Leadership Contingency Theory and Situational Factors

Posted on Mar 3, 2025 in Business Administration and Management (BAM)

Definition of Leadership

Leadership is the attempted use of influence, without coercion, to motivate individuals to achieve a goal. A leader’s effectiveness is often measured based on the performance of one or a combination of goals.

Contingency Theory of Leadership (Fiedler)

This model posits that group performance depends on the interaction between leadership style and situational favorableness. There are two primary leadership styles:

  • Task-oriented: Individuals whose personality favors task completion are more likely to practice task-oriented leadership.
  • Relationship-oriented: Individuals who value warm and supportive relationships with others will likely exhibit relationship-oriented leadership.

The most important aspect of leadership is matching personalities and leadership styles to situations where they will be most effective.

Situational Factors

Fiedler proposed three factors that determine which style is more likely to be effective:

  1. Leader-Member Relations: This refers to the degree of confidence, trust, and respect that followers have in a leader. This variable reflects the leader’s situational acceptance. If followers willingly follow because of charisma, experience, or respect, the leader has less need to rely on task-oriented behavior; followers will voluntarily comply.
  2. Task Structure: This refers to the characteristics of the work to be done. Some of the most important characteristics include:
    1. The degree to which tasks and job duties are clearly established and known.
    2. The degree to which problems encountered can be solved by various procedures.
    3. The degree to which the correctness of solutions or decisions can be demonstrated by appeal to authority, logical procedures, or feedback.
    4. The degree to which there is usually more than one correct solution.
  3. Position Power: This refers to the power inherent in the leadership position. To determine the power of a leadership position, we ask questions such as:
    • Can the supervisor recommend rewards and punishments for subordinates?
    • Can the supervisor directly punish or reward subordinates?
    • Can the supervisor recommend the promotion or demotion of subordinates?

Changing Situations to Match the Leader

Fiedler recommended that organizations focus on changing situations to match their leaders rather than changing leaders to match situations. Leaders can also make changes that result in more favorable situations.

Criticisms of Fiedler’s Contingency Model
  1. Limited research to support it.
  2. Questionable measurement of preferred leadership style.
  3. The meaning of Fiedler’s presented variables is unclear.
  4. Fiedler’s theory can accommodate results that do not support it.

Delegation of Authority

The delegation of authority refers specifically to the authority to make decisions, not just to perform tasks.

Reasons to Decentralize Authority

Delegation of authority by senior management can lead to a competitive environment. Managers are motivated to compete, but these competitive environments may produce destructive behavior if one manager’s success comes at the expense of another. Conversely, it can also foster creativity, contributing to the organization’s capacity for adaptation and development.

Reasons to Centralize Authority

Training programs can be expensive, potentially offsetting the benefits. Many administrators are accustomed to making decisions and are reluctant to delegate authority. As a result, they may perform at lower levels of effectiveness because they believe that delegation implies a loss of control. Decentralization also incurs administrative costs. Finally, decentralization involves the duplication of functions, and some organizations find that the costs outweigh the benefits.