Style, Contingency, Situational

& LMX Approaches

Dr. Faisal Asghar Imam

Style or Behavioral Approach

Assumptions:
1. Doing rather than Having
2. What behaviors are effective?
3. If we find these behaviors, we can train
leaders.
4. Everybody can be a leader.

Initiating
Structures
Assign group

members to
particular tasks

Consideration
Respect for ideas
Regard for feelings

and well-being
Expect definitive

standards
Emphasizing

meeting deadlines

Friendly,

approachable and
treats all employees
as equal

Other Studies
University of Michigan studies
Tannenbaum/ Schimdt
Vroom
Harbison/ Myers

All had similar dimensions

Autocratic vs. Democratic

Evidence of Behavioral
Theories
Supportive style leads to
Job satisfaction
Decreased turnover and grievance rate
Decreased conflict

Why do you think this is so???

Evidence of Behavioral
Theories
Structuring style
Higher productivity especially in routine work
Low morale in the long run
Some individual and cultural differences

Behavioral Theories
The Pakistani Perspective
Hofstede and High Power Distance

Blake and Moutons Managerial

(Leadership) Grid

AuthorityCompliance (9,1)
seen as controlling, demanding, hard driving,

and overpowering
Country-Club Management (1,9)
agreeable, eager to help, comforting, and

uncontroversial

Impoverished Management (1,1)

indifferent, noncommittal, resigned, and

apathetic
Middle-of-the-Road Management (5,5)
prefers the middle ground, soft-pedals

disagreement, and swallows convictions in the

interest of progress

Team Management (9,9)

stimulates participation, acts determined, gets

issues into the open, makes priorities clear,

follows through, behaves open-mindedly, and
enjoys working
KLPs;
The role of conditioning
The binary thinking

Paternalism/Maternalism
make most of the key decisions; and reward

loyalty and obedience while punishing

noncompliance
Opportunism
ruthless, cunning, and self-motivated, while

some could argue that these types of leaders

are adaptable and strategic.

Behavioral Theories
A New Approach
Monitoring
Clarifying Ambiguity (efficacy/ acceptance

of assignments, KSA)

CONTINGENCY
THEORIES

Fiedler Model
Leader-member relations
Task structure
Position power
KLP- Match the style according to the

situation

Hersey & Blanchard Situational

leadership theory
The two critical assumptions
The role of the led
The role of readiness
Effective leaders are those who can

recognize what employees need and then

adapt their own style to meet those needs

Hersey & Blanchard Situational leadership

theory

Leadership Styles
Directive behaviors clarify, often with one-way

communication, what is to be done, how it is to

be done, and who is responsible for doing it

Supportive behaviors involve two-way

communication and responses that show social

and emotional support to others. Examples of
supportive behaviors include asking for input,
solving problems, praising, sharing information
about oneself, and listening

Directing style (S 1)
A leader gives instructions about what and

how goals are to be achieved by the

subordinates and then supervises them
carefully
Coaching (S 2)
Giving encouragement and soliciting

subordinate input
However, coaching is an extension of S1 in
that it still requires that the leader make
the final decision on the what and how of
goal accomplishment

Supporting (S3)
listening, praising, asking for input, and giving

feedback. An S3 leader is quick to give

recognition and social support to subordinates
A leader using this style gives subordinates
control of day-to-day decisions but remains
available to facilitate problem solving
Delegating (S4)
This style lets subordinates take responsibility

for getting the job done the way they see fit
A leader using S4 gives control to subordinates
and refrains from intervening with unnecessary
social support

HOW DOES THE SITUATIONAL

APPROACH WORK?
In a given situation, the first task for a leader is

to determine the nature of the situation.

Questions such as the following must be
addressed: What task are subordinates being
asked to perform? How complex is the task? Are
the subordinates sufficiently skilled to accomplish
the task? Do they have the desire to complete
the job once they start it? Answers to these
questions will help leaders to identify correctly
the specific developmental level at which their
subordinates are functioning. For example, new
employees who are very excited but lack
understanding of job requirements would be
identified as D1-level employees. Conversely,

HOW DOES THE SITUATIONAL

APPROACH WORK?
Subordinates can move back and forth

along the development continuum,

requiring leaders to be flexible in their
leadership behavior

SLT- A Final Word;

Ample T&D Use but lacks Theoretical or

Research backing

Leader Member Exchange Theory

(LMX)
A Realistic Approach
A theory of mutual influence
A theory about use of different influence tools

for different people

LMX
Subordinate Differentiation
Competence
Trust
Motivation

In group & Out group