Managers use contingency thinking in several ways, which depend on the company and several different
factors. The effectiveness of a given pattern of leader behavior is contingent upon the demands
imposed by the situation. Contingency theory situations can be characterized by assessing three factors:
Leader-member relations, Task structure, and Position power (Northouse). An example: A manager who
has a close relationship with her employees, the employees feels they can confide in the manager. A
situation between two employees occur at work during a group project. The employees both take the
problem to the manager and confide in her on each of their ideas and the cause of the problem. Each
employee feels their idea is what the manager is looking for. They both have great ideas. Without
exposing to each employee what the other said, the manager suggests each employee presents their
idea for the project. After the presentation, they all will combine pieces of each employee’s idea and
make one great presentation. The manager could neutralize the situation and get her employees back to
the project with some of her own suggestions and allow each employee to be beneficial to the project.
References
Northouse, P. G. (n.d.). Contingency Approach Leadership. Sage Publications.