Transcript No Slide Title

Contingency Theory Approach
Leadership
Salma Chad, PhD
Overview
•
Contingency Theory Approach Perspective
•
Leadership Styles
•
Situational Variables
•
Research Findings of Leader Style Effectiveness
•
How Does the Contingency Theory Approach Work?
Contingency Theory Approach
Description
“Leaders match their style to the competence and
commitment of subordinates.”
Perspective



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 et al.’s generalizations
about which styles of
leadership are best and worst
are empirically grounded
Definition
• Effective leadership is
contingent on
matching a leader’s
style to the right
setting
Leadership Styles
Definition

Leadership styles are
described as:


Task motivated
Relationship
motivated
Dimension Definitions


Task-motivated leaders Concerned primarily with
reaching a goal
Relationship-motivated
leaders - Concerned with
developing close
interpersonal relationships
Leader Style Measurement Scale
Least Preferred Co-Worker (LPC) Scale
High = Relationship-motivated leader
Low = Task-motivated leader
Situational Variables
Situational
Factors

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Leader-Member
Relations
Task Structure
Position Power
Definition


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Determine
Favorableness
of Situations
in Organizations
LMR - Refers to the group
atmosphere and the degree of
confidence, loyalty, and attraction
of followers for leader
TS - Concerns the degree to
which requirements of a task are
clear and spelled out
PP - Designates the amount of
authority a leader has to reward or
punish followers
Contingency Model
LeaderMember
Relations
Task
Structure
High
Low
High
Low
Structure Structure Structure Structure
Strong Weak Strong Weak Strong Weak Strong
Weak
Position
Power Power Power Power Power Power Power Power
Power
Preferred
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Low LPCs
Low
Leadership
High LPCs
Middle LPCs
LPCs
Style
Research Findings of Leader Style
Effectiveness
Favorableness
of Situation
Definition
Low
Very Favorable
Very Unfavorable
Situations going smoothly
Situations out of control
High
Moderately
Favorable
LPC Score
Situations with some degree
of certainty; not completely
in or out of leader’s control
Reasons for leader mismatch ineffectiveness:
 LPC style doesn’t match a particular situation; stress and anxiety result
 Under stress, leader reverts to less mature coping style learned in
earlier development
 Leader’s less mature coping style results in poor decision making
and consequently negative work outcomes
How Does the
Contingency Theory
Approach Work?
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•
•
•
Focus of Contingency Theory Approach
Strengths
Criticisms
Application
Contingency Theory Approach
Focus


Overall Scope
By assessing the 3
 By measuring Leader’s
situational variables, any
LPC score and the 3
organizational context can
situational variables, it is
be placed in one of the 8
possible to predict
categories represented in
whether a leader will be
the Contingency Theory
effective in a particular
Model
setting
After the nature of a
situation is determined, the
fit between leader’s style
and the situation can be
evaluated
Strengths

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Empirical support. Contingency theory has been tested by many
researchers and found to be a valid and reliable approach to explaining how to
achieve effective leadership.
Broadened understanding. Contingency theory has broadened the scope of
leadership understanding from a focus on a single, best type of leadership (e.g.,
trait approach) to emphasizing the importance of a leader’s style and the
demands of different situations.
Predictive. Because Contingency theory is predictive, it provides relevant
information regarding the type of leadership that is most likely to be effective
in particular contexts.
Not an all-or-nothing approach. Contingency theory contends that leaders
should not expect to be effective in every situation; thus companies should
strive to place leaders in optimal situations according to their leadership style.
Leadership profiles. Contingency theory supplies data on leadership styles
that could be useful to organizations in developing leadership profiles for
human resource planning.
Criticisms

Fails to fully explain why leaders with particular
leadership styles are more effective in some
situations than others (Black Box problem)

Criticism of LPC scale validity as it does not
correlate well with other standard leadership
measures

Cumbersome to use in real-world settings

Fails to adequately explain what should be done
about a leader/situation mismatch in the workplace
Application


Useful in answering a multitude
of questions about the
leadership of individuals in
various types of organizations
Helpful tool to assist upper
management in making changes
to lower level positions to
ensure a good fit between an
existing manager and a certain
work context