Fiedler's Contingency Theory of Leadership

Introduction

• Developed by Fred Fiedler in the 1960s.
• Highlights the importance of matching leadership style with situational demands.
• Suggests a leader can be effective in one scenario but not in another.
• Proposes leaders have a single stable behavior.

Key Concepts

• Leadership Style: Determined using the Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) scale.
  • High LPC Score: Relationship-oriented leader.
  • Low LPC Score: Task-oriented leader.
• Static Leadership Behaviors: Assumes leaders don't change styles.

Fiedler's Model

• Three-Stage Evaluation
  1. Identify Leadership Style: Use LPC scale to determine orientation.
  2. Define the Situation: Evaluate using three dimensions:
     • Leader-Member Relations: Quality of the relationship and trust levels.
     • Task Structure: Clarity and definition of tasks.
     • Position Power: Authority to reward or punish.
  3. Match Leader to Situation: Use graph to match behavior to one of eight situations.

Examples

• Advertising Agency: Good leader-member relations, low task structure, weak position power. Best suited for a relationship-oriented leader.
• Fast Food Restaurant: Poor leader-member relations, high task structure. Requires task-oriented leader.

Advantages

1. Simple and provides clear guidance.
2. Highlights situational differences.
3. Considers situational aspects that were often overlooked in the 60s.

Disadvantages

1. Assumes static behavior in leaders.
2. Relies on subjective judgments.
3. Only two behavioral categories.
4. Overlooks leaders being both relationship and task-oriented.

Conclusion

• While the model provides useful insights, a more flexible approach may be beneficial.
• Alternative recommended: Six Leadership Styles based on Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman.

Further Resources

• Suggested videos on leadership theories and styles for broader context and understanding.