CHAPTER 5
Contingency and Situational Leadership
After studying this chapter, the reader should have an accurate understanding of contingency theories of
leadership. Although the array of contingency and situational theories may baffle the reader at first, a
closer look shows that are related except for the crisis leadership theory. For example, the familiar tasks
versus relationships dimensions run through several of the theories.
CHAPTER OUTLINE AND LECTURE NOTES
Contingency theories specify the factors that determine which style of leadership will achieve the best
results in a given situation. The five best-known contingency theories are described in this chapter,
along with leadership during a crisis. The leader-member exchange is included as a contingency theory.
We also mention evidence-based leadership and management as contributing to the contingency
approach.
I. SITUATIONAL INFLUENCES ON EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR
The essence of the contingency approach to leadership is that leaders are most effective when
they make their behavior contingent upon situational forces, including group member
characteristics. Both the internal and external environments have a significant impact on leader
effectiveness.
A useful perspective on implementing contingency theory is that the managers must be flexible
enough to avoid clinging to ideas that no longer work. Being stubborn about what will work in a
given situation, and clinging to old ideas can result in ineffective leadership. The organizational
culture is a major situational variable the leader needs to take into account in choosing which
approach to leadership will lead to favorable outcomes.
Vroom and Jago have identified three conclusions about the role of situations in leadership, and
these findings support the model presented in Figure 1-2, Chapter 1. Another conclusion is added
here.
2. Situations shape how leaders behave.
4. The type of organization influences which leadership approach is best.
II. FIEDLER’S CONTINGENCY THEORY OF LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS
Fiedler’s theory states that the best style of leadership is determined by the situation in which the
leader works.
A. Measuring Leadership Style: The Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) Scale
A manager’s leadership style is classified as relationship-motivated or task-motivated. One’s
style is considered relatively fixed. The least preferred coworker (LPC) scale measures the
42 Chapter 5: Contingency and Situational Leadership
B. Measuring the Leadership Situation
Leadership situations are divided into high control, moderate control, and low control. A
high-control situation is the most favorable. Amount of control is determined by rating the
situation on three dimensions:
1. Leader-member relations measure how well the group and the leader get along.
3. Position power measures the leader’s authority to hire, fire, discipline, and grant salary
increases to group members.
Leader-member relations contribute as much to the favorability of the leadership situation as
do task structure and position power combined.
C. Overall Findings
Leadership effectiveness depends on matching leaders to situations in which they can
exercise more control. Task-motivated leaders perform the best in situations of high control
and low control. Relationship-motivated leaders perform the best in situations of low
E. Evaluation of Fiedler’s Contingency Theory
Fiedler’s theory has prompted extensive research. The model has also alerted leaders to the
importance of sizing up the situation to gain control. Yet the contingency theory is too
complicated to have much of an impact on most leaders. A major problem centers on
matching the situation to the leader.
III. THE PATH-GOAL THEORY OF LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS
The path-goal theory of leadership effectiveness specifies what the leader must do to achieve
high productivity and morale in a given situation. A leader attempts to clarify the path to a goal
for a group member so that the latter receives personal payoffs. At the same time, job satisfaction
and performance increase. Path-goal theory is based on expectancy theory. The major proposition
In his reformulated version of path-goal theory, House offers this metaproposition: For leaders to
be effective they should engage in behaviors that complement subordinates’ environment and
abilities. They should engage in these behaviors in a manner that compensates for deficiencies,
and that enhances subordinate satisfaction as well as individual and work-unit performance.
A. Matching the Leadership Style to the Situation
The leader should choose among four leadership styles to achieve optimum results in a given
and (3) the work group. The following describes the four styles and their appropriate
circumstances.
1. Directive style. The directive leader emphasizes formal activities, such as planning,
2. Supportive style. The supportive leader displays concern for the well-being of group
members and creates an emotionally supportive climate. The leader also emphasizes
3. Participative style. The participative leader uses group input when making decisions.
4. Achievement-oriented style. The achievement-oriented leader sets challenging goals,
pushes for work improvement, and sets high expectations for group members. This
B. Steps Leaders Can Take to Improve Performance and Satisfaction
The path-goal theory offers many specific suggestions to leaders. Four representative
suggestions are:
2. Increase the personal payoffs to team members for attaining work goals.
4. Reduce frustrating barriers to reaching goals.
Leaders can benefit from following the specific suggestions of path-goal theory.
Unfortunately, path-goal theory has so many nuances and complexities that it has attracted
little interest from managers.
IV. SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP® MODEL II (SLII)
Situational leadership model II (SLII) explains how to match the leadership style to the
capabilities of group members on a given task. Leaders are taught to use the leadership style that
matches or responds to the needs of the situation.
