dubrinchapter058eppt-211229053929 (1)

Andrew J.
DuBrin, 8th Edition

Chapter 5
LEADERSHIP: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills

Contingency and
Situational Leadership
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanne
d, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a licens
Learning Objectives
ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

nse distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a passw
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scann
• Describe how the situation influences the choice of leadership
objectives.
• Present an overview of the contingency theory of leadership
effectiveness.
• Explain the path-goal theory of leadership effectiveness.
• Explain Situational Leadership® II (SLII).
• Use the normative decision model to determine the most
appropriate decision-making style in a given situation.
• Explain the basics of leadership during a crisis.
• Explain how evidence-based leadership can contribute to
contingency and situational leadership. 2
Chapter Outline
Situational Influences on

Leadership Behavior
• Situations can influence the leadership behavior or style a
leader emphasizes.
• This contingency approach to leadership implies leaders are

most effective when they make their behavior contingent on
situational forces, including group member characteristics and
the internal and external environment surrounding the
leadership situation.
4
Role of Situations in Leadership

• Research has shown the following regarding the role of
situations in leadership effectiveness:
• Organizational leadership is affected by situational factors not

always under control of the leader.
• Situations shape how leaders behave.
• Situations influence the consequences of how leaders behave.
• Organizational structure and design influence which approach to

leadership is likely to be most effective.
5
Leadership Situational Models

• Fiedler’s Contingency Theory
• House’s Path-Goal Theory
• Hersey & Blanchard’s Situational Leadership® (SL II)
• Vroom & Jago’s Normative Decision Model
• Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and Contingency Theory

6
Fiedler’s Contingency Theory

• The basic idea is simple:
• Match the leader’s style with the situation most favorable for
his/her success.
• The theory was designed to enable leaders to diagnose both

leadership style and organizational situations.
• Leadership style may be relationship- or task-motivated.

• Leadership style is relatively enduring and difficult to change.
• Leaders are regarded as having a consistent style of task or
relationship orientation.
7
Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) Scale

• The LPC scale measures the degree to which a leader
describes favorably or unfavorably an employee with
whom he or she could work least well.
• Not the coworker the leader LIKED least, but the one
the leader had the most difficulty getting a job done
with.
• Relationship-motivated leaders tend to describe their

LPC in favorable terms.
• Task-motivated leaders tend to describe their LPC in 8

unfavorable terms.
Measuring the Leadership

Situation
• Leadership situations are classified as High, Moderate, or
Low control.
• More controllable situations are viewed as more

favorable for the leader.
• Control is determined by three dimensions:

• Leader-Member Relations
• Task Structure
• Position Power 9
Summary of Findings From
Fiedler’s Contingency Theory
10

Evaluating Fiedler’s Theory

• Fiedler’s work did prompt others to conduct studies about the
contingency nature of leadership.
• Fiedler’s model/theory did alert leaders to the importance of

sizing up the situation when working to gain control.
• Fiedler pioneered taking into account both traits and situation

to understand leadership.
• However, Fiedler’s Contingency Theory is too complicated to

have much of an impact on the majority of leaders. 11
Path-Goal Theory

• Developed by Robert House
• Specifies what a leader must do to achieve high productivity

and morale in a given situation.
• In general, the theory says a leader who attempts to “clear the

path” to a goal for a group member tends to find the group
member’s job satisfaction and performance increase.
• A leader should choose a leadership style that takes into account
the group member characteristics and the task demands.
• The theory is based on the Expectancy Theory of Motivation. 12

Path-Goal Theory
13

Using Path-Goal Theory to Match

Leadership Style to Situations
• DIRECTIVE
• Tasks are unclear
• SUPPORTIVE
• Tasks are frustrating and stressful, plus group members are
apprehensive
• PARTICIPATIVE
• Tasks are non-repetitive and group members are capable and
motivated
• ACHIEVEMENT-ORIENTED
• Tasks are unique or entrepreneurial and group members are
competent and committed
14
Evaluating Path-Goal Theory

• The basic tenets of the theory are on target.
• Any comprehensive theory of leadership must include the idea

that a leader’s actions have a major impact on the motivation
and satisfaction of group members.
• The theory, however, has never attracted much interest from

leaders or managers because of its complexities.
15
Situational Leadership (SLII) ®

• Developed by Kenneth Blanchard and colleagues.
• Primary focus is on the characteristics of group members and

matching leadership style to those characteristics.
• SLII is designed to increase the frequency and quality of

conversations about performance and professional development
between leaders and group members so that:
• Competence is developed.
• Commitment takes place.
• Turnover among talented group members is reduced.
16
• SLII is particularly applicable to front-line leaders, such as
supervisors and team leaders.
Basics of SLII
between a leader and a group member on a given task.

• The basis for effective leadership is managing the relationship
17

Basics of SLII

• Effective leadership depends on two independent behaviors:
• Supporting Behaviors
• Listening
• Giving Recognition
• Communicating
• Encouraging
• Coaching
• Directing Behaviors
• Giving Explicit Directions
• Controlling
• Supervising
• Ruling
• Regulating 18
Evaluating SLII

• Represents a consensus of thinking about leadership behavior in
relation to group members.
• No one style is best.
• An effective leader uses all styles, depending on the situation and the
individual group member.
• Applying SLII consistently is challenging because leaders must “stay

tuned” and tasks shift rapidly.
• However, the model has become a basis for leadership training as the 19
model builds on other explanations of leadership that emphasize the
role of task and relationship behaviors.
Normative Decision Model

