3.

Situational and Contingency Leadership

Theories
a. Mary Parker Follett : one of earliest
management consultant
• stressed the need for the integration, which
involved finding a solution that satisfied both
sides without having one side dominate the
other.
• her “law of the situation” said that the
situation should determine the directives
given after allowing everyone to know the
problem
b. Fiedler: No one leadership style is ideal for
every situation
 5. Contemporary Theory
a. Interactional Leadership Theory – that
leadership behavior is generally determined by
the relationship between the leader’s
personality and the specific situation
• - Schein : Human beings as complex being
whose working environment was an open
system to which they responded
b. Transformational Leadership
• Transactional Leaders - traditional
managers concerned with the day to day
operations
•
• Transformational Leaders – one who is
committed, has vision and is able to empower
others with this vision
Transactional Leaders Transformational
Leader
Focuses on Identifies common
management tasks values
Is a caretaker Is committed
Uses trade off to Inspires others with
meet goals vision
Does not identify Has long term vision
shared values Looks at effects
Examines causes Empowers others
Uses contingency
reward
Examines causes
 STYLES OF LEADERSHIP
1. KURT LEWIN’S LEADERSHIP STUDIES
• leadership studies by Lewin were observed in the
1930’s which resulted to the following:
a) Autocratic style of Leadership
• Leaders make decisions alone. They tend to be more
concerned with task accomplishment than with
concern for people
• Autocratic leadership tends to promote hostility and
aggression or apathy and to decrease initiative
• Involves centralized decision making with the
leader making decisions and using power to
command and control others
 Characteristics of Autocratic
• strong control is maintained over the work
group
• others are motivated by coercion
• others are directed with commands
• communication flows downward
• decision making does not involve others
• emphasis is on difference in status (“I” and
“you”)
• criticism is punitive
b) Democratic Style

• Leaders involve their followers in the

decision making process.
• They are people oriented and focus on
human relations and teamwork.
• Democratic leadership leads to increased
productivity and job satisfaction
 Characteristics of Democratic
• Less control is maintained
• Economic and ego awards are used to motivate
• Others are directed through suggestions and
guidance
• Communication flows up and down
• Decision making involves others
• Emphasis is on “we” rather than “I” and “you”
• Criticism is constructive
c) Laissez faire Style

• Leaders are loose and permissive and

abstain from leading their staff.
• They foster freedom for everyone and
want everyone to feel good
• This style results in low productivity and
employee frustration
 Characteristics of Laissez faire
• Permissiveness with little or no control
• motivation by support when requested by
the group or individuals
• Provision of little or no directions
• Communication upward and downward
flow among members of the group
• Emphasis on the group
• Criticism withheld
2. RENSIS LIKERT’S LEADERSHIP SYSTEM
Likert and his associates identified four basic
styles or systems of leadership, namely:
1. Exploitive- Authoritative
• - top management makes all decisions
• - motivation by coercion
• - communication downward
• - review and control functions
• - concentrated in top management
4. Participative-Democratic

• - decision making dispersed throughout

organization
• - motivation by economic rewards
established by group participation
• - communication down, up, and with peers
review and control functions shared by
superiors and subordinates
 2. Benevolent-Authoritative
• - top management makes most decisions
• - motivation by economic and ego motives
• - communication mostly downward review
and control functions primarily at top
3. Consultative – Democratic
• - some delegated decisions made at lower
levels
• - motivation by economic, ego, and other
motives such as desire for new experiences
• - communication down and up review and
control functions primarily at the top, but
ideas are solicited from lower levels
 3. TWO DIMENSIONAL MODEL
a. Authority –compliance (9,1)
– Under this style, there is an inevitable contradiction
between organizational needs of production and
personal needs of people.
– The dilemma is resolved by arranging conditions of
work which minimizes feeling and attitudes to prevent
human elements from interfering with efficiency and
output
– People are regarded as instruments of production,
hence supervision places heavy emphasis on task and
job requirements by the use of hierarchical power in
the authority
2. Country Club Leadership Style( 1,9 )

