What are the dimensions of situational control identified by Fiedlers contingency leadership model?
Fred Fiedler's Contingency Model was the third notable situational model of leadership to emerge. This model appeared first in Fiedler's 1967 book, A Theory of Leadership Effectiveness. Show
The essence of Fiedler's theory is that a leader's effectiveness depends on a combination of two forces:
Fiedler called the combination of leadership style and 'situational favourableness' Situational Contingency. Fiedler - Leadership StylesFiedler described two basic leadership styles - task-orientated and relationship-orientated: 1. Task-Oriented Leaders
2. Relationship-Oriented Leaders
Fiedler said neither style is inherently superior. However, he asserted that certain leadership challenges suit one style or the other better. Fiedler - Situational FavourablenessFiedler defined three factors determining the favourableness of the situation:
Fiedler believed the situation is favourable when:
The situation is unfavourable if the opposite is true on all three points. Leadership EffectivenessFiedler said that task-orientated leaders are most effective when facing a situation that is either extremely favourable or extremely unfavourable. In other words:
and also when the opposite is true, i.e.:
Fiedler concluded that relationship-orientated leaders are most effective in less extreme circumstances. That is, in situations that are neither favourable nor unfavourable or situations that are only moderately favourable or moderately unfavourable. Shown in a table:
Fiedel's View of PersonalityFiedler's theory took a significant and firm view of personality:
As such, Fiedler's theory also encourages us to consider the leader's personality and the leader's behaviour from these angles:
Clearly, if a model such as this is to be of great value, then these questions need to be clarified rather than they have been to date, which is not easy given the complexity of human nature. Limitations of Fiedler's Contingency ModelFiedler's Contingency Model is, therefore, a somewhat limited model for effective leadership.
A further implication of Fiedler's theory is potentially to require the replacement of leaders whose styles do not match situations, which from several viewpoints (legal, practical, ethical, etc.) would be simply unworkable in modern organisations. Nevertheless, despite its limitations, Fiedler's theory was an important contribution to leadership thinking, especially in reinforcing the now generally accepted views that:
SummaryWe are left to conclude somewhat conditionally, that if personality is fixed (which generally it is) and personality controls behaviour, (which generally, it seems to) then the notion of:
probably equates unavoidably to:
which is usually not a viable approach to leadership and leadership development within modern organisations. We live in an increasingly virtual world which allows lots of inter-changeability (like 'matrix management for example - where followers may have two different bosses for two different sets of responsibilities, such as local markets vs international markets), but most indications are that frequently changing leaders in order to match fixed leadership behaviours to corresponding and suitable situations is less efficient and effective than organisations having leaders who can adapt freely outside of, and despite, individual personality constraints. AcknowledgementsJames Scouller BiographyWe are grateful to James Scouller for his help, patience, and expert contribution in producing this leadership guide. James Scouller is an expert coach and partner at The Scouller Partnership in the UK, which specialises in coaching leaders. He was chief executive of three international companies for eleven years before becoming a professional coach in 2004. He holds two postgraduate coaching qualifications and training in applied psychology at the Institute of Psychosynthesis in London. James Scouller's book is called "The Three Levels of Leadership: How to Develop Your Leadership Presence, Know-how and Skill" which was published in May 2011.
What are the three dimensions of situational control described by Fiedler's contingency theory?In accordance to the contingency theory Fiedler (1996) specifies three important situational dimensions that influence the level of effectiveness of the leader: leader-member relations, task structure, and position power.
What are the various situational factors in Fiedler's contingency model of leadership?The model states that there is no one best style of leadership. Instead, a leader's effectiveness is based on the situation. This is the result of two factors – "leadership style" and "situational favorableness" (later called "situational control").
Are the dimensions of situational control in Fiedler's model?Fiedler's contingency model—task-oriented style and relationship-oriented style; and three dimensions of situational control: leader-member relations, task structure, and position power.
What are the three dimensions of Favourable situations in Fiedler's model?Situation favorableness occurs when the three dimensions - leader-member relations, task structure, and leader position power - are high.
|