Contingency

Approaches to
Leadership
JEAN A. FERNANDEZ
Discussant
 Contingency

OA theory meaning
one thing depends
on other things
 Contingency approaches

OApproaches that seek to

delineate the characteristics of
SITUATIONS and
FOLLOWERS and examine the
leadership styles that can be used
effectively
 Contingency Approaches: All
consider the situation
O -Fiedler’s Contingency Model (Fixed)
-Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational
Leadership Theory
-Path Goal Theory
-The Vroom-Jago Contingency Model
-Substitutes for leadership
(Leader’s style can and should be changed)
Fiedler's Contingency Model
O The Fiedler Contingency Model was created in
the mid-1960s by Fred Fiedler, a scientist who
studied the personality and characteristics of
leaders.
O The model states that there is no one best style of
leadership. Instead, a leader's effectiveness is
based on the situation. This is the result of two
factors – "leadership style" and "situational
favorableness" (later called "situational control").
 Leadership Style

O Fiedler believed that leadership style is

fixed, and it can be measured using a scale
he developed called Least-Preferred Co-
Worker (LPC) Scale . The scale asks you to
think about the person who you've least
enjoyed working with. This can be a person
who you've worked with in your job, or in
education or training.
OYou then rate how you feel about this
person for each factor, and add up
your scores. If your total score is high,
you're likely to be a relationship-
orientated leader. If your total score is
low, you're more likely to be task-
orientated leader.
 Figure 1: Least-Preferred Co-Worker Scale

Unfriendly 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8 Friendly

Unpleasant 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8 Pleasant
Rejecting 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8 Accepting
Tense 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8 Relaxed
Cold 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8 Warm
Boring 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8 Interesting
Backbiting 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8 Loyal
Uncooperative 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8 Cooperative
Hostile 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8 Supportive

Guarded 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8 Open

Insincere 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8 Sincere

Unkind 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8 Kind

Inconsiderate 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8 Considerate

Untrustworth
y 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8 Trustworthy