A. Basics of SLII
The major premise of SLII is that the basis for effective leadership is managing the
relationship between a leader and a subordinate on a given task. The major concepts of the
44 Chapter 5: Contingency and Situational Leadership
S2—Coaching. High directive behavior/high supportive behavior.
S3—Supporting. Low directive behavior/high supportive behavior.
S4—Delegating. Low directive behavior/low supportive behavior.
B. Evaluation of SLII
The model is based on a fundamental truth about leadership and management: Competent
people require the least specific direction. The situational model (the earlier version
included) has proved useful in training, and it alerts leaders to the importance of diagnosing
the readiness of group members.
V. THE NORMATIVE DECISION MODEL
Another contingency viewpoint is that leaders must choose a style that elicits the correct degree of
group participation when making decisions. The normative decision model views leadership as a
decision-making process in which the leader examines certain factors in the situation to determine
which decision-making style will be the most effective.
A. Decision-Making Styles
The five decision-making styles in the model are based on the degree of participation by
group members; from to least to most they are Decide, Consult (Individually), Consult
(Group), Facilitate, and Delegate.
B. Contingency Factors and Application of the Model
The leader diagnoses the situation in terms of seven variables. Based on answers to these
variables, the leader or manager follows the path through decision matrices to choose one of
the five decision-making styles. The model has a version for either making a decision under
pressure, or with the desire to develop group members. The seven variables are as follows:
decision significance; importance of commitment; leader expertise; likelihood of
1. A consultative or collaborative decision-making style is best when information from
2. A decide decision –making style (making the decision oneself) is recommended when the
leader has more expertise, is confident, the team will mostly likely accept the decision, and
time is limited.
Chapter 5: Contingency and Situational Leadership45
VI. LEADER-MEMBER EXCHANGE (LMX) AND C ONTINGENCY THEORY
Leaders who adapt their style to different individuals within the group, or have different quality
relationships with individual members, are essentially practicing contingency leadership. Here we
present several conclusions from LMX research that suggests a contingency approach to
leadership.
1. Leaders tend to give members of their in-group more favorable performance ratings than they
give to out-group members, even when their objective performance is the same.
3. In larger groups, there tends to be more differences with respect to leader-member exchanges.
5. Leaders are more likely to empower group members with whom they have a high-quality
exchange (or good relationship) because they are more likely to trust those members.
6. Larger differences in leader-member exchanges tend to lead to higher team performance when
the LMX-quality median is low. In contrast, when the LMX-quality median is high,
differences in leader-member exchanges are not related to team performance.
VII. LEADERSHIP DURING A CRISIS
Leading during a crisis can be regarded as contingency leadership because the situation demands
that the leader emphasize certain behaviors, attitudes, and traits. Crisis leadership is the process
of leading group members through a sudden, largely unanticipated, intensely negative, and
emotionally draining circumstance. Leadership is the key to effective crisis management.
Attributes and behavior for effective crisis management are as follows:
2. Lead with Compassion. Displaying compassion toward the concerns, anxieties, and
frustrations of the group is a key interpersonal skill for crisis leadership.
4. Reestablish the Usual Work Routine. An effective way of helping people deal with a
5. Avoid a Circle-the-Wagons Mentality. To strongly defend yourself against your critics
or deny wrongdoing is a mistake.
7. Prevent the Crisis through Disaster Planning. The ideal form of crisis leadership is to
prevent a crisis though disaster planning.
8. Stay Calm and Provide Stable Performance. Remaining calm and steady under crisis
9. Be a Transformational Leader. During times of large and enduring crisis transforma–
tional leadership may be the intervention of choice. One way in which a
transformational leaders helps people work through a crisis is to have established a
climate of trust long before the crisis struck.
VIII. EVIDENCE-BASED LEADERSHIP FOR THE CONTINGENCY AND SITUATIONAL
APPROACH
A leading-edge way to practice contingency leadership would be to look for research-based
evidence about the best way to deal with a given situation. Evidence-based leadership or
management takes place when managers translate principles based on evidence into
VII. GUIDELINES FOR ACTION AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
A major contingency factor for a team or group leader is the talent and motivation of the
individual being led. The stronger the need for buy-in or commitment, the more important is
group participation. When a creative solution is important, group input is valuable. When time is
scarce or a big picture is needed, the leader should make the decision.
