Contingency Leadership Flashcards
Theoretically strong model but the measure of contingency
approach is weak, and doesn’t lend itself to practical
considerations
• Assumes that leader’s style is relatively stable.
• Leader’s effectiveness depends on how well the leader’s style
fits the context.
Leadership Styles
• Task motivated
• Leaders are concerned primarily with achieving goals.
• Relationship motivated
• Leaders are concerned with developing close interpersonal relationships with followers.
• Fiedler’s Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) scale
• Two styles at opposite ends of a continuum
• High LPC – Relationship motivated
• Low LPC – Task motivated
Applying the Contingency Model
Identify leadership style
- least preferred co-worker scale
Identify situation
- leader member relationship
- task structure
- position power
• Step 3: Determine the most effective leadership style
• Task-oriented leaders usually view their LPCs more negatively, resulting in a low score. Relationship-building is a low priority.
- Focus on task, make it more structured, no excuses especially when facing stress
Relationship-oriented leaders usually view their LPCs more positively, giving them a higher score. They focus more on personal connections
• Significant degree of test-retest stability when respondents are unaware of the scale’s meaning.
è Doesn’t mean you are agreeable if you are relationship-focus
• Poor test-retest stability of total LPC score and interpersonal subscale when respondents understood the meaning of the scale, especially after situations such as military training, management development workshops, or experiential learning exercises; can be manipulated due to demand characteristics
• LPC found not to correlate with other measures and has no clearly defined underlying theoretical construct, i.e. little to no support for construct validity
• LPCs are a leader’s personal characteristics; conceptually and psychometrically independent
- Leader-member relations: good or poor
- Task structure: high or low
- Leader’s position power: strong or weak
• Variables need to be assessed in this order presented.
Leader-member Relations
• Refers to the group atmosphere and the degree of confidence, loyalty and attraction of followers for leader.
Good
High degree of:
• Follower trust
• Liking
• Positive relationship
Poor
No trust, friction,
Task Structure
• The degree to which requirements of a task are clear and spelled out.
High
Requirements/rules are
clearly stated/known
• Few alternative paths to
accomplish task
• Task completion can be
clearly demonstrated
• Limited number of correct
solutions
Position Power
• Designates the amount of authority a leader has to reward or punish followers.
-Told to leave if you don’t comply
Strong
Leader has authority to:
• Hire or fire followers
• Give raises in rank or pay
Leadership and Power
• Position power: Power that comes from holding a particular office, position or rank.
• Power bases: Legitimate, Reward, Coercive
• Personal power: The capacity to influence that comes from being viewed as knowledgeable and likeable by followers.
• Power bases: Referent, Expert
Power Bases (French & Raven, 1959)
Referent Power: Based on followers’ identification and liking for the leader.
A teacher who is adored by students has referent power.
Expert Power: Based on followers’ perceptions of the leader’s competence.
A tour guide who is knowledgeable about a foreign country has expert power.
Legitimate Power :
Associated with having status or formal job authority.
A judge who administers sentences in the courtroom exhibits legitimate power.
Reward Power :
Derived from having the capacity to provide rewards to others. A supervisor who gives rewards to employees who work hard is using reward power.
Coercive Power
Derived from having the capacity to penalize or punish others. A coach who sits players on the bench for being late to practice is using coercive power.
