both successful and unsuccessful
- and is used to predict leadership effectiveness. The resulting lists of traits are then compared to those of
potential leaders to assess their likelihood of success or failure.

Scholars taking the trait approach attempted to identify physiological (appearance, height, and weight),
demographic (age, education and socioeconomic background), personality, self-confidence, and
aggressiveness), intellective (intelligence, decisiveness, judgment, and knowledge), task-related (achievement
drive, initiative, and persistence), and social characteristics (sociability and cooperativeness) with leader
emergence and leader effectiveness.

Successful leaders definitely have interests, abilities, and personality traits that are different from those of
the less effective leaders. Through many researches conducted in the last three decades of the 20th century, a
set of core traits of successful leaders have been identified. These traits are not responsible solely to identify
whether a person will be a successful leader or not, but they are essentially seen as preconditions that endow
people with leadership potential.

Among the core traits identified are:

o Achievement drive: High level of effort, high levels of ambition, energy and initiative
o Leadership motivation: an intense desire to lead others to reach shared goals
o Honesty and integrity: trustworthy, reliable, and open
o Self-confidence: Belief in one’s self, ideas, and ability
o Cognitive ability: Capable of exercising good judgment, strong analytical abilities, and conceptually
skilled
o Knowledge of business: Knowledge of industry and other technical matters
o Emotional Maturity: well adjusted, does not suffer from severe psychological disorders.
o Others: charisma, creativity and flexibility
Advantages of Trait Theory

o It is naturally pleasing theory.

o It is valid as lot of research has validated the foundation and basis of the theory.
o It serves as a yardstick against which the leadership traits of an individual can be assessed.
o gives a detailed knowledge and understanding of the leader element in the leadership process.
Limitations of The Trait Theory

o There is bound to be some subjective judgment in determining who is regarded as a ‘good’ or

‘successful’ leader
o The list of possible traits tends to be very long. More than 100 different traits of successful leaders
in various leadership positions have been identified. These descriptions are simply generalities.
o There is also a disagreement over which traits are the most important for an effective leader
o The model attempts to relate physical traits such as, height and weight, to effective leadership.
Most of these factors relate to situational factors. For example, a minimum weight and height
might be necessary to perform the tasks efficiently in a military leadership position. In business
organizations, these are not the requirements to be an effective leader.
o The theory is very complex
Implications of Trait Theory

The trait theory gives constructive information about leadership. It can be applied by people at all levels in all
types of organizations. Managers can utilize the information from the theory to evaluate their position in the
organization and to assess how their position can be made stronger in the organization. They can get an in-depth
understanding of their identity and the way they will affect others in the organization. This theory makes the
manager aware of their strengths and weaknesses and thus they get an understanding of how they can develop
their leadership qualities.

7.The Bases of Power

Positional Power Sources
1.Legitimate Power
A president, prime minister or monarch has legitimate power. So does a CEO, a religious minister, or a
fire chief. Electoral mandates, social hierarchies, cultural norms, and organizational structure all
provide the basis for legitimate power.

This type of power, however, can be unpredictable and unstable. If you lose the title or position, your
legitimate power can instantly disappear, because people were i nfluenced by the position you held
rather than by you.

Also, the scope of your power is limited to situations that others believe you have a right to control. If
a fire chief tells people to stay away from a burning building, for example, they'll likely li sten. But if he
tries to make two people act more courteously toward one another, they'll likely ignore the instruction.

2.Reward Power
People in power are often able to give out rewards. Raises, promotions, desirable assignments,
training opportunities, and simple compliments – these are all examples of rewards controlled by
people "in power." If others expect that you'll reward them for doing what you want, there's a high
probability that they'll do it.

The problem with this power base is that it may not be as strong as it first seems. Supervisors rarely
have complete control over salary increases, managers often can't control promotions by th emselves,
and even CEOs need permission from their boards of directors for some actions. Also, when you use
up rewards, or when the rewards don't have enough perceived value, your power weakens.

3.Coercive Power
This source of power is also problematic, and can be abused. What's more, it can cause dissatisfaction
or resentment among the people it's applied to.

Threats and punishment are common coercive tools. You use coercive power when you imply or
threaten that someone will be fired, demoted or denied privileges. While your position may allow you
to do this, though, it doesn't mean that you have the will or the justification to do so. You may
sometimes need to punish people as a last resort but if you use coercive power too much, people will
leave. (You might also risk being accused of bullying them.)

