Leadership Style and
Leadership Effectiveness

Which leadership style is most effective? It depends. The style of a leader is influenced by both behavior and the situation in which a group is operating; successful leaders are adaptive and able to skillfully switch between styles. Several models have been proposed to attempt to explain the relationships between style, behavior and situation.

Fiedler's Contingency Model

Leadership style, in Fiedler's model, depends on three factors:

1. Relationship - The degree to which the leader is accepted by group members.
2. Task structure - The degree to which the work at hand is structured with clear goals and procedures.
3. Position power - Whether or not the leader can control subordinates through rewards or punishments.

The more these factors are in place, the more successful the leader. From Fiedler's perspective, it is far easier for the the leader to change the situation than to change his or her leadership style.

Hershey-Blanchard Situational Theory

In this model, leadership style depends on the maturity of group members. Maturity is measured in terms of:

1. Psychological maturity - The self-confidence of subordinates and how ready they are to be accountable.
2. Job maturity - How knowledgeable and skilled subordinates are with the work at hand.

As the maturity of the subordinates increases, the more non-directive the leader is able to be. Leadership style can proceed through four stages, with collaborative leadership declining as maturity declines as follows:

• Delegating to subordinates.
• Participating with subordinates.
• Selling ideas to subordinates.
• Telling subordinates what to do.

Other Leadership Models

Many other models exist to describe how leadership style may change with the situation. "Path Goal" theory developed by Evans and House suggests that individual motivation can be influenced by leaders by offering rewards, clarifying paths toward goals, and removing obstacle.

No research done in the past twenty years, however, has been able to show conclusively that rewards and punishment, the carrot and stick, contribute in any long-term way toward behavior change. Instead, many studies show that short-term behavior modification is possible with rewards, but as soon as the rewards are removed, behavior changes back to what it was before. Some studies go even further and illustrate that rewards can actually reduce motivation and create a negative impact on results.

Leadership Characteristics