Fielder’s Contingency Model

The contingency theory, proposed by Fred Fielder in the mid-1960s, is a theory of leadership.
The main assumption of this theory is that the effectiveness of leadership depends on matching the leadership style to the situation. It states that there is no single leadership style that fits into all situations. Therefore, to make a leadership style effective, it should be adjusted according to the situation.
Fielder examined two leadership styles, one known as task-oriented leadership style and the other known as relationship-oriented style. To gauge these leadership styles, he developed a scale called the Least-Preferred Co-worker scale (LPC scale). This scale asks questions from the respondent to rate the person that the respondent has least enjoyed working with. It can be any person that the respondent has worked with in some organization. The higher score on this scale means that the respondent is a relationship-oriented leader. On the other hand, a lower score on this scale means that the respondent is a task-oriented leader.
The reason for the above inference from the LPC score is that a task-oriented leader highly relies on task accomplishment and efficient performance, and thus, he is not easily satisfied with the work of others because he wants perfection. Since the lower score on the LPC scale show respondent’s less satisfaction with the person that he has worked with, this means that the respondent is likely to be a task-oriented leader.
On the other, a relationship-oriented leader believes more in good relationships with other workers to achieve goals, and thus, he generally does not view low-performing workers negatively because he wants to avoid conflicts to maintain a good relationship. Due to this, he feels fairly satisfied with other workers even if their performance is relatively low. Since a high score on the LPC scale shows the respondent’s higher satisfaction with the person he has worked with, this means that the respondent is likely to be a relationship-oriented leader.
Fielder initially hypothesized that task-oriented leaders are more effective than relationship-oriented leaders. He based this assumption on the comparison of personality traits of both types of leaders because he believed task-oriented leaders have traits required for getting the job done. Initially, Fielder did not take into account the situational factors. However, later on, he realized that this is not only the personality of a leader which is responsible for effectiveness but also the situational factors.
He realized that for effective leadership style, in addition to a good personality-traits of the leader, situational favorability is also required. Situational favorability means that if the situation is favorable for the effectiveness of a specific leadership style, the leadership style would perform better. Therefore, if a situation is not favorable for a specific type of leadership, the leadership style should be adjusted to the situation to make it perform better.

   Factors leading to situational favorability

The situation, in which the leader works, can be extremely favorable, moderately favorable or extremely unfavorable. However, it is important to first understand what the term situation means in this Fielder’s theory. The situation here means the relationship between the leader and his workers, power position of the leader in relation to that of the workers, and the structure of tasks that need to be formed. These three factors determine the degree of favorability of a situation as explained below.

1. The relationship between the leader and workers means how much the workers trust, accept and like the leader. The better the relationship between leader and workers, the easier it would be for the leader to get work done. This is because such good relationship ensures the smooth and harmonious performance of the group by providing a positive atmosphere with lesser conflicts.
2. The power position of the leader means the comparative authority and control he has as in relation to the workers. It can be understood as the extent to which the leader can give rewards and punishment. The more control the leader has over the group, the better the performance outcomes of the group would be.
3. Task structure means the pattern in which the tasks are to be carried out. It includes who will perform which task, that when the task would be performed. It also includes how the tasks will be performed in collaboration among the workers. If there are clear rules and regulations and policies that describe the task structure, there would little hurdles in getting work done. If the tasks are unstructured, rules are unclear, the overall situation of task accomplishment would be ambiguous leading to low outcomes.

   Which leadership style works best according to the situation?

As noted earlier, Fielder initially believed that task-oriented leadership style is more effective than relationship-oriented leadership style. However, later on, he realized that task-oriented leadership style may not be productive in all situations. Therefore, typically, the leadership style should be made suited to the situation to work effectively. However, in an extremely favorable or extremely unfavorable situation, the task-oriented leadership style works better, whereas in a moderately favorable situation, the relationship-oriented leadership style may perform relatively better.