Contingent Theories of Leadership

8/3/2019 Contingent Theories of Leadership

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Leadership Theories

Contingency Theories

Fiedler Model (by Fred Fiedler)

Leader-member relations

the degree of confidence, trust, and respectemployees had for their leader.

Task structure

the degree to which job assignments wereformalized and procedurized.

Position power the degree of influence a leader had over power-

based activities such as hiring, firing, discipline,promotions, and salary increases.


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Conclusion

task-oriented leaders performed better in very favorablesituations and in very unfavorable situations.

relationship-oriented leaders performed better inmoderately favorable situations.

Only two ways to improve leader effectiveness First, you could bring in a new leader whose style better fit

the situation. (replacement of relationship-oriented leaderby task-oriented leader)

Second, change the situation to fit the leader. (relationship-oriented into task-oriented by restructuring tasks orincreasing or decreasing the power that the leader hadover factors such as salary increases, promotion, anddisciplinary actions)


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Situational Leadership Theory (by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard)

Situational Leadership Theory (SLT) focuses on followersreadiness.

The emphasis on the followers in leadership effectivenessreflects the reality that it isthe followers who accept or

reject the leader.

Regardless of what the leader does, effectivenessdepends on the actions of his or her followers.

This is an important dimension that has been overlookedor underemphasized in most leadership theories.

Readiness refers to the extent to which people have theability and willingness to accomplish a specific task.


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SLT uses the same two leadership dimensions thatFiedler identified: task and relationship behaviours.

A step further by considering each as either high orlow and then combining them into four specificleadership styles:

Telling(high task-low relationship): The leader defines

roles and tells people what, how, when, and where to dovarious tasks.

Selling(high task-high relationship): The leader providesboth directive and supportive behaviour.

Participating(low task-high relationship): The leader andfollower share in decision making; the main role of theleader is facilitating and communicating.

Delegating(low task-low relationship): The leader provideslittle direction or support.


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The SLT says if followers are unableand unwillingto do a task, the

leader needs to give clear and specific directions;

if followers are unableand willing, the leader needs todisplay high task orientation to compensate for thefollowers lack of ability and high relationship orientation

to get followers to buy into the leaders desires;

if followers are ableand unwilling, the leader needs touse a supportive and participative style; and

if employees are both ableand willing, the leaderdoesnt need to do much.


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Leader Participation Model (by Victor Vroom and Phillip Yetton)

Relates leadership behaviour and participation in decisionmaking.

Leader behaviour must adjust to reflect the task structure

whether it was routine, non-routine, or in between.

The model has changed as research continues to provideadditional insights into effective leadership style.

A current model reflects howand with whomdecisions are made and

uses variations of the same five leadership styles identified in the originalmodel.


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Leadership Styles in the Vroom Leader Participation Model (original)

Decide:Leader makes the decision alone and eitherannounces or sells it to group.

Consult Individually:Leader presents the problem togroup members individually, gets their suggestions, and

then makes the decision. Consult Group:Leader presents the problem to group

members in a meeting, gets their suggestions, and themmakes the decision.

Facilitate:Leader presents the problem to the group in ameeting and, acting as facilitator, defines the problem andthe boundaries within a decision must be made.

Delegate:Leader permits the group to make the decisionwithin prescribed limits.


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It also expands upon the decision-makingcontingencies leaders look at in determining whatleadership style would be most effective.

These contingencies - decision significance,importance of commitment, leader expertise,likelihood of commitment, group support, groupexpertise, and team competence are either

present or absent.

The current leader participation model

the Time-Driven Model, is short-term in its orientation and

concerned with making effective decisions with minimumcost.

the Development-Driven Model emphasizes makingeffective decisions with maximum employee developmentoutcomes and places no value on time.


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Path-Goal Model (by Robert House)

One of the most respected approaches tounderstanding leadership.

The path-goal theory states that its the leadersjob to assist his or her followers in attaining theirgoals and to provide the direction or supportneeded to ensure that their goals are compatiblewith the overall objectives of the group ororganization.

The term path-goalis derived from the belief thateffective leaders clarify the path to help theirfollowers get from where they are to theachievement of their work goals and make the

journey along the path easier by reducingroadbacks and pitfalls.


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House identified four leadership behaviours: Directive leader:Lets subordinates know whats expected

of them, schedules work to be done, and gives specificguidance on how to accomplish tasks.

Supportive leader:Is friendly and shows concern for theneeds of followers.

Participative leader:Consults with group members anduses their suggestions before making a decision.

Achievement-oriented leader:Sets challenging goals andexpects followers to perform at their highest level.

Path-goal theory assumes that the same leader can

display any or all of these leadership styles

depending on the situation.