• This orientation has a low functional

• concern for production, coupled with a
high concern for people
• People come first. Within this
• context, conditions are arranged so that
personal, social and welfare needs can be
met
3. Impoverished Leadership Style ( 1,1)
• This low concern for production also
couples with low concern for people
• Is common in routine operations and in
various staff functions.
• This type of leadership of people is an
anomaly, it comes to those who have
accepted defeat and is best described as “l
lost among” rather than managing people
• Direction and control is of minimum
exposure and accountability reduced to
rule – following the message – carrying
functions.
• There is no concept of goals. Personal survival within the
system to get the pay, and eventually, retirement
benefits.
• Communication is maintained at a low level thru
minimum contact and non-involvement, as direct
consequence of withdrawal under a self centered
behavior.
• Management of conflict follows the same pattern of
isolation, withdrawal, or strict neutrality.
• Creativity is directed toward self preservation.
• If standardized training programs are a part of the
organization’s over-all development program, there is
neither encouragement nor discouragement. PASSIVITY is
the state of adjustment
4. The Middle of the Road Leadership Style (5,5)
This is based on the same assumption of conflict
between organization purpose of production
and needs of people.
• Instead of resolving an issue in the direction
of production, people, or leaving the field,
SATISFACTORY OR WORKABLE SOLUTIONS are
found THRU EQUILIBRIUM or COMPROMISED.
• Assumes that people are practical, that they
realize some effort will have to be exerted on
the job
5. Team Leadership Style (9,9)
• This style depicts that there is no
necessary and inherent conflict between
organization purpose of production
requirements and the needs of people.
• High concern for production is coupled
with an equally high concern for people by
means of effective integration of people
with production through involvement in
determining the conditions and strategies
of work.
 SERVANT LEADERSHIP
Servant Leadership is life and leadership in the service of the
Lord.
• Nurse leaders should use their gifts from God according
to the grace given to them. They should talk of God’s
message if they are gifted with the talent to speak in
proportion to their faith
• It is selfless commitment and devotion to duty
• It recognizes the necessity of providing holistic care to
the patient – physically, and spiritually. Nurse leaders are
duty bound in the proportion of spiritual environment
for their patients.
 How to practice Servant Leadership?
• Christians both Roman and non Roman Catholics refer to the
Bible for inspirational enlightenment so that their love and
concern for fellowmen is strengthened.
• Muslim nurse leaders provide comfort and prayers to their
patients by referring to passages from the Koran, as the
Muslim’s Holy book.
• The basis of practice is from the Good Samaritan Act in the
new testament ( Luke 10:30-37 )
• Leaders are servants. They bear the responsibility for the
group, not vice versa. It’s the leader who must form the
chain of productivity by using the very human links as
associates and team members.
• The pressure of service is on the leader.
The leader must ensure that the needs of
the group are met and responsible of
making the work environment happy.
• The leader must go the extra mile if the
organization is going to go farther down
the road.
• THE LEADER IS A SERVANT OF ALL, NOT
THE GREATEST OF ALL!!!
 FILIPINO STYLES OF LEADERSHIP
• Most researchers termed it as DYNAMIC not STATIC,
because Philippine society is constantly under
various pressures where changes are inevitable
• According to Soriano ( 1973) paternalistic and the
more professional style of leadership and
management will continue to exist side by side
because the first deals on the autocratic style and
the latter is the democratic style
• Generally Filipinos identify leadership with
benevolence because of the value of PERSONALISM
(Flores, 1989).
• “The focus is not so much on what a person
does as on who he is;
• Not so much on what a person knows as
whom he knows and who knows him.
• Not so much on the objective reality of things
as on the way things are actually perceived”.
FILIPINO VALUES THAT AFFECTS LEADERSHIP
• Amor propio – Filipino needs to be treated as person not
as object
• Hiya – combination of feelings of inferiority,
embarrassment, shyness and alienation
• Utang na loob – feeling which develops when one has
received a favor from another
• Pakikisama – desire for smooth interpersonal relationship
• Galang – respect is the result of the definition of rights and
obligations
• Lakad system – practice of go betweens by fixing things for
someone
• Bata system – means a favored individual, close friend,
comrade to rely on in time of need.