OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR COLLEGE-CAUAYAN

College of Education
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Cauayan City, Isabela

DPEM 105
ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP

RESEARCH PAPER ABOUT

PATH-GOAL THEORY

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Presented to
DR. FRANKLIN L. SORIANO
The Graduate School
Our Lady of The Pillar College-Cauayan

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NELSON G. VERSOZA

December 2021

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 OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR COLLEGE-CAUAYAN
College of Education
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Cauayan City, Isabela

Introduction

According to Robert J. House (1971), the Path-Goal

Theory encapsulates the necessity for distinct roles which a

leader must fulfil, as well as the leadership traits managers

should acquire in their practice. House also provided

guidelines of which leaders must follow to compensate for

subordinates’ potential skill deficiencies.

Main Concept

The path-goal theory states that a leader’s behavior is

contingent to the satisfaction, motivation and performance of

their employees. The manager’s job is viewed as guiding

workers to choose the best paths to reach both their goals as

well as the organization’s goals. The theory argues that

leaders will have to engage in different types of leadership

behavior depending on the nature and the demands of the

situation at hand. It is the leader’s job to assist followers

in attaining goals and to provide the direction and support

needed to ensure that their goals are compatible with the

organization’s goals. Path–goal theory assumes that leaders

are flexible and that they can change their style, as

situations require.

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 OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR COLLEGE-CAUAYAN
College of Education
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Cauayan City, Isabela

THE PGT, BASED ON THE EXPECTANCY MOTIVATION THEORY

It sees motivation as the corner stone of performance and

job satisfaction (Evans, 1970).2 Motivation enables people to

tackle challenges and stay focused on their goal, irrespective

of whether they are personal or professional goals and targets

(Baumeister and Voh, 2004). As leadership is the single most

important factor in motivating employees and improving

productivity (Fulop and Linstead, 1999), the Path-Goal Theory

proposes four types of leadership qualities for motivating

subordinates, for which an effective leader can use depending

on the situations. From another view point, it can even

suggest situations for which a particular leadership style is

irrelevant and unimportant in terms of motivating staff.

THE PATH-GOAL THEORY AMONG THE FIRST LEADERSHIP

The Path-Goal Theory is among the first leadership

theories that convincingly specify multiple leader behaviors

(Jermier, 1996).

A. Directive Leadership Style

Firstly, the Directive Leadership style lets subordinates

know what they are expected to do by the giving of specific

guidance, rules and procedures for the subordinates to follow.

The subordinates know exactly what is expected of them, but

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 OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR COLLEGE-CAUAYAN
College of Education
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Cauayan City, Isabela
they do not participate (House, 1971, 1996; House and

Mitchell, 1974). The Directive Leadership style is applicable

when the subordinates are inexperienced, the task is

unstructured and complex, the guidelines and work procedures

are not well formalized, or where insufficient feedback is

given to the subordinates (Fry; Kerr and Lee, 1986; Keller,

1989).

B. Supportive Leadership Style

On the other hand, the Supportive Leadership style is

directed towards giving consideration to the needs and welfare

of subordinates. The Supportive Leader creates a friendly

climate in the workplace and is open and approachable. He/she

also helps to reduce work stress, and at the same time,

alleviates work frustration for his/her subordinates. This

leadership style is appropriate when the subordinates do not

have confidence in their work as the supportive leader

behavior can lead to self-confidence and social satisfaction

of the subordinates.

C. Participative Leadership Style

Meanwhile, the Participative Leader consults with

subordinates and take into account their suggestions in the

decision-making process. In situations where the task is

unstructured and the subordinates have a strong sense of

achievement together with a high need for autonomy, the leader

should exhibit participative leadership style. It is important

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 OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR COLLEGE-CAUAYAN
College of Education
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Cauayan City, Isabela
to note that while the participative leader ‘consults’ his

subordinates, the final decisions still rest with him/her.

D. Achievement-Oriented Leadership Style

On the contrary, the achievement-oriented leader sets

challenging goals and define standards. Subordinates are to

perform at their highest level and to continuously seek

improvement in performance. Achievement-oriented leadership

style can be seen as a form of reinforcement because it can

clarify changing goals and paths in response to the past

success of the subordinates at achieving goals. Higher

intrinsic job satisfaction should result from this leadership

behavior since it gives subordinates the responsibility to set

and achieve challenging goals (House, 1971, 1996; House and

Dessler, 1974; House and Mitchell, 1974).

