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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
Contingency Theory
Chapter 6
LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
Overview
 Contingency Theory Approach Perspective
 Leadership Styles
 Situational Variables
 Research Findings of Leader Style Effectiveness
 How Does the Contingency Theory Approach Work?
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
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
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
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
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
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 Co-Worker (LPC) Scale
High LPCs = Relationship-motivated
Low LPCs = Task-motivated
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
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
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
Task Structure
 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
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
Task Structure continued
• 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
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
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
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
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
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
Situational Variables/3 Factors
 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
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
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Research Findings of Leader Style Effectiveness
LPC Score
Favorableness
of Situation
Definition
Very Favorable
Situations going smoothly
Very Unfavorable
Situations out of control
Low
Moderately
High
Favorable
Situations with some degree
of certainty; not completely
in or out of leader’s control
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
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
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
How Does the Contingency Theory Approach Work?
 Focus of Contingency Theory
 Strengths
 Criticisms
 Application
LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
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
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
How Does Contingency Theory Work?
Low LPCs –
Task-Oriented
Effective in Categories –
High LPCs –
Relationship-Oriented
Effective in Categories –
Middle
LPCs
Effective in Categories –
1, 2, 3, & 8
4, 5, 6, & 7
1, 2, & 3
 If individual’s style matches appropriate category in the model,
leader will be effective
 If individual’s style does not match appropriate category in the
model, leader will not be effective
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
How Does Contingency Theory 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.
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
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.
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
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.
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
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
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
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
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
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