Leadership 201

Foundations of Leadership Studies

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Theoretical Perspectives on Leadership:
The Contingency/Situational Approaches

Contingency
Model

Path–Goal Situational
Theory Theory

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 Where Are We Now?

▼ Trait theories
▼ Behavioral theories
▼ Situational/contingency theories
– Fiedler's Contingency Model
– Path-Goal Theory
– Hersey-Blanchard Situational Theory (next
class)

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Fiedler's Contingency Theory of Leadership

▼ Leader Effectiveness = f (leader style, situation

favorability)

– Group performance is a result of

interaction of two factors.
• Leadership style
• Situational favorableness

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 Leadership Style

▼ Leadership Style
– This is the consistent system of
interactions that takes place between a
leader and work group.

– An individual's leadership style depends

upon his or her personality and is, thus,
fixed

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 Least Preferred Coworker (LPC)

▼ The least-preferred coworker (LPC) scale classifies

leadership styles.
– Describe the one person with whom he or she
worked the least well with.
– From a scale of 1 through 8, describe this person
on a series of bipolar scales:

Unfriendly 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Friendly
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

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 Leadership Styles
Relationship oriented:
A high LPC score suggests that the leader has a human
relations orientation

Task oriented:
A low LPC score indicates a task orientation.

Fiedler's logic:
Individuals who rate their least preferred coworker in a
favorable light derive satisfaction out of interpersonal
relationship; those who rate the coworker unfavorably
get satisfaction out of successful task performance

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 Situation Favorability

▼ Situation Favorability
– The degree a situation enables a leader to
exert influence over a group
– The focus is on three key situational factors
• Leader-member relations
• Task structure
• Position power

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 Situation Favorability

1. Leader-member relations:
The degree to which the employees accept the leader

2. Task structure:
The degree to which the subordinates jobs are
described in detail

3. Position power:
The amount of formal authority the leader possesses
by virtue of his or her position in the organization.

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 When to Use Which Style??

Contingency Model
Leader-Member
Good Poor
Relations

Task Structure High Low High Low

Strong Weak Strong Weak Strong Weak Strong Weak

Position
Power

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Preferred
Low
Leadership Low LPCs High LPCs LPCs
Style
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Fielder’s Contingency Model

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 Implications

▼ 1. The favorableness of leadership situations should be

assessed
▼ 2. Candidates for leadership positions should be evaluated
using the LPC scale
▼ 3. If a leader is being sought for a particular leadership
position, a leader with the appropriate LPC profile should be
chosen
▼ 4. If a leadership situation is being chosen for a particular
candidate, a situation should be chosen which matches
his/her LPC profile

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 House & Mitchell’s Path–Goal Theory
Leadership style is effective on the basis of
how successfully leaders support their
subordinates’ perceptions of:

 Goals that need to be achieved

 Rewards for successful performance
 Behaviors that lead to successful performance

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 House & Mitchell’s Path–Goal Theory

Leaders can influence subordinates’ motivation by:

1. Teaching employees competencies needed

2. Tailoring rewards to meet employees’ needs

3. Acting to support subordinates’ efforts

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 Assumptions of Path–Goal Theory

1. A leader’s behavior is acceptable and satisfying

to subordinates to the extent that they view it as
either an immediate source of satisfaction
or as an instrument to some future satisfaction.

2. A leader’s behavior will increase subordinates’

efforts if it links satisfaction of their needs to
effective performance and supports their
efforts to achieve goals.

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Path–Goal Theory Leadership Behavior

Instrumental behavior
(task-oriented)

Supportive behavior
(employee-oriented)

Participative behavior
(employee-oriented)

Achievement-oriented behavior
(employee-oriented)

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Path–Goal Theory Situational Factors

Personal characteristics of subordinates

Work environment

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Path–Goal Theory Situational Factors

Personal Characteristics of Subordinates

Abilities

Personal Needs
Self-Confidence
and Motivations

Perception of
Leaders

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Path–Goal Theory Situational Factors

Work Environment

Culture and Management Exercise of

Subculture Philosophy Power

Policies Structure
and Rules of Tasks

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 Choosing a Leadership Style

▼ Leaders need to choose a leadership style that

best fits the needs of subordinates and the task
they are doing.

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 Path-Goal Theory

L e a de r B e h av io rs
D irective, S upportiv e
P articipative, A ch ievem ent O riente d

S u b ord in a te C h ara c teris tics

T a s k C h ara c te ris tics

Subordinates Motivation Goals/Productivity

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 Applying Fiedler’s Contingency Theory

▼ Fill out the LPC

– Determine whether you are task or
relationship oriented.
▼ Think of a leadership situation in which you were
not optimally effective and/or one in which you
excelled
– Evaluate the situation(s)
– Does your experience support Fiedler’s
theory?

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 Contingency theory: Strengths

▼ Supported by a lot of empirical research

▼ Looks at the impact of the situation on leaders
▼ It is predictive
▼ It does not require that people be effective in all
situations
▼ It provides a way to assess leader style that
could be useful to an organization

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 Contingency Theory: Weaknesses

▼ Black box: Why?

▼ There is some doubt whether the LPC is a true
measure of leadership style
▼ It is cumbersome to use
▼ Doesn't explain what to do when there is a
mismatch between style and situation
▼ Other situational variables, like training and
experience, have an impact in a leader's
effectiveness

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 Path Goal Theory: Strengths

▼ It specifies four conceptually distinct varieties of

leadership
▼ Explains how task and subordinate
characteristics affect the impact of leadership
▼ The framework provided in path-goal theory
informs leaders about how to choose an
appropriate leadership style.
▼ It attempts to integrate the motivation principles
into a theory of leadership.
▼ Provides a practical model

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 Path Goal Theory: Weaknesses

▼ It is very complex.
▼ It has received only partial support from the
many empirical research studies that have been
conducted to test its validity.
▼ It fails to explain the relationship between
leadership behavior and worker motivation.
▼ This approach treats leadership as a one-way
event-the leader affects the subordinate.

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