What effects do situational-specific factors have on leadership?
The central point of this attitude is focusing on the control and administration in different situations. From this angle, to be an effective leader, the person is expected to adapt his style of leadership to various circumstances. Therefore, there are different factors that affect the style of a leader.
According to the research, “leadership is composed of both a directive and a supportive dimension.” A leader has to appraise his workers and determine whether they are capable of performing and fulfilling the task in order to evaluate the effects on the leadership. So, in my opinion, the situational-specific factors elect the directedness or support of the leader to meet the shifting requirements of the employees. Moreover, the influence on leadership leads to the leader’s interest in productive and efficient work, thus altering the level of the development of the workers.
How do contingency factors influence the effectiveness of leadership styles?
The contingency theory implies that the efficiency of a leader is determined by his style and how it corresponds to the situation. The theory “provides a framework for effectively matching the leader and the situation” (Mind Tools n.d.). There are three main contingency factors that affect leadership performance: the leader-worker connection, task structure, and the position power of the affected. Each of the factors defines whether the style of the leader would be developed or negatively interacted with. Moreover, the theory implies that people are divided into two groups: task-motivated and relationship-motivated. Basing on this, the leader can understand in which situations different employees will be more productive. For example, people of the first category are more likely to perform their best in both beneficial and non-beneficial environment. On the other hand, the representatives of the second group are more likely to perform in fairly favorable conditions.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of each theory, and how might the shortcomings of each be overcome?
Situational theory
The success of this approach is explained by its practicality: “it provides a straightforward approach that is easily used” (Buble, Juras & Matić 2014, p. 170). Moreover, the situational theory describes what should and should not be done in different situations. This also determines that every leader can show flexibility, as it reminds us to have unique access to every employee. The weaknesses of this theory lie in the lack of research in this field. As the studies imply, “situational leadership concerns the ambiguous conceptualization in the model of subordinates development levels” (Tebeian 2012, p. 317).
Contingency theory
One of the main strengths of this approach is that it is established in various researches, and it is proved to be effective and compelling. Moreover, a better understanding of the leadership was achieved with the help of this approach. In other words, after the release of the theory, the researches stopped trying to determine the single approach towards leadership and acknowledged it depends on the situation. Also, the theory has its structure and is quite predictable, so it provides information that can be useful for organizations other theories cannot. In conclusion, it doesn’t expect people to be effective in all situations. However, the main drawback of the approach is its inability to explain why certain types of leadership are more practical than the others. “A final criticism of contingency theory is that it fails to explain adequately what organizations should do when there is a mismatch between the leader and the situation in the workplace” (Keskes 2014, p. 32).
Reference List
Buble, M, Juras, A & Matić, I 2014, ‘The relationship between managers’ leadership styles and motivation’, Journal Of Contemporary Management Issues, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 161-193
Keskes, I 2014. ‘Relationship between leadership styles and dimensions of employee organizational commitment: A critical review and discussion of future dimensions’, Intangible Capital, vol. 10, no.1, pp. 26-51.
Mind Tools n.d., The Hersey-Blanchard situational leadership theory, Web.
Tebeian, A 2012, ‘The impact of motivation through leadership on group performance’, Review of International Comparative Management, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 313-324.