CONTINGENCY THEORY

Descriptions:

-          It was introduced by Fred Fiedler in the late 1960’s

-          Contingency Theory is a class of behavioral theory that contends that there is no one best way of  leading and that a leadership style that is effective in some situations may not be successful in others. Hence, the effectiveness of leadership styles varies depending on the situation.

-          An effect of this is that leaders who are very effective at one place and time may become unsuccessful either when transplanted to another situation or when the factors around them change.

-          The leader’s ability to lead is contingent upon various situational factors, including the leader’s preferred style, the capabilities and behaviors of followers and also various other situational factors

-          Proponents of this theory believe that isn’t just having a skilled leader that leads to success, but rather it is having a leader who can solve the right problems in the right way

-          According to Fiedler. Leadership style will be effective or ineffective, dependent on the situation

-          He identified three aspects of a situation that structure the leader’s role:

·         Leader-Member relations

·         Task structure

·         Position power

-          Leader – Member relations is defined as the level of acceptance team players have towards their leaders

-          Task structures maybe defined as the level of job specificity among subordinates

-          Position power is described as the level of authority attributed to a leaders as result of his position within the organization.

Diagram:

Group Situation

Condition                Leader-Member                Task                         Position                    Leadership Style

                                Relations                           Structure                  Power                       Correlating with Productivity

       1                       Good                                 Structured                Strong                       Directive

       2                       Good                                 Structured                Weak                        Directive

       3                       Good                                 Unstructured            Strong                       Directive

       4                       Good                                 Unstructured            Weak                        Permissive

       5                       Moderately poor               Structured                Strong                       Permissive

       6                       Moderately poor               Structured                Weak                         No data

       7                       Moderately poor               Unstructured            Strong                       No relationship found

       8                       Moderately poor               Unstructured            Weak                        Directive

Discussions:

-          Given the critical conditions, Fiedler argues that one can predict the most productive leadership style

-          If the task is structured but the leader is disliked and therefore seeks the cooperation of the workers, the considerate, accepting leadership style probably will be most productive. When a disliked leader faces ambiguous task, a directive style is more productive. The most productive leadership style is contingent on the situational variables.

Applications:

-          Task Structure:

ü  Having clear instructions are very important to the team. Often it is very important for you as a leader to tell your team exactly what you need from them, and when you need it.

-          Leader-Member relations:

ü  To build a strong team, you have a great relationship with your followers by having effective communication skills, because it is the foundation of your leadership.

-          Position Power

ü  It is important that a leader first have that position, but if you want to become a real leader, you have to ‘qualify’ for that position before you’re followers will really look up to you as a leader. This means you have to have a good relationship with your followers.

Conclusions:

        Overly, Fielder was trying to say that leaders are not just successful or unsuccessful. Leaders can either be effective in certain situations and not all of them. Therefore, all individuals can become leaders if they choose the most appropriate situation to apply their leadership styles. Additionally, it is possible to make a leader more effective by altering the following; Position power, Task structure and Leader-Member relationships.

References:

Ann Marriner-Tomey ( 1996 ). Guide to Nursing Management and Leadership. Fifth edition. Pp. 270-271.

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