Gloomy 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8 Cheerful

Quarrelsome 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8 Harmonious

The model says that task-oriented
leaders usually view their LPCs more
negatively, resulting in a lower score.
Fiedler called these low LPC-leaders.
He said that low LPCs are very
effective at completing tasks. They're
quick to organize a group to get tasks
and projects done. Relationship-
building is a low priority.
 However, relationship-oriented
leaders usually view their LPCs more
positively, giving them a higher score.
These are high-LPC leaders. High
LPCs focus more on personal
connections, and they're good at
avoiding and managing conflict.
They're better able to make complex
decisions.
 Situational Favorableness
O This depends on three distinct factors:
O Leader-Member Relations – This is the
level of trust and confidence that your team
has in you. A leader who is more trusted
and has more influence within the group is
in a more favorable situation than a leader
who is not trusted.
 Task Structure 
OThis refers to the type of task you're
doing: clear and structured, or vague
and unstructured. Unstructured tasks,
or tasks where the team and leader
have little knowledge of how to
achieve them, are viewed unfavorably.
 Leader's Position Power 
OThis is the amount of power you have
to direct ththe group, and provide
reward or punishment. The more
power you have, the more favorable
your situation. Fiedler identifies power
as being either strong or weak.
Path-Goal Theory of Leadership
O The Path-Goal Theory is a leadership theory
that was developed in the ’70s of the
last century by American management guru
and expert in the field of leadership in
various cultures, Robert J. House and
American organisational expert 
Terence R. Mitchell.
O In this theory, they assume that a leader
complements his employees and compensates for
their shortcomings. The task-oriented elements of
the Path-Goal Theory match situational leadership.
In the Path-Goal Theory of Leadership, effective
leaders give their employees, dubbed ‘followers’ by
House and Mitchell, a clear path they must follow to
achieve their goals. This type of supervision
removes pitfalls and barricades. The Path-Goal
Theory provides ways for leaders to encourage and
support their employees in achieving their goals.
That also includes rewards.
 Leadership Behaviour
O Motivation is an important component in leadership
and plays a significant role in the Path-Goal Theory of
Leadership. After all, it’s about how leaders can
motivate their employees in achieving their goals.
House and Mitchell posit that leaders can increase
motivation by rewarding their employees.
Additionally, they must clarify which path to choose
to work towards the goal and provide focus for their
employees by coaching them and keeping them on the
right track. This will only increase work enjoyment.
 4 Leadership Styles
O 1: Directive leadership
O In this leadership style, the leader knows
exactly what must be done, how tasks must
be performed and what the deadline is.
O 2: Supportive leadership
O the leader pays a lot of attention to the
needs and well-being of his employees.
O 3: Achievement-oriented leadership
O the leader sets challenging goals. He expects
achievements on the highest level from his
employees and trusts their ability to handle
this.
O 4: Participative leadership
O , the leader deems it very important to work
with his employees and include their ideas
and opinions in decisions.
 Hersey-Blanchard Situational
Leadership Theory
O Technical Details
O Author: Paul Hersey, professor and author
of the book Situational Leader, and Ken
Blanchard, leadership guru and author of
The One Minute Manager 
Classification: Contingency Theories
Year: 1970s and early 1980s
 Pro's
O The simplicity of the theory makes it easy
to apply.
O The theory has simple scales that a leader
can use to give a "thumb in the wind"
assessment of what leadership style to use.
O Maturity and competence of the group are
often overlooked factors in good leadership
and it helps to focus on these.
 Con's
O The theory may not be applicable to managers as
administrators or those with limited power but in
structurally in a leadership position.
O There are situations in which the theory may be
less applicable such as those involving time
constraints and task complexity.
O Testing of the theory doesn't seem to bear out the
predictions [1].
 Overview
O Situational Leadership Theory is really the short form for "Hersey-
Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory" and draws major views
from contingency thinking. As the name implies, leadership
depends upon each individual situation, and no single leadership
style can be considered the best. For Hershey and Blanchard, tasks
are different and each type of task requires a different leadership
style. A good leader will be able to adapt her or his leadership to
the goals or objectives to be accomplished. Goal setting, capacity
to assume responsibility, education, and experience are main
factors that make a leader successful. Not only is the leadership
style important for a successful leader-led situation but the ability
or maturity of those being led is a critical factor, as well.
Leadership techniques fall out of the leader pairing her or his
leadership style to the maturity level of the group.
The Hersey-Blanchard Situational
Leadership Theory has two
pillars:
O 1. Leadership style
O manifests itself as behavior related to the task and behavior
as to relationship with the group.
O Leadership styles stem from four basic behaviors, designated
with a letter-number combination:
O S-1 Telling
O S-2 Selling
O S-3 Participating
O S-4 Delegating.
O Telling" behavior simply is a
unidirectional flow of information from the
leader to the group.
O "selling" behavior, the leader attempts to
convince the group of that the leader
should lead by providing social and
emotional support to the individual being
convinced.
O"participating" behavior, the leader
shares decision making with the group,
making the system more democratic.
Odelegating" is reflected by parceling
out tasks to group members.
 Four maturity levels of the group
are posited by Hersey and
Blanchard with letter designations:

O M-1: basic incompetence or unwillingness in doing the

task
O M-2: inability to do the task but willing to do so
O M-3: competent to do the task but do not think they can
O M-4: the group is ready, willing, and able to do the task.
 Vroom Jago Leadership Model
O Vroom Jago leadership model uses decision trees and
tradeoffs for a arriving at a set of branched decisions. The
Vroom Jago leadership model relates leadership behavior
and participation to decision making. The model makes the
leader pose him/her a series of questions to which yes or
no would be the answer. After a series of questions about
the decision to be taken and the situation at hand, the
leader arrives at a conclusion where as to take a decision
all by himself/herself or to involve the group and if it
involves the group, to what extent. 
 Decision Styles
O Autocratic I (A1). The leader takes a
decision completely at his discretion
without the knowledge or consent of the
team members in this style of leadership.
O Autocratic II (A2). The leader takes a
decision based on the information that is
requested from the team members. 
 Substitutes for Leadership Theory
O is a leadership theory first developed by Steven Kerr and
John M. Jermier in 1978. The theory states that different
situational factors can enhance, neutralize, or substitute
for leader behaviors (Avolio, Walumbwa, & Weber, 2009;
Den Hartog & Koopman, 2001). It has received criticism
for shortcomings due to perceived methodological issues
(Dionne, Yammarino, Atwater, & James, 2002; Podsakoff
& Mackenzie, 1995). Empirical research has produced
mixed results as to its ability to predict subordinate
outcomes
THANK YOU!!!