Contingency Approach to Leadership

Contingency Theory Approach Contingency theory is a leader-match theory (Fiedler & Chemers, 1974) – Tries to match leaders to appropriate situations Leader’s effectiveness depends on how well the leader’s style fits the context Fiedler’s generalizations about which styles of leadership are best and worst are based on empirically grounded generalizations

Contingency Theory Approach Effective leadership is contingent on matching a leader’s style to the right setting Assessment Based On: – Leadership Styles – Situational Variables

Leadership Styles Leadership styles are described as: Task-motivated (Low LPCs) – Leaders are concerned primarily with reaching a goal Relationship-motivated (High LPCs) – Leaders are concerned with developing close interpersonal relationships Leader Style Measurement Scale (Fiedler) Least Preferred Co-Worker (LPC) Scale High LPCs = Relationship-motivated Low LPCs = Task-motivated

Leader-Member Relations Refers to the group atmosphere and the degree of confidence, loyalty, and attraction of followers for leader  Group atmosphere – Good – high degree of subordinate trust, liking, positive relationship Poor – little or no subordinate trust, friction exists, unfriendly

Task Structure The degree to which requirements of a task are clear and spelled out High Structure – – requirements/rules - are clearly stated/known – path to accomplish - has few alternatives – task completion - can be clearly demonstrated – limited number - correct solutions exist

Task Structure continued Low Structure – – requirements/rules - not clearly stated/known – path to accomplish - has many alternatives – task completion - cannot be clearly demonstrated/verified – unlimited number - correct solutions exist

Situational Variables/3 Factors Position Power – Designates the amount of authority a leader has to reward or punish followers Strong Power – – authority to hire or fire, give raises in rank or pay Weak Power – – no authority to hire or fire, give raises in rank or pay

Situational Variables/3 Factors 3 Factors - determine the favorableness of various situations in organizations Situations that are rated: – Most Favorable - good leader-follower relations, defined tasks (high structure), & strong leader position power

Situational Variables/3 Factors Situations that are rated: – Least Favorable - poor leader-follower relations, unstructured tasks (low structure), & weak leader position power – Moderately Favorable – fall in between these extremes