Chapter Nine

How Leaders Respond

to the Situation at
Hand
PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP
Andrew J. DuBrin, 7th Edition

1
Learning Objectives

• Describe how the situation influences the choice of

leadership objectives.
• Present an overview of the contingency theory of leadership
effectiveness.
• Explain the Path-Goal Theory of leadership effectiveness.
• Explain Situational LeadershipR II (SLII).
• Use the Normative Decision Model to determine the most
appropriate decision-making style in a given situation.
• Explain the basics of leadership during a crisis.
• Explain how evidence-based leadership can contribute to
contingency and situational leadership. 2
Situational Influences on
Leadership Behavior
• Situations can influence the leadership behavior or style a
leader emphasizes.

• This contingency approach to leadership implies leaders are

most effective when they make their behavior contingent on
situational forces, including group member characteristics
and the internal and external environment surrounding the
leadership situation.

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Role of Situations in
Leadership
• Research has shown the following regarding the role of
situations in leadership effectiveness:

• Organizational leadership is affected by situational factors not

always under control of the leader.

• Situations shape how leaders behave.

• Situations influence the consequences of how leaders behave.

• Organizational structure and design influence which approach to

leadership is likely to be most effective.
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Leadership Situational
Models
• Fiedler’s Contingency Theory

• House’s Path-Goal Theory

• Hersey & Blanchard’s Situational LeadershipR (SL II)

• Vroom & Jago’s Normative Decision Model

• Leader-Member Exchange (LMX)

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Fiedler’s Contingency Theory
• The basic idea is simple:
• Match the leader’s style with the situation most favorable for his/
her success.

• The theory was designed to enable leaders to diagnose both

leadership style and organizational situations.

• Leadership style may be relationship- or task-motivated.

• Leadership style is relatively enduring and difficult to change.
• Leaders are regarded as having a consistent style of task or
relationship orientation.
• Leaders should be matched to situations according to their
style. 6
Least Preferred Coworker
- LPC Scale
• The LPC scale measures the degree to which a leader
describes favorably or unfavorably an employee with
whom he or she could work least well.
• Not the coworker you LIKED least, but the one you had
the most difficulty getting a job done with.

• A relationship-motivated leader tends to describe their

LPC in favorable terms.

• A task-motivated leader tends to describe their LPC in

unfavorable terms. 7
Measuring the Leadership
Situation
• Leadership situations are classified as High, Moderate,
or Low control.

• More controllable situations are viewed as more

favorable for the leader.

• Control is determined by three dimensions:

• Leader-Member Relations
• Task Structure
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• Position Power
Summary of Findings From
Fiedler’s Contingency Theory

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Evaluating Fiedler’s Theory

• Fiedler’s work did prompt others to conduct studies about

the contingency nature of leadership.

• Fiedler’s model/theory did alert leaders to the importance of

sizing up the situation when working to gain control.

• However, Fiedler’s Contingency Theory was found to be too

complicated to have had much of an impact on the majority
of leaders.

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Path-Goal Theory
• Developed by Robert House

• Specifies what a leader must do to achieve high productivity

and morale in a given situation.

• In general, the theory says a leader who attempts to “clear

the path” to a goal for a group member tends to find the
group member’s job satisfaction and performance increase.
• A leader should choose a leadership style that takes into account
the group member characteristics and the task demands.

• The theory is based on the Expectancy Theory of Motivation. 11

Path-Goal Theory

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Using Path-Goal Theory to Match
Leadership Style to Situations
• DIRECTIVE
• Tasks are unclear
• SUPPORTIVE
• Tasks are frustrating and stressful, plus group members are
apprehensive
• PARTICIPATIVE
• Tasks are non-repetitive and group members are capable and
motivated
• ACHIEVEMENT-ORIENTED
• Tasks are unique or entrepreneurial and group members are
competent and committed

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Evaluating Path-Goal Theory

• The basic tenets of the theory are on target.

• Any comprehensive theory of leadership must include the

idea that a leader’s actions have a major impact on the
motivation and satisfaction of group members.

• The theory, however, has never attracted much interest from

leaders or managers.

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 R
Situational Leadership (SL
II)
• Developed by Kenneth Blanchard and colleagues.

• Primary focus is on the characteristics of group members –

and – matching leadership style to those characteristics.

• SLII is designed to increase the frequency and quality of

conversations about performance and professional
development between leaders and group members so that:
• Competence is developed.
• Commitment takes place.
• Turnover among talented group members is reduced.

• SLII is particularly applicable to front-line leaders, such as 15

supervisors and team leaders.
Basics of SLII
• The basis for effective leadership is managing the relationship
between a leader and a group member on a given task.

