Contingency Theory Approach Leadership Salma Chad Ph D

Contingency Theory Approach Leadership Salma Chad, Ph. D

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 Leader-Member Relations · Task Structure ¸ Position Power ¶ Definition ¶ · ¸ 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 Leader. Member Relations Task Structure Good Poor High Low Structure Strong Weak Position Power Power Power 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Preferred Low LPCs Low Leadership High LPCs Middle LPCs Style

Research Findings of Leader Style Effectiveness LPC Score Low High Favorableness of Situation Definition Very Favorable Very Unfavorable Situations going smoothly Situations out of control Moderately Favorable 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? 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 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) 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