4.Informational Power
Having control over information that others need or want puts you in a powerful position. Having
access to confidential financial reports, being aware of who's due to be laid off, and knowing where
your team is going for its annual “away day” are all examples of informational power.

In the modern economy, information is a particularly potent form of power. The power derives not
from the information itself but from having access to it, and from being in a position to share, withhold,
manipulate, distort, or conceal it. With this type of power, you can use information to help others, or as
a weapon or a bargaining tool against them.

Personal Power Sources

Relying on these positional forms of power alone can result in a cold, technocratic, impoverished style
of leadership. To be a true leader, you need a more robust source of power than a title, an ability to
reward or punish, or access to information.

5.Expert Power
When you have knowledge and skills that enable you to understand a situation, suggest solutions, use
solid judgment, and generally outperform others, people will listen to you, trust you, and respect what
you say. As a subject matter expert, your ideas will have value, and others will look to you for
leadership in that area.

6.Referent Power
Referent power comes from one person liking and respecting another, and identifying with them in
some way. Celebrities have referent power, which is why they can influence everything from what
people buy to which politician they elect. In a workplace, a person with referent power often makes
everyone feel good, so he tends to have a lot of influence.
8.Different Between Traditional Vs Contemporary Theory

In a traditional company, the power flows from top to bottom; rank-and-file workers are viewed like cogs in the
organization and must implement decisions for which they had no input. But a cultural change in the workplace
has upended the tenets of a traditional company and introduced a contemporary organizational structure that is
markedly different. And while many businesses still operate a traditional company that provides control and
stability, the contemporary organizational design – in which employees are given power and autonomy to make
decisions and implement changes – is becoming more popular.

Traditional Organizational Structure Elements :-If a traditional organizational structure were depicted with a chart, it would
look like a pyramid. At the top of that pyramid are the CEO, president and senior management. In the middle of the pyramid
are middle managers and lower-level managers, and at the broad base are employees. In this structure, the top level of the
chart makes all the major decisions, which are communicated to mid-level and low-level management. These managers
must then implement the decisions among the rank-and-file workers. Little to no input is required or solicited from
employees, and ultimate authority rests in the hands of those at the top of the chart.
Contemporary Organizational Structure Elements:-In a contemporary organizational structure, the rigid top-down model of
the traditional structure is removed in favour of teams that work on projects together. Instead of relying on senior
management to drive the work process, the contemporary organizational design is all about empowering employees to
make decisions and implement changes without needing the approval of supervisors. In this type of structure, employees
are given the requirements, milestones and productivity goals of major projects, and must determine the most efficient way
to meet those goals. This structure eliminates the vertical design of a traditional company and gives employees ownership
of the work they perform.
Traditional Organizational Structure Advantages and Disadvantages:-The primary advantage of a traditional
organizational structure is that it keeps decision-making and authority in the hands of a few people within a
business. In doing so it eliminates confusion among employees about who is in charge and provides a clear
message about what workers are expected to accomplish in the performance of their duties. The top -down
structure can be likened to a machine. Every part has a specialized purpose, and those parts are coordinated to
efficiently create a predictable and consistent result.
The major disadvantage of this structure is that it’s often an authoritarian system that doesn’t give employees on
the bottom-rung input into major decisions. Employees are expected to carry out orders, and their ideas for better
ways to do things are often disregarded.
Contemporary Organizational Structure Advantages and Disadvantages:-The main advantage of a contemporary
organizational design is that employees have the freedom to implement their own decisions, make changes and
take ownership of their work without interference from middle management and senior management. This
freedom can lead to increased productivity, greater work quality and a significant uptick in employee satisfaction.
Under this structure, employees form stronger bonds, because they must rely on each other's expertise and talent
to accomplish their goals. There is often also a greater level of communication among workers, because every
employee is dependent on the success of another employee.
The primary disadvantage of a contemporary organizational structure is that the absence of supervisory authority
can lead to disorganization and inefficiency if employees fail to hold each other accountable for mistakes. Another
disadvantage is that because the structure is no longer top-down or bottom-up, the opportunities for advancement
or upward mobility are limited, since the organization now works as a “flatter” structure in which workers are on an
equal footing.