Contingency Leadership Model
- Theory / Concept Name
- Contingency Leadership Model
- Description
Fiedler proposed that leadership effectiveness depends on the match between leadership style and situational favourability — there is no single best style.
Measuring Leadership Style — LPC Scale
Leaders rate their Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) on adjective scales:
- High LPC (relationship-motivated): Sees LPC positively; values interpersonal relationships.
- Low LPC (task-motivated): Sees LPC negatively; focuses on task completion.
Situational Favourability (three dimensions)
- Leader-member relations: How well the leader is liked and trusted.
- Task structure: How clearly the task is defined.
- Position power: How much formal authority the leader has.
Matching Style to Situation
- Low LPC (task-motivated) leaders perform best in very favourable or very unfavourable situations.
- High LPC (relationship-motivated) leaders perform best in moderately favourable situations.
Key Implication
Because leadership style is relatively fixed, the solution is to change the situation to match the leader's style, rather than trying to change the leader's style itself.
- Theorist / Pioneer
- Fred Fiedler
- Year
- 1967
- Category
- Leadership