Week 3 - Contingency Approach

Question 1

What are the two independent components of follower maturity that influence situational leadership according to Hersey & Blanchard, 1969)

Answer 1

• Job maturity – i.e. Ability
• Psychological maturity – i.e. Willingness

Question 2

What is meant by leadership style? and what are the two main types of behaviour? (Northouse, 2022)

Answer 2

• refers to the behavioural patterns leaders use to influence others,
• The two main behaviours are directive and supportive

Question 3

What is meant by Directive Behaviour? (2)

Answer 3

• Focus on helping individuals achieve goals by providing clear directions, setting goals, and timelines, and assigning tasks
• These behaviours often involve one-way communication, where the leader clarifies what is to be done and how it should be accomplished.

Question 4

What is meant by Supportive Behaviour? (2)

Answer 4

• Focus on ensuring individuals feel comfortable with themselves, others, and the task.
• These behaviours involve two-way communication and include actions like listening, praising, asking for input, and providing emotional support.

Question 5

What are the 4 situational leadership styles?

Answer 5

Directing (Telling)
Coaching (Selling)
Supporting (Participating)
Delegating

Question 6

What are the leaders like in S1-Directing (Telling): Situational Leadership Theory? (2)

Answer 6

• Leaders prioritise goal achievement with minimal focus on support.
• They give clear instructions and closely supervise followers

Question 7

What are the followers like in S1-Directing (Telling): Situational Leadership Theory?

Answer 7

are low in competence and high in commitment. They are new to a goal and do not know exactly how to do it, but they are excited about the challenge of it

Question 8

What are the leaders like in S2-Coaching(Selling): Situational Leadership Theory? (2)

Answer 8

• Leaders emphasize both goal achievement and socioemotional support.
• They encourage input from followers but still make final decisions on tasks.

Question 9

What are the Followers like in S2-Coaching(Selling): Situational Leadership Theory? (2)

Answer 9

• are described as having some competence but low commitment.
• They have started to learn a job, but they also have lost some of their initial confidence about the job.

Question 10

What are the leaders like in S3-Supporting(Participating): Situational Leadership Theory? (2)

Answer 10

• Leaders focus less on goals and more on supportive behaviours to empower followers.
• They offer praise, listen, and provide feedback, allowing followers more autonomy in decision-making

Question 11

What are the followers like in S3-Supporting(Participating): Situational Leadership Theory? (2)

Answer 11

• have moderate to high competence but may have variable commitment.
• They have essentially developed the skills for the job, but they are uncertain as to whether they can accomplish the goal by themselves.

Question 12

What are the leaders like in S4-delegating): Situational Leadership Theory? (2)

Answer 12

• leader offers less goal input and social support, facilitating followers’ confidence and motivation in reference to the goal.
• The delegative leader lessens involvement in planning, control of details, and goal clarification

Question 13

What are the followers like in S4-delegating): Situational Leadership Theory? (2)

Answer 13

• are the highest in development, having both a high degree of competence and a high degree of commitment to getting the job done.
• They have the transferable skills and task knowledge to do the job and the confidence and motivation to get it done

Question 14

What does the Path-Goal Theory developed by House,1971 say effective leaders must do? (4)

Answer 14

• Determine what outcomes followers are trying to achieve
• Reward followers for performing at a high level by giving them desired outcomes
• Ensure subordinated believe they can achieve their goals and perform at a high level
• The leader must then adapt his or her behavior to the characteristics of the followers and the context.

Question 15

Excluding Directive and Supportive what are the other 2 types of leadership behaviours

Answer 15

• Participative behaviour: enables subordinates to be involved on making decisions
• Achievement oriented behaviour: subordinates pushed to do their best (more catered towards high potential employees)

Question 16

Path-Goal Theory (House, 1971)

Answer 16

Question 17

What are the positives of the Path-Goal Theory (House, 1971)? (3)

Answer 17

• Directive leadership leads to greater satisfaction when tasks are ambiguous or stressful, and
  supportive leadership is also important when work is stressful
• Supportive leadership results in high employee performance and satisfaction when employees are performing structured tasks
• Achievement oriented leadership will increase employees expectancies that effort will lead to high performance when tasks are ambiguously structure

Question 18

What are the criticisms of the Path-Goal Theory (House,1971) (2)

Answer 18

• Directive leadership is likely to be perceived as redundant among employees with high ability or
  experience
• Doesn’t cater to all employees: Employees with an internal locus of control will be more satisfied with a participative style, while employees with an external locus of control will be more satisfied with a directive style

Question 19

What are substitutes and neutralisers in the leadership substitute theory developed by Kerr, and Jermier, 1978?

Answer 19

• Substitutes make leader behaviour (i.e. task-oriented or people-oriented) unnecessary and
  redundant.
• Neutralizers prevent a leader from acting in a specified way or nullify leader behaviours (i.e. task
  oriented or people-oriented).

Question 20

What are some strengths of the contingency approach theories? (5)

Answer 20

• Widely Used in Leadership Training
• Practicality and Simplicity
• Prescriptive Guidance
• Emphasis on Leader Flexibility
• Focus on Followers

Question 21

What are the criticisms of the contingency approach? (7)

Answer 21

• Lack of Research
• Ambiguity in Conceptualizing Follower Development
• Unclear Definition of Commitment
• Limited Empirical Support for Leadership Prescriptions
• Neglect of Demographic Factors
• Individual vs. Group Leadership
• Bias in Leadership Questionnaires