• Leaders must choose a style that elicits the correct degree of
group participation when making decisions.
• Views leadership as a decision-making process where the

leader examines the elements involved in the situation in
order to determine the most effective decision-making style.
• Model includes:
• Five decision-making styles
• Seven situational factors
20
Decision-Making Styles

What differs is the degree of group member participation
• Decide
• Leader makes the decision alone and announces it
• Consult (Individually)
• Leader works with all group members individually to gather their
suggestions and makes the decision alone
• Consult (Group)
• Leader works with group members as a group in a meeting, gathers
their suggestions, and makes the decision alone
• Facilitate
• Leader presents problem to group, facilitates discussion, gathers input,
and makes sure not to favor his or her individual decision
• Delegate
• Leader permits group members to make the decision, works behind 21
the scenes, and does set limits but allows group members to work
autonomously
Contingency/Situational

Factors
• Decision Significance to the success of a project or the
organization
• Importance of Commitment of the team to the decision
• Leader Expertise and knowledge in relation to the problem
• Likelihood of Commitment of the team to a decision if the
leader makes the decision on his/her own
• Group Support of the team in relation to the organization’s
objectives at stake in the problem
• Group Expertise of the team members in relation to the
problem
• Team Competence of the team members ability to work 22
together in solving problems
Evaluating the Normative

Decision Model
• Has been shown to lead to increased decision-making
effectiveness.
• Leaders who consistently use the model are typically seen to
be more effective leaders in that they have increased the
effectiveness of their decision making.
• Prompts leaders to reflect on whether a group or unilateral
decision is best based on the issue.
• Assessing the situational factors can be challenging and

typically relies on intuition and distorted thinking.
• Applying the model in its true form is complicated and time 23
consuming.
Leader-Member Exchange

(LMX)
• Another perspective on the contingency approach.
• Leaders who adapt their style to different individuals within

the group, or have different quality relationships with
individual group members, are essentially practicing
contingency leadership.
24
LMX Conclusions

• Leaders tend to give members of their in-group more favorable performance
ratings than they give to out-group members, even when objective
performance is the same.
• Leaders do not always develop entirely different relationships with each group
member, but may respond the same way to a few members of the group.
• Larger groups tend to result in differences with respect to leader-member

exchanges.
• Managers are more likely to use servant leadership in groups with whom the
leader has high-quality exchanges.
• Leaders are more likely to use empowerment with group members with whom
they have high-quality exchanges.
25
• LMX quality median influences how leader-member exchanges and
differentiation affect team performance.
Leadership During a Crisis

• Crisis leadership is the process of leading group members
through a sudden and largely unanticipated, intensely
negative, and emotionally draining circumstance.
• Be decisive
• Lead with compassion
• Thinks strategically (see the big picture)
• Reestablish the usual work routine
• Avoid a circle-the-wagons mentality
• Display optimism
• Prevent the crisis through disaster planning
• Provide stable performance
26
• Be a transformational leader
Evidence-Based Leadership

• Before taking action, a leader asks “What does the research
literature tell me is most likely to work in this situation?”
• Leaders translate principles based on best evidence into

organizational practices.
• While evidence-based leadership and management is not yet

widely practiced, taking the study of leadership and
management seriously will move managers and organizations
toward basing their practices and decisions on valid evidence.
27
Summary

• Leaders are more effective when they make their behavior
contingent upon situational factors.
• Situations shape how leaders behave, and they also influence
the consequences of leader behavior.
• Fiedler’s contingency theory proposes the best style of
leadership is determined by situational factors including
leader-member relations, task structure, and position power.
• The path-goal theory of leadership effectiveness specifies the
best leadership style based on the characteristics of the group
members and the tasks.
• The SLII model explains how to match leadership style to the
readiness of group members.
28
Summary - Continued

• The normative decision model explains leadership as a
decision-making process.
• The LMX model indicates leaders who adapt their style to
different individuals within the group, or who have different
quality relationships with individual group members, are
essentially practicing contingency leadership.
• Leading through a crisis is a form of contingency leadership.
• Leaders applying evidence and research to their behaviors and
practices are using evidence-based leadership.
29

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Andrew J.

DuBrin, 8th Edition

LEADERSHIP: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

• This contingency approach to leadership implies leaders are

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

• Organizational leadership is affected by situational factors not

• Situations shape how leaders behave.

• Situations influence the consequences of how leaders behave.

• Organizational structure and design influence which approach to

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

• House’s Path-Goal Theory

• Hersey & Blanchard’s Situational Leadership® (SL II)

• Vroom & Jago’s Normative Decision Model

• Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and Contingency Theory

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

• The theory was designed to enable leaders to diagnose both

• Leadership style may be relationship- or task-motivated.

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

• Relationship-motivated leaders tend to describe their

• Task-motivated leaders tend to describe their LPC in 8

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

• More controllable situations are viewed as more

• Control is determined by three dimensions:

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

• Fiedler’s model/theory did alert leaders to the importance of

• Fiedler pioneered taking into account both traits and situation

• However, Fiedler’s Contingency Theory is too complicated to

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

• Specifies what a leader must do to achieve high productivity

• In general, the theory says a leader who attempts to “clear the

• The theory is based on the Expectancy Theory of Motivation. 12

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

• Any comprehensive theory of leadership must include the idea

• The theory, however, has never attracted much interest from

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

• Primary focus is on the characteristics of group members and

• SLII is designed to increase the frequency and quality of

between a leader and a group member on a given task.

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

• No one style is best.

• Applying SLII consistently is challenging because leaders must “stay

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

• Views leadership as a decision-making process where the

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

• Assessing the situational factors can be challenging and

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

• Leaders who adapt their style to different individuals within

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

• Larger groups tend to result in differences with respect to leader-member

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice

ed, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a lice