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Great Man/TraitSituational

and Contingency “Theories”

LS 705Darrell BrewerMelissa FarrishSarah GroseAllison Pyle

• Developed by Thomas Carlyle in the 1840’s• History and subsequently society is

influenced by the actions of great men/women

• These “Heroes” rise to the occasion with which they are presented.

Great Man Theory

Great Man TheoryThomas Carlyle

• We attribute whole movements/eras to singular historical events shaped by these heroes.

• This hero worship thusly informs our views about how we perceive our own existence as we search for the greatness that exists within ourselves by modeling our behavior after heroic personalities.

(Thomas Carlyle 1993)

Great Man TheoryCarlyle’s Six Classes of “Heroes”

Hero as…Divinity – A greater omnipotent being…better than man himself (A god)Prophet – Messenger of a god (Muhammad, Isaiah, Moses, etc.)Poet – Men who use their words to inspire and influence (Dante / Shakespeare)Priest – The “spiritual captain” of men (reformers)Man of Letters – Men whose reason influences others to actKing – The embodiment of greatness to which all subjects aspire

(Carlyle 1993)

Great Man Theory • If the “Great Men” have certain qualities or

characteristics that make them so, then it should be possible to identify them and subsequently emulate them. (Stodgill 1974)

• Qualities of the Great Men/Leaders facilitate the “unlocking” of greater potential in those who follow them. (Burns 1978)

• Greatness is innate rather than instilled. (Carlyle 1993)

Trait TheoryFrancis Galton

• There are certain traits (hereditary) that serve to influence one’s potential for greatness.

• If such traits are present then it stands to reason that great leaders are predisposed to being that way and will emerge when the conditions require their action.

• Nature decides who is best suited for leadership.

(Galton 1925)

Trait TheoryTraits for Leaders

• Emotional Stability – Behavior is predictable and rational especially when stressed

• Admitting Error – Able to own up to mistakes and avoid cover-ups

• Interpersonal Skills – Ability to persuade others toward a line of thought without being coercive

• Intellectual Ability – The ability to understand and form solutions to a variety of issues and situations

(McCall & Lombardo 1990)

Situational Leadership

• In 1860, Herbert Spencer, an English philosopher disputed the great man theory by affirming that these heroes are simply the product of their times and their actions the results of social conditions.

• Spencer believed the times produce the person and not the other way around; different situations call for different characteristics.

http://www.vectorstudy.com/management-topics/theories-of-leadership


• Emphasizes the importance of the situation in determining who should become – and remain – the leader of a group.

• According to the early situationalists, there is no such thing as a born leader; it all depends on the situation.

(Adair, 2011)


Put a person in one situation and he or she may emerge as a leader; put him or her in another one and he or she will not.

Churchill was undoubtedly a great leader in wartime, but was he so successful in peace?

(Adair, 2011)

Hersey-Blanchard Situational LeadershipCreated by

Dr Paul Hersey, a professor and author of "The Situational Leader" Ken Blanchard, author of the best selling "One-Minute Manager"


Theory stating instead of using just one style, successful leaders should change their leadership styles based on the maturity of the people they're leading and the details of the task.

http://www.thescoopng.com/folarin-sagaya-nigeria-where-one-size-fits-all/

Four Main Leadership Styles

• Telling (S1) – Leaders tell their people what to do and how to do it.

• Selling (S2) – Leaders provide information and direction, but there's more communication with followers. Leaders "sell" their message to get people on board.

• Participating (S3) – Leaders focus more on the relationship and less on direction. The leader works with the team, and shares decision-making responsibilities.

• Delegating (S4) – Leaders pass most of the responsibility onto the follower or group. The leaders still monitor progress, but they're less involved in decisions.

(Chamberlain, 2013)

No One Best Way• There is no one best way to influence

group members. • Most effective leadership style depends on

the readiness level of group members. Readiness - extent to which a group member has the ability and willingness or confidence to accomplish a specific task.

• As group member readiness increases, a leader should rely more on relationship behavior and less on task behavior.

Maturity Level• M1 – People at this level of maturity are at the bottom

level of the scale. They lack the knowledge, skills, or confidence to work on their own, and they often need to be pushed to take the task on.

• M2 – at this level, followers might be willing to work on the task, but they still don't have the skills to complete it successfully.

• M3 – Here, followers are ready and willing to help with the task. They have more skills than the M2 group, but they're still not confident in their abilities.

• M4 – These followers are able to work on their own. They have high confidence and strong skills, and they're committed to the task.

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_44.htm

Maturity Level vs. Leadership Style

Maturity Level Most Appropriate Leadership Style

M1: Low maturity S1: Telling/directing

M2: Medium maturity, limited skills

S2: Selling/coaching

M3: Medium maturity, higher skills but lacking confidence

S3: Participating/supporting

M4: High maturity S4: Delegating


The Four Leadership Styles

(Chamberlin, 2013)

Hersey/Blanchard Situational Leadership• All teams, and all team members, aren't

created equal. Hersey and Blanchard argue that leaders are more effective when they use a leadership style based on the individuals or groups they're leading.

• Start by identifying whom you're leading. Are your followers knowledgeable about the task? Are they willing and excited to do the work? Rate them on the M1 - M4 maturity scale, and then use the leadership style that's appropriate for that rating.


