Contingency approach of leadership

Contingency approach of leadership

The contingency (situational) approach says that there is no single best leadership style for all situations. The effectiveness of a leader depends on the fit between the leader's style and the situational factors, such as the task, the followers and the environment. "It depends" is the key idea.

Main models

1. Fiedler's contingency model: Leader effectiveness depends on matching leader style (task-oriented or relationship-oriented, measured by the Least Preferred Co-worker scale) with situation favourableness, determined by leader-member relations, task structure and position power. Task-oriented leaders do best in very favourable or very unfavourable situations; relationship-oriented leaders in moderate ones.
2. Hersey-Blanchard situational leadership: The leader's style (telling, selling, participating, delegating) should match the maturity (ability and willingness) of followers.
3. Path-goal theory (House): The leader clarifies the path to goals and rewards, choosing directive, supportive, participative or achievement-oriented behaviour as needed.
4. Vroom-Yetton model: Chooses the degree of participation in decisions based on the problem.

Leader style + Followers + Task/Situation --> Effectiveness

Example: In a flood emergency at a hydropower site, the project manager acts directively (autocratic); with a skilled design team, he delegates.

Evaluation: realistic and flexible, but complex and difficult to apply in practice.