Question

How leadership styles might need to vary according to the task, the group and the individual based on Contingency theory/ (ies) of leadership. (500 words)

Answer 1

Leaders and managers often have to find out the most relevant leadership style that is conducive for enhancing the effectiveness of workgroups, and the subject is also interesting to behavioral scientists. The contingency theories point out that the success of leadership depends on the situation at hand. The composition of the group, the leader's personality, and the task at hand, maybe some of the factors affecting the success of a leadership style.

Ways In Which Leadership Style Varies For the Different Groups, Individuals and Tasks, According To The Contingencies Theories

Many different contingency styles may be classified under the group. These include the Fiedler's Contingency Theory, Situational Leadership Theory, Path-Goal Theory, and the Decision-Making Theory.

Situational Leadership Theory: The situational leadership theory (also called the Hersey Blanchard situation and leadership theory) says that a leadership style may vary according to the experience, skills, and maturity levels of the followers. To be effective, a leader will have to vary his/her leadership style and approaches depending on the group or the individual being led. For instance, in some cases when the follower is a new joiner, the leader will have to be more directive and will emphasize lesser on relationship building. With time and experience, the follower improves in expertise. Hence later on the same leader will focus more on building relations and less on providing direction. As we can see, the behavior and approach towards leadership vary greatly with changes in the task and maturity of followers.

The Fiedler contingency theory connects leadership and its effectiveness to control over a situation. The theory says that to be successful, a leadership style should focus on stronger leader-member/follower relations while the leader should also detail tasks specifically and clearly. He/she should outline the procedures and goals in accurate and clear ways as well. The theory also has the LPC or the Least-Preferred-Coworker scale, which denotes what kind of workers a leader would least like to associate with. The more a leader defines a group-task situation to be favorable or likes it, the better influence he or she can provide as a leader. The extent to which a leader may like a group-task combination may be affected by his/her own experiences that he or she gained throughout his /her life. Hence Fiedler was of the view that the behavior of the leadership cannot be changed. However, when the tasks are restructured or when the amount of power provided to a leader (exercised over disciplinary actions, salary, and promotion among other variables) is varied, better results can be produced. Therefore, tasks and other aspects can be varied to improve leadership, and leadership varies with the different variables including tasks, environment, and group structure, among other variables.

Path-Goal Theory: Another contingency theory, the path-goal theory emphasizes that the behavior of a leader is contingent on the motivation, satisfaction, and performance of the subordinates. Therefore the leaders will have to vary their behavior following the abilities and competencies of the subordinates. They will also be required to compensate for any deficiencies. The leaders are required to guide the workers so that they can choose the best path to reach their goals. To do that, the leaders will have to engage in different kinds of leadership behaviors, as the demand and nature of the different situations vary. Therefore, depending on the situation and the competencies of the followers, the leadership style may vary to be:

Directive- here, a leader tells the followers what is required and expected of them and also details them the ways to perform the task.

Achievement-oriented: here the leader will set more challenging goals for the followers and will have confidence and in their ability to achieve the unexpected. Such leadership behavior can be seen in jobs including salesperson jobs, entrepreneurs, and scientists.

Participative- here, a leader tries to satisfy the preferences and needs of subordinates and will have a concern for their psychological and mental well-being. The style is for situations where the relationships are physically or psychologically distressing.

Therefore, as we can see, in this kind of leadership style as well, the leaders are highly flexible and change their leadership style according to the situation.