Contingency Theory

Vroom and Yetton:Contingency Theory• Created by Victor Vroom and Phillip

Yetton in 1973• Leaders have a direct and clear

pattern to addressing problems.• Updated in 1988 when Vroom and

Jago took the fundamental practices and addressed some of the weaknesses

(Hershey, 2001)

Vroom and Yetton:Contingency Theory• All leadership is contingent upon

things within the environment.• No leadership model is “a be all and

end all”. • It is assumed that situations interact

personal characteristics of the leader, resulting in leader behavior that can affect organizational effectiveness. (Hershey, 2001)

Hershey, 2001

Vroom and Yetton: Contingency Theory• A contingency model is where the

leader's possible behaviors are contingent upon the interaction between the questions and the leader's assessment of the situation in developing a response to the questions.

• It empowers the leader to vary his style to fit the situation. (Hershey, 2001)

Managerial Decision Styles

• Autocratic (AI)- Solve the problem yourself using available information

• Autocratic (AII)- Obtain necessary information, then solve the problem yourself

• Consultative (CI)- Share the problem with individuals (not in a group), get ideas, then make a decision that may or may not reflect the individuals’ ideas

• Consultative (CII)- Share the problem with a group, obtain their ideas, then make a decision that may or may not reflect the group

• Collaborative (GII)- Share the problem with your followers and create a solution together(House & Aditya, 1997)

Vroom and Yetton:Contingency Theory

Effectiveness• Overall, studies show the closer the

leader can get to being a GII leader, the more likely the subordinates will be content.

(House & Aditya, 1997)

Vroom and Yetton: Contingency Theory

Conclusion• Very direct and clear pattern of

questioning and decision making to determine how to work with subordinates and address a problem

• Leadership is never constant • Fluidity must be applied to

leadership at all times

(House, 2001)

Fiedler’s Contingency

• Group performance relies on leader’s orientation

• Successful leadership relies on 3 stipulations:Good leader-member relationshipTasks with clear goals and proceduresAbility of leader to dole out rewards and

punishments

(Hickson, et. al., 1971)

• Least preferred co-worker scaleMeasures the leader’s orientation

Human relations vs. TaskIndividual’s emotional reaction to peopleCritics argue it is not an accurate

measure of leader effectiveness (Hickson, et. al.,

1971)

(Fiedler, F. & Chemers, M., 1984)

Leader-Member Relations

Uncooperative 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Cooperative

Unfriendly 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Friendly

Hostile 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Supportive

Guarded 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Open

….. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ….

Task Structure

• Low (unstructured)Ambiguous taskNo clear solution to reach the goal or

solve problem

• High (structured)Goal and tasks are clearClear idea how to solve problem and

reach goal


Power Positions

• High Power (Ex. CEO of company)Ability to distribute resources

Rewards and punishments

• Low Power (Team leader of project)Inability to control situation

No rewards or disciplinary actions


Leader-Situation Match

When there is a good leader-member relation, a highly structured task, and high leader position power, the situation is considered a "favorable situation." Fiedler found that low-LPC leaders are more effective in extremely favorable or unfavorable situations, whereas high-LPC leaders perform best in situations with intermediate favorability.

http://managementstudyguide.com/fiedlers-contingency-model.htm




Effectiveness• The leader’s effectiveness is

determined by the interaction of the leader’s style of behavior and the favorableness of the situational characteristics. The most favorable situation is when leader-member relations are good, the task is highly structured, and the leader has a strong power position.

(http://managementstudyguide.com/fiedlers-contingency-model.htmhas a strong position power.)

ReferencesAdair, J. (2011). The John Adair Lexicon of Leadership : The Definitive Guide to Leadership Skills and

Knowledge. London: Kogan Page.Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row.Carlyle, T., Goldberg, M. K., Brattin, J. J., & Engel, M. (1993). On heroes, hero-worship, & the heroic in history. Berkeley: University of California Press.Chamberlin, J. (2013). Situationally speaking. (cover story). Management Services, 57(2), 42-47.Fiedler, F., & Chemers, M. (1984). The LPC questionnaire. Improving Leadership Effectiveness. Indianapolis: John Wiley & Sons.Galton, F. (1925). Hereditary genius: an inquiry into its laws and consequences. London: Macmillan and Co..Hersey, P. (2001). Management and organizational behavior. Upper Saddle, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Hickson, D.J., Hinigs, C.R., Lee, C.A., Schneck, R.S., & Pennings, J.M. (1971). A strategic contingencies theory of intra-organizational power. Administrative Science Quarterly, 16, 216-229.House, R. J., & Aditya, R. N. (1997). The social scientific study of leadership: Quo vadis. Journal of

Management. Management Study Guide. (2012). Correlation between leader’s LPC scores and group effectiveness. Retrieved from: http://managementstudyguide.com/fiedlers-contingency-model.htmMcCall, M. W., & Lombardo, M. M. (1990). Off the track: why and how successful executives get

derailed. Greensboro, N.C.: Center for Creative Leadership.Smith, J. (2011). Leading from the middle. Samford: Tebbo.Stogdill, R. M. (1974). Handbook of leadership: a survey of theory and research. New York: Free Press.

Download - LS 705 Darrell Brewer Melissa Farrish Sarah Grose Allison Pyle

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