Contingency Theory Chapter 6

Contingency Theory Approach Description Perspective Fielder’s contingency theory is a leader-match theory It tries to match leaders to appropriate situations Leader’s effectiveness depends on how well the leader’s style fits the context Fiedler’s recommendations about best styles of leadership are based on empirically grounded generalizations Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Contingency Theory Approach Overview Effective leadership is contingent on matching a leader to the setting based on his or her style. Assessment Based On: Leadership Style (a personality trait) Situational Variables (fairly constant) Leader-Member Relations Task Structure Position Power Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Leadership Style (1 dimensional in this model) Leader Style Measurement Scale (Fiedler) Least Preferred Co-Worker (LPC) Scale High LPCs = Relationship-motivated Low LPCs = Task-motivated Leadership style (two ends of the spectrum): Task-motivated (Low LPCs) Their primary goal is task success. Relationship-motivated (High LPCs) Their primary goal is relationship success. Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Favorableness of the Situation 3 Factors determine the favorableness of various situations in organizations Situations are rated: Most Favorable good leader-follower relations defined tasks (high structure) strong leader position power => Employees love you, know exactly what do and want to obey you Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Combining the Situational Variables Situations that are classified as: Least Favorable (Employees hate you, don’t know what to do, and don’t have to obey you) poor leader-follower relations, unstructured tasks (low structure), & weak leader position power Moderately Favorable – fall in between these extremes Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Research Findings of Leader Style Effectiveness LPC Score of most appropriate leader Favorableness of Situation Very Favorable Very Unfavorable Situations going smoothly Situations out of control Low Moderately Favorable Situations with some degree of certainty; not completely in or out of leader’s control High Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Helps leaders realize that they be in the wrong position. Strengths Empirical support. Contingency theory has been tested by many researchers. It generally works. Places the emphasis on the demands of different situations. Helps leaders realize that they be in the wrong position. They can’t be effective in every situation. Companies should strive to place leaders in optimal situations according to their leadership style. Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Criticisms LPC is an indirect measure of personality. It varies from situation to situation and it is not clear what it is measuring. More useful in the hiring process than once the leader is in a position. Not useful if the favorableness of the context changes more often than the leadership. Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.