Lecture Leadership - Theory and practice: Chapter 6 - Contingency theory

Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

Leadership
Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory
Northouse, 4th edition
 


Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

Overview
 Contingency Theory Approach Perspective
 Leadership Styles
 Situational Variables
 Research Findings of Leader Style Effectiveness

 How Does the Contingency Theory Approach Work?

 


Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

Contingency Theory Approach Description
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’s generalizations about which styles
of leadership are best and worst are based
on empirically grounded generalizations
 


Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

Contingency Theory Approach Description
Definition

Effective leadership is contingent on 
matching a leader’s style to the right 
setting
 Assessment based on:
– Leadership Styles
– Situational Variables
 


Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

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 Co­Worker (LPC) Scale
High LPCs  =  Relationship­motivated 
Low LPCs   =  Task­motivated 
 


Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

Situational Variables/3 Factors
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
 


Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

Situational Variables/3 Factors
Task Structure
– Concerns 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
 


Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

Situational Variables/3 Factors
Task Structure, cont’d.
– Concerns the degree to which
requirements of a task are clear and
spelled out
 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
 

Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

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
 


Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

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
 


Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

Situational Variables/3 Factors
3 Factors - determine the favorableness of
various situations in organizations
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
 


Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

Contingency Model

 


Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

Research Findings of Leader Style
Effectiveness
LPC Score
Low
High

Favorableness
of Situation

Definition

Very Favorable
Situations going smoothly
Very Unfavorable Situations out of control
Moderately
Favorable

 

Situations with some degree
of certainty; not completely
in or out of leader’s control


Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

Research Findings of Leader Style
Effectiveness
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
 

Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

How Does the Contingency
Theory Approach Work?
 Focus of Contingency Theory
 Strengths
 Criticisms
 Application
 


Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

Contingency Theory Approach
Focus
 By assessing the 3 situational variables, any
organizational context can be placed in one of the 8
categories represented in the Contingency Theory Model
 After the nature of a situation is determined, the fit
between leader’s style and the situation can be
evaluated
Overall Scope
 By measuring Leader’s LPC score and the 3 situational
variables, it is possible to predict whether a leader will be
effective in a particular setting
 

Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

How Does Contingency Theory Work?
Low LPCs –
Task-Oriented

Effective in Categories –
1, 2, 3, & 8

High LPCs –
Relationship-Oriented

Effective in Categories –
4, 5, 6, & 7

Middle LPCs

Effective in Categories –
1, 2, & 3

 If individuals style matches appropriate category in the
model, leader will be effective
 If individuals style does not match appropriate category in
the model, leader will not be effective
 


Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

How Does Contingency Theory Work?

How Does it Work?
Example:
Situation
Leader–Member Relation – Good
Task Structure – High
Position Power – High
Category – 1
Low LPC – (Individual who is task-oriented will be
effective)
By measuring Leader’s LPC score and the 3 situational variables, it is
possible to predict whether a leader will be effective in a particular setting

 


Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

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.

 


Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

Strengths
 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.
 


Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

Criticisms
 Fails to fully explain why leaders with particular
leadership styles are more effective in some
situations than others
 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
 


Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

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