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Basics of SLII
• Effective leadership depends on two independent behaviors:
• Supporting Behaviors
• Listening
• Giving Recognition
• Communicating
• Encouraging
• Coaching
• Directing Behaviors
• Giving Explicit Directions
• Controlling
• Supervising
• Ruling
• Regulating 17
Evaluating SL II
• Represents a consensus of thinking about leadership behavior in
relation to group members.

• No one style is best.

• An effective leader uses all styles, depending on the situation and

the individual group member.

• Is challenging to apply SLII consistently because leaders must “stay

tuned” and tasks shift rapidly.

• However, the model has become a basis for leadership training as

the model builds on other explanations of leadership that 18
emphasize the role of task and relationship behaviors.
Normative Decision Model
• See Figure 9-5

• Leaders must choose a style that elicits the correct degree of

group participation when making decisions.

• Views leadership as a decision-making process where the

leader examines the elements involved in the situation in
order to determine the most effective decision-making style.

• Model includes:
• Five decision-making styles
• Seven situational factors 19
Decision-Making Styles
What differs is the degree of group member
participation
• Decide
• Leader makes decision alone and announces it
• Consult (Individually)
• Leader works with each group member individually to gather their
suggestions – and makes decision alone
• Consult (Group)
• Leader works with group members as a group in a meeting, gathers
suggestions – and makes decision alone
• Facilitate
• Leader presents problem to group, facilitates discussion, gathers input,
ensures they don’t favor their individual decision
• Delegate
• Leader permits group members to make the decision, works behind
the scenes, does set limits but allows group members to work
autonomously 20
Contingency/Situational
Factors
• Decision Significance to the success of a project or the
organization
• Importance of Commitment of the team to the decision
• Leader Expertise and knowledge in relation to the problem
• Likelihood of Commitment of the team to a decision if the
leader makes the decision on his/her own
• Group Support of the team in relation to the organization’s
objectives at stake in the problem
• Group Expertise of the team members in relation to the
problem
• Team Competence of the team members ability to work
together in solving problems 21
Evaluating the Normative
Decision Model
• Has been shown to lead to increased decision-making
effectiveness.
• Leaders who consistently use the model are typically seen to
be more effective leaders in that they have increased the
effectiveness of their decision making.

• Assessing the situational factors can be challenging – and –

typically relies on intuition and distorted thinking.
• Using the model requires much time.
• Model does not deal with charismatic or transformational
leadership. 22
Leader-Member Exchange
(LMX)
• Another perspective on the contingency approach.

• Leaders who adapt their style to different individuals within

the group, or have different quality relationships with
individual group members, are essentially practicing
contingency leadership.

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LMX Conclusions
• Leaders tend to give members of their in-group more
favorable performance ratings than they give to out-group
members, even when objective performance is the same.
• Leaders do not always develop entirely different relationships
with each group member, but may respond the same way to a
few members of the group.
• Larger groups tend to result in differences with respect to
leader-member exchanges.
• Managers are more likely to use servant leadership in groups
with whom the leader has high-quality exchanges.
• Leaders are more likely to use empowerment with group
members with whom they have high-quality exchanges. 24
Leadership During a Crisis
• Crisis leadership is the process of leading group members
through a sudden and largely unanticipated, intensely
negative, and emotionally draining circumstance.
• Be decisive
• Lead with compassion
• Reestablish the usual work routine
• Avoid a circle-the-wagons mentality
• Display optimism
• Prevent the crisis through disaster planning
• Provide stable performance
• Be a transformational leader
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Evidence-Based Leadership
• Before taking action, a leader asks “What does the research
literature tell me is most likely to work in this situation?”

• Leaders translate principles based on best evidence into

organizational practices.

• While evidence-based leadership and management is not yet

widely practiced, taking the study of leadership and
management seriously will move managers and organizations
toward basing their practices and decisions on valid evidence.

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Summary
• Leaders are more effective when they make their behavior
contingent upon situational factors.
• Situations shape how leaders behave, and they also influence
the consequences of leader behavior.
• Fiedler’s Contingency Theory proposes the best style of
leadership is determined by situational factors including
leader-member relations, task structure, and position power.
• The Path-Goal Theory of leadership effectiveness specifies
the best leadership style based on the characteristics of the
group members and the tasks.
• The Situational Leadership (SLII) model explains how to match
leadership style to the readiness of group members. 27
Summary - Continued

• The Normative Decision Model explains leadership as a

decision-making process.
• The Leader-Member Exchange model indicates leaders who
adapt their style to different individuals within the group, or
who have different quality relationships with individual group
members, are essentially practicing contingency leadership.
• Leading through a crisis is a form of contingency leadership.
• Leaders applying evidence and research to their behaviors
and practices are using evidence-based leadership.

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