COMMENTS ON EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 5-1: Measuring Your Situational
Perspective
A potential of this exercise is that it gives present and prospective leaders a rare opportunity to reflect
on the extent of their situational or contingency perspective. The number of people who adapt their
tactics to meet the demands of a given situation may be lower than most people think.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 5-1: Applying Situational
Leadership II
It takes a person who is highly skilled in interviewing and steeped in knowledge about individual
differences to make accurate assessments of competence and commitment to perform a task. The
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 5-2: Quality of Leader-Member
Relations
This measure of assessing the quality of leader-member relations helps illustrate that relatively
straight forward attitudes and behaviors determine how well the leader gets along with group
Chapter 5: Contingency and Situational Leadership47
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 5-3: Checklist for Crisis
Leadership
This checklist is helpful in identifying some of the behaviors and attitudes directly related to
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 5-2: My Leadership Portfolio
A potential contribution of this entry into the leadership portfolio is that students are given the
opportunity to analyze how they might handle a leadership situation they observe. It can be
challenging to figure out how the situation might have been dealt with differently.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 5-3: Crisis Leadership
An opportunity to think through how a leader should handle a current crisis might provide
valuable case history experience. Workplace crises continue to emerge, and the era of
COMMENTS ON DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES
1. What relevance might contingency leadership have for dealing (a) men versus women, and (b) old
versus young?
Contingency leadership would be relevant to the extent that the leader could identify gender–
related and age-related factors that were making a difference in the situation. It is possible for
2. Describe how it might be possible for a manager to be charismatic, yet also practice contingency
leadership.
We don’t often think of a charismatic person as practicing contingency leadership because the
charismatic individual focuses so much on maintaining charismatic behaviors. However, the
3. Identify a personality trait you think would help a manager function as a contingency leader. Also,
identify a trait you think would detract from a manager’s ability to function as a contingency
leader.
Being adaptable and flexible would not only help a manager function as a contingency leader, it
4. How might a leader modify the clothing he or she wore to different work situations to help
practice contingency leadership?
The contingency leader would probably size up the situation to decide on which type of clothing
would best help him or her establish rapport. In recent years, most politicians take off their jacket
5. How would a manager know which variables in a given situation should influence which
approach to leadership he or she should take?
Knowledge of management and organizational behavior, combined with intuition, are helpful in
6. Which of the four path-goal styles do you think would be the best for managing a group of
software engineers? Justify your answer.
Most professional software engineers would respond well to an achievement-oriented leadership
7. To what extent do you think that battlefield experience would help a person become an effective
crisis leader in a business situation?
The intense pressure a person faces on the battlefield probably would help him or her deal with a
civilian crisis such as a product recall or a financial scandal. Above all, learning how to stay cool
8. Why are both a task emphasis and a relationship emphasis often necessary to get a group through
a crisis such as a hurricane having destroyed a company facility?
9. To what extent do you think most business leaders will ever use experience-based leadership or
management?
Students who see the possibilities in evidence-based leadership or management are more likely to
believe that its widespread application will take place in the near future. For evidence-based
10. In what way do effective teachers practice contingency leadership?
Effective teachers practice contingency leadership in ways such as the following. They (a) vary
the difficulty level of lectures and reading to meet student needs, (b) use learning methods to fit
PLAUSIBLE RESPONSES TO CASE QUESTIONS
Leadership Case Problem A: Supervisory Styles at the Red Rascal
However basic this case appears to be, it is important because many socially responsible companies
in the food service business have a program for providing employment to developmentally
challenged workers.
1. What does the restaurant scenario presented above have to do with contingency leadership?
2. In what way might Jessica and the supervisors modify their leadership styles to adapt to the
differences in intellectual levels of the Red Rascal staff?
3. What’s the problem with the kitchen staff and wait staff at the Red Rascal? Shouldn’t all
workers receive careful instructions and receive feedback and encouragement?
50 Chapter 5: Contingency and Situational Leadership
Associated Role Play
Students may at first laugh at this scenario, then quickly recognize the humane and serious purpose
Leadership Case Problem B: Metal Recycling Executive Attempts to
Salvage Martha Stewart Living
This case represents a fascinating example of the challenges facing a turnaround leader, including
turning around a company outside of his past field of expertise.
1. To what extent do you think Dan Dienst was facing a crisis leadership situation when he was
appointed to the CEO of the Martha Stewart company?
2. So what leadership steps should Dienst take to begin “rolling up his sleeves”?
The standard first step here would be to conduct a listening tour with employees, customers,
3. What steps do you recommend that Dienst take to avoid becoming another senior executive
who departs the company?
The most important step Dienst can take to avoid being fired is to attain some better business
4. What situational factors might make running a media and merchandise business quite
different from running a metal recycling company?
An obvious situational factor is that the two industries are quite different, with the customer
Chapter 5: Contingency and Situational Leadership51
Associated Role Play