CHAPTER 5
Contingency and Situational Leadership
After studying this chapter, the reader should have an accurate understanding of contingency theories of
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 four 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
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.
1. Organizational effectiveness is affected by situational factors not under leader control.
2. Situations shape how leaders behave.
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
Chapter 5: Contingency and Situational Leadership
motivated. In contrast, a person who describes his or her least preferred coworker unfavorably
tends to be task-motivated.
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.
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
D. Making the Situation More Favorable for the Leader
A practical implication of the contingency theory is that leaders should modify situations to
E. Evaluation of Fiedler’s Contingency Theory
Fiedler’s theory has prompted extensive research. The model has also alerted leaders to the
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
A. Matching the Leadership Style to the Situation
Chapter 5: Contingency and Situational Leadership
The leader should choose among four leadership styles to achieve optimum results in a given
situation. Two key sets of contingency factors are the type of subordinates and the type of
work they perform. Key subordinate characteristics include their locus of control and
perception of their ability with respect to the assigned task. Environmental contingency factors
are (1) the group members’ tasks, (2) the authority system within the organization, 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,
organizing, and controlling. The directive style improves morale when the task is
unclear.
4. Achievement-oriented style. The achievement-oriented leader sets challenging goals,
pushes for work improvement, and sets high expectations for group members. This style
works well with achievement-oriented team members and with those working on
ambiguous and nonrepetitive tasks.
B. Steps Leaders Can Take to Improve Performance and Satisfaction
The path-goal theory offers many specific suggestions to leaders. Four representative
suggestions are:
1. Recognize or activate group members’ needs over which the leader has control.
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.
IIV. THE NORMATIVE DECISION MODEL
Another contingency viewpoint is that leaders must choose a style that elicits the correct degree of
A. Decision-Making Styles
B. Contingency Factors and Application of the Model
Chapter 5: Contingency and Situational Leadership
Accurate answers to the seven situational variables can be challenging to obtain. The model,
however, provides a few useful clues about making individual versus group decisions:
1. A consultative or collaborative decision-making style is best when information from
others is needed to solve the problem, the problem is not clearly defined, and there is
enough time for a group decision.
V. 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.
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.
VI. 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
Chapter 5: Contingency and Situational Leadership
draining circumstance. Leadership is the key to effective crisis management. Attributes and
behavior for effective crisis management are as follows:
1. Be Decisive. The leader should take decisive action to remedy the situation.
5. Reestablish the Usual Work Routine. An effective way of helping people deal with a workplace
crisis is to influence them to return to their regular work. However, workers should first express
their feelings about the crisis.
6. Stick with constructive core values. Leaders who keep their company or division focused on core
values are likely to endure difficult times.
9. Display Optimism. Pessimists abound in every crisis, so optimism by the leader can help
energize the group members to overcome the bad times.
10. Prevent the Crisis through Disaster Planning. The ideal form of crisis leadership is to prevent a
crisis though disaster planning.
VII. EVIDENCE-BASED LEADERSHIP FOR THE CONTINGENCY AND SITUATIONAL
APPROACH
A leading-edge way to practice contingency leadership would be to look for research-based
V. 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
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
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 5-1: Leader-Member Exchange
with In-Group and Out-Group Members.
It is possible to read hundreds of research articles about leader-member exchange without
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 5-3: My Leadership Portfolio
A potential contribution of this entry into the leadership portfolio is that students are given the
challenging to figure out how the situation might have been dealt with differently.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 5-4: Crisis Leadership
An opportunity to think through how a leader should handle a current crisis might provide
Chapter 5: Contingency and Situational Leadership
COMMENTS ON DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES
1. What relevance might contingency leadership have for dealing with generational differences in the
workplace?
Contingency leadership would be relevant to the extent that the leader could identify age-related
2. What are the potential risks of relying too heavily on stereotypes when practicing contingency
leadership?
The answer to question 1 is also relevant here. Contingency leadership works best when it focuses
on differences observed by the manager rather than on demographic stereotypes. A positive
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
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.
Chapter 5: Contingency and Situational Leadership
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
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?
During a crisis group members need some decisive guidance about what can be done to lead the
9. Ask two experienced managers you know whether they have ever heard of or practiced contingency
leadership. What conclusion about contingency leadership do you draw from your answer?
Even if a manager is not familiar with the term contingency leadership, he or she probably
10. 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
11. In what way do effective teachers practice contingency leadership?
Effective teachers practice contingency leadership in ways such as the following. They (a) vary the
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.
Chapter 5: Contingency and Situational Leadership
1. What does the restaurant scenario presented above have to do with contingency leadership?
workers.
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?
The supervisors need to provide careful guidance and instructions to workers with well below
supervisor might need to provide meaningful amounts of emotional support.
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?
It may be true that all workers benefit from careful instructions and encouragement. However,
Associated Role Play
Students may at first laugh at this scenario, then quickly recognize the humane and serious purpose
Leadership Case Problem B: Emma Varies the Quality of Her
Relationships
This case illustrates how different quality relationships can result in group members having different
perceptions of the leader, and how these varying perceptions could result in some negative feedback
about the leader. .
1. In what way does this case illustrate the LMX model of leadership?
2. To what extent do you think the feedback presented by the direct reports could help Emma
hone her leadership style?
3. If Emma does not want to be perceived as playing favorites, what should she do differently in
her leadership approach?
A good starting point would be for Emma not to lavish so much praise on one direct report
Chapter 5: Contingency and Situational Leadership
Associated Role Play