A situational approach to leadership effectiveness.

Abstract

Fiedler's contingency model suggests that task-oriented leaders are more effective where the leadership situation is either very favorable or very unfavorable and that relations-oriented leaders are more effective in situations of intermediate favorability. This model was tested among supervisors in both interacting and coacting groups in two organizations Results in the hypothesized direction were attained although they were not generally significant. One of the most perplexing problems confronting managers has been to determine the leadership style most conducive to promoting effective work groups. Empirical studies directed toward finding that style which is most effective have yielded inconclusive and often contradictory results (Blake & Mouton, 1964; Fiedler, 1958; Lewin, Lippitt & White, 1939; Likert, 1961; Shaw, 1955). Although some theoreticians have been perplexed by the difficulty in identifying the one best leadership style, many practical supervisors have viewed the leadership literature with amusement as they have long recognized that both the directive, authoritarian, task-oriented leader and his counterpart, the democratic, human relations leader have proved effective in countless situations. The Contingency Theory of Leadership Effectiveness recently advanced by Fiedler (1964) suggests a theoretical explanation for both the confusion which now exists in the literature and the practical insights of many managers. This theory suggests that leadership is an influence process where the ease or difficulty of exerting influence is a function of the favorableness of the group task situation for the leader. Although it has been recognized that the favorableness of each group task situation may depend on different variables, the three most commonly acknowledged determinants stated in their order of importance are leader-member relations, task structure, and position power. Once these variables have been measured, they can be ordered into