Determining which Situational Leadership is Most Efficient

Answer

Definition of Leadership

In-depth definition of leadership has emerged overtime, with researchers aligning it to a particular area of interest to make this definition more specific and encompassing. The generally accepted definition describes it as a social influence process where a single personality enlists support of other people to accomplish a given task (Den & Koopman 167). Leadership is a broad function which involves establishment of a clear vision; sharing the vision with supporters to enlist their loyalty; collection and provision of relevant information, methods and knowledge to undertake in realizing the vision; balance and coordinate interests and conflicts arising among members and stakeholders (Frey, Kern, Snow, & Curlette 228).

Importance of Leadership

There are several supportive reasons to why leadership is indispensible in any organization, as described by Den & Koopman (167-180). 

• It initiates action – as mentioned above, it is the leadership that sets the ball rolling, by communicating policies and the plans to the supporters/subordinates.
• Offering guidance – a leader must be properly knowledgeable in the field where he/she leads, so that in addition to doing supervision, he can as well provide guidance and instructions to subordinates to achieve efficiency in their work.
• Motivation – the subordinates actually see a leader as a protégé, thus a leader is leadership is essential in assuming an incentive role in an organization. Motivation can take both economic and non-economic forms.
• Exuding confidence – leadership is orchestrated with authority and excellence. Subordinates feel confident when the capabilities of their leader are obvious. They will thus freely report their concerns and challenges to the leadership for guidance.
• Creating appropriate work environment – an efficient and pleasant work environment promotes sound growth. Human relations are thus important points that leadership addresses to improve the welfare of the workforce.
• Coordination – for an efficient workforce, an organization has to work together, from the top management to the lowest ranked employee. There needs to be cohesion among all departments so as to achieve set goals. Leadership makes this possible by enhancing effective communication within the organization.

Situational Leadership Theory

This theory developed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard, was first known as ‘Life Cycle Theory of Leadership.’ Its fundamental underpinning is that there is no single excellent style of leadership; that effective leadership is related to the task at hand, and successful leaders adapt their leadership style all the way to its maturity. The ideology behind this theory is that leaders can modify their leadership skills according to employees’ needs, and execute leadership duties based on the situational context. Thus, leaders must support their followers, understand their needs, and evolve their skills into mature, independent forms to meet those needs.

Fiedler’s leadership contingency model

This theory holds that effectiveness of a group is dependent on leadership style and situation favorableness. According to Fiedler, stress is a chief determinant of the effectiveness of a leader (Fiedler, Chemers, & Mahar 12). A distinction is therefore made between a type of stress related to the superiors of the leader; and stress brought as a result of subordinates or even the situation itself. Normally, in stressful situations, most leaders shift their full focus on the stressful areas, and cannot exploit their full intellectual on their job. Intelligence is thus more favorable in stress-free situations than in stressful ones. On the other hand, experience can reduces performance in situations of low stress, while contributing to increased performance in stressful situations.  Altering and engineering of the leadership situation and style is thus crucial to achieving sound leadership in Fiedler’s view (Fiedler, Chemers, & Mahar 27).

The leadership style of any given leader is measured by the least preferred co-worker (LPC) scale, illustrated below.

Surgeons practice this theory of leadership every time they are prompted by an emergency. Experience reigns high and increases their performance in a stressful situation, while their overreliance on their expertise can lead to slow decision making based on the situation at hand.

Situational favorableness of the theory is then analyzed. This has three distinct factors including leader-member relations, task structure and leader’s position power (Fiedler, Chemers, & Mahar 32). The first is the level of confidence and trust a leader’s team has in him, with the one having the most trust being in a more favorable situation. Task structure describes the type of task one is doing. Those tasks that are not well structured are unfavorable. Lastly, leader’s position power is the influence and authority a leader possesses over the team. More power makes the situation favorable.

House-Mitchell Path-Goal Theory

This theory developed by Robert House, also known as Path-goal theory of leader effectiveness holds that a leader’s behavior is dependent on the satisfaction, performance and motivation of the subordinates (House, & Mitchell 5). He thus engages in activities that are complementary to the subordinates’ abilities, and supplements on their deficiencies.

The Path-goal theory works by assuming that leaders are flexible and can adapt to any situation by changing their leadership style, just like other situational theory. It suggests two contingency variables, namely environment and the characteristics of the follower, which act to moderated behavior-outcome relationship of a leader (House, & Mitchell 11). Environment represents those factors beyond the follower-task structure control, work group as well as the system. On the other hand, follower characteristics include the locus of control, perceived ability and experience. The personal subordinates’ characteristics determine how the leader and the environment are interpreted. Good and performing leaders remove obstacles for their subordinates to make it easier for them to achieve their goals (House, & Mitchell 32). This theory reminds leaders of their mundane role, as being that of helping followers achieve their goals in an appropriate manner.

General George Patton of the American military practiced this type of leadership theory, by focusing on motivating and supporting his team to win the war. His philosophy and written guides served to constantly invigorate the army (Frey, Kern, Snow, & Curlette 239).

Supportive leadership considers the needs of the subordinates, taking care of their welfare and building an enabling environment for working. Directive leadership tells and guides followers on what to do, by giving specific schedules of work, increasing rewards and reducing role ambiguity. Participative leadership involves consultation with the subordinates and taking their ideas into practice while making decisions.  Lastly, achievement-oriented leadership manifests a leader’s trust on the followers to work on challenging goals and produce high standards of results (House, & Mitchell 32-74).

Voroom-Yetten Leadership Contingency Model

This theory focuses on the how successful and progressive leaders make decisions. The parameters that dictate decision making include quality, time restrictions and group commitment (Vroom, & Sternberg 305). This theory proposes various kinds of leadership styles, from authoritarian to participatory. They specifically include autocratic, consultative and group leadership. Like any contingency theory, it states that there are numerous styles of leadership, but not all of them can fit in a particular situation. A leader thus assesses a particular situation, determines the amount of support the group needs and can give, then settles on a leadership style that is best suited to the situation (Vroom, & Sternberg 310). Below is Yetten’s standard decision making model.

Fig 1: Vroom, & Sternberg. Retrieved fro

Presidents are the best example of leaders who practice the Yetton decision making model. They consult their advisors on their opinions, but more often than not make their own final decisions. Situations sometimes force them to fully collaborate with the subordinates. An example is President George Bush, as he made a crucial response to bombing attacks at the Pentagon and target on Washington D.C (Frey, Kern, Snow, & Curlette 227).

Conclusion

All Situational leadership theories propose that there is no single type/style of leadership that suites all situations arising in a workplace or group management. Various styles have to be adapted for a particular purpose. Out of all the three theories described, the Path-goal contingency theory stands out to be more practical. Leadership is oriented on results, which is hugely dependent on the performance of the subordinates. By removing obstacles, followers are given the best opportunity to exercise their full potential.