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Leader Behaviour

DirectiveSupportiveParticipative

Achievement Oriented

Subordinate ContingencyFactors

Locus of ControlExperience

Perceived Ability

Outcomes

Performance Satisfaction

Environment ContingencyFactors

Task StructureFormal Authority SystemWork Group


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Some predictions from path-goal theory are:

Directive leadership leads to greater satisfaction

when tasks are ambiguous or stressful than whenthey are highly structured and well laid out.

Supportive leadership results in high employeeperformance and satisfaction when subordinatesare performing structured tasks.

Directive leadership is likely to be perceived asredundant among subordinates with high perceived

ability or with considerable experience. The clearer and more bureaucratic the formal

authority relationships, the more leaders shouldexhibit supportive behaviour and deemphasize

directive behaviour.


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Directive leadership will lead to higher employee

satisfaction when there is substantive conflictwithin a work group.

Subordinates with an internal locus of control willbe more satisfied with a participative style.

Subordinates with an external locus of control willbe more satisfied with directive style. Achievement-oriented leadership will increase

subordinates expectancies that effort will lead tohigh performance when tasks are ambiguouslystructured.


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Cutting-Edge Approaches to Leadership

Latest views of leadership in organizationsThree contemporary approaches to leadership

1. Transformational-Transactional Leadership

Transactional leaders Leaders who guide ormotivate their followers in the direction ofestablished goals by clarifying role and taskrequirement.

Transformational leaders Leaders who provideindividualized consideration and intellectual

stimulation, and who possess charisma.


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2. Charismatic-Visionary Leadership

Charismatic leader An enthusiastic, self-confidentleader whose personality and actions influencepeople to behave in certain ways.

The most comprehensive analysis identifiedfive personal characteristics of a charismaticleader that differentiate charismatic leadersform non-charismatic ones:

They have vision

They are able to articulate that vision

They are willing to take risks to achieve that vision

They are sensitive to both environmental constraintsand followers needs, and

They exhibit behaviours that are out of the ordinary.


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2. Charismatic-Visionary Leadership

Visionary leadership The ability to create andarticulate a realistic, credible, and attractivevision of the future that improves upon thepresent situation.

Visionis often linked with charismatic leadership.

A vision should offer clear and compellingimagery that taps into peoples emotions and

inspires enthusiasm to pursue the organizations

goals.

It should be able to generate possibilities that areinspirational and unique and offer new ways ofdoing things that are clearly better for the

organization and its members.


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Visions that are clearly articulated and havepowerful imagery are easily grasped andaccepted.

Once vision is identified, these leaders appear tohave three qualities that are related to effectives

in their visionary roles: First is the ability to explain the vision to othersby

making the vision clear in terms of required goals andactions through clear oral and written communication.

The second skill is the ability to express the vision notjust verbally but through behaviour, which requiresbehaving in ways that continually covey and reinforcethe vision.

The third skill visionary leaders need is the ability toextend or apply the vision to different leadershipcontexts.


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3. Team LeadershipThe challenge for many managers is learninghow to become an effective team leader.

They have to learn skills such as having the patience to share information, being able to trust others and to give up

authority, and understanding when to intervene.


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A more meaningful way to describe the team leadersjob is to focus on two priorities:

(1) managing the teams external boundary and

(2) facilitating the team process.

These priorities entail four specific leadership roles:

Coach

Team Leader RolesConflict Manager Troubleshooter

Liaison withExternal

Constituencies

Team Leader


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Issues Governing Leadership

Organizations need effective leaders.Two issues pertinent to becoming an effective

leader are leader training and recognizing thatsometimes being an effective leader means

notleading.

Leader Training Some people dont have what it takes to be a

leader. For instance, evidence indicates that leadership

training is more likely to be successful withindividuals who are high self-monitors than with lowself-monitors.

Such individuals have the flexibility to change theirbehaviour as different situations may require.


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Organizations may find that individuals with higher

levels of a trait called motivation to lead are morereceptive to leadership development opportunities. It may be a bit optimistic to think that vision-creation

can be taught, but implementation skills can betaught.

People can be trained to develop an understandingabout content themes critical to effective visions.

Skills for trust building and mentoring can also betaught.

Leaders can be taught situational analysis skills.They can learn how to evaluate situations, how to modify situations to make them fit better with their

style, and

how to assess which leader behaviours might be mosteffective in given situations.

Sometimes Leadership is Irrelevant


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Sometimes Leadership is Irrelevant Leadership may not always be important! Certain individual, job, and organizational variables

can act as substitutes for leadership, negating theinfluence of the leaders.

For instance, follower characteristics such asexperience, training, professional orientation, orneed for independence can neutralize the effect of

leadership. These characteristics can replace the employees

need for a leaders support or ability to createstructure and reduce task ambiguity.

Contingent Theories of Leadership

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