SITUATIONAL MODERATORS IN THE PATH-GOAL THEORY

In PGT, there are two situational moderators or

moderating contingency factors, namely: subordinate personal

characteristics and environmental (or task) characteristics.

A. Subordinate Personal Characteristics

According to the PGT, subordinate personal

characteristics affect how subordinates interpret and accept

their manager’s leadership style in a particular situation.

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 OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR COLLEGE-CAUAYAN
College of Education
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Cauayan City, Isabela
These characteristics determine the extent to which the

subordinates find the leadership style of their supervisors to

be acceptable and instrumental to their obtaining the desired

outcomes and immediate or future source of job satisfaction

(House, 1971; House and Dessler, 1974; Northouse, 2003; Yukl,

2002). The characteristics include the subordinates’ level of

authoritarianism (dogmatic close-mindedness, rigidity of the

subordinates), desires for control (personality construct

locus of control which can be internal or external), needs for

affiliation, preferences for structure, and self-perception of

their own ability to perform a specific task (House, 1971;

House and Dessler, 1974; Northouse, 2003; Yukl, 2002).

B. Environmental or Task Characteristics

Meanwhile the environmental or task characteristics are

not within the control of the subordinates but any of them can

affect the subordinates by motivating or constraining them

(House and Mitchell, 1974). The three key environmental

variables are (House and Mitchell, 1974): 1. The task

structure (design and nature of the subordinates’ task); 2.

The formal authority system (the formal authority structure of

the organization); and, 3. The primary work group (group

relationship norms and values of the subordinates).

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 OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR COLLEGE-CAUAYAN
College of Education
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Cauayan City, Isabela

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF PATH-GOAL THEORY

Advantages

a) PGT provides a framework for leaders to understand how

their style influences the motivation of their

subordinates.

b) It’s unique in that it links motivational theory to

leadership.

c) It highlights that the role of leaders is to guide and

help their subordinates achieve.

Disadvantages

a. It’s very complicated to understand.

b. With so many variables involved, studies are unable to

corroborate that the theory works in the real world.

c. Sometimes a particular situation will require more than

one style of leadership.

d. In the leader-subordinate relationship, Path-Goal theory

places almost all of the responsibility on the shoulders

of the leader. Thus, there is a risk that subordinates

become dependent on the leader and fail to develop to the

next level.

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 OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR COLLEGE-CAUAYAN
College of Education
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Cauayan City, Isabela

Application

The independent variables of Path-Goal Theory are the

leaders' behavior, thus the path–goal theory assumes that

leaders are flexible in that they can change their behavior or

style, depending upon the situation. This coincides with the

research that while nature (genes) may be our internal guide,

nurture (experience) is our explorer that has the final say in

what we do (Ridley, 2003).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the PATH-GOAL theory to leadership

is based on the way that a leader motivates subordinates to

accomplish their designated task and how they are motivated to

reach their prescribed goal.

It also relies on a leader's behavior, which the theory

considers important for a better overall performance.

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 OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR COLLEGE-CAUAYAN
College of Education
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Cauayan City, Isabela

References

Evans, M.G. (1970). The effects of supervisory behavior on the

path-goal relationship. Organizational Behavior and

Human Performance. 5: 277–298.

House, R.J. (1971). A Path-Goal Theory of Leader

Effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly. 16,

321-328.

House, R.J., Mitchell, T.R. (1974). Path-goal theory of

leadership. Journal of Contemporary Business. 3: l–97.

House, R.J. (1996). Path-goal theory of leadership: Lessons,

legacy, and a reformulated theory. Leadership Quarterly.

7 (3): 323–352.

Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership Theory and Practice. Thousand

Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.

Ridley, M. (2003). Nature Via Nurture. New York: Harper

Collins.

Stogdill, R.M. (1974). Handbook of Leadership: A Survey of

Theory and and Research. New York: Free Press.

Vroom, V.H. (1964). Work and motivation. New York: Wiley.