What is Fiedler’s Contingency Theory of Leadership ? What are the three variables of it.फिडलर का नेतृत्व का आकस्मिकता सिद्धांत क्या है? इसके तीन घटक क्या हैं?

Q.8 What is Fiedler’s Contingency Theory of Leadership ? What are the three variables of it.

फिडलर का नेतृत्व का आकस्मिकता सिद्धांत क्या है? इसके तीन घटक क्या हैं?

Ans.

Fiedler’s Contingency Theory of Leadership 

• Fiedler’s Contingency Theory was proposed by Fred Fiedler in 1967. This theory focuses on the idea that leadership effectiveness depends not only on the leader’s style but also on situational factors.
• It suggests that the success of a group is influenced by three key situational variables.
• According to this theory, a leader’s effectiveness depends on how well the situation fits their leadership style.

Three Variables of Fiedler’s Contingency Theory

Fiedler identified three situational variables that determine the effectiveness of leadership:

A. Leader-Member Relations

• This refers to the degree of trust, respect, and confidence that followers have in their leader.
• When followers trust and respect the leader, the group performs better.
• Example: Employees who trust their manager are more likely to follow instructions effectively.

B. Task Structure

• This refers to the nature of the task performed by the group.
• Tasks can be:
  • Highly Structured: Clear rules, procedures, and goals.
  • Unstructured: Vague tasks requiring creativity and problem-solving.
• Leaders have more control in structured tasks compared to unstructured ones.
• Example: Assembly line work is highly structured, whereas creative design work is unstructured.

C. Leader’s Positional Power

• This refers to the authority and power a leader holds due to their position in the organization.
• It includes the ability to make decisions, reward, or punish employees.
• Leaders with higher positional power have greater influence over their team.
• Example: A CEO holds more authority and power than a team supervisor.

Conclusion

• Fiedler’s theory highlights that leadership success depends on how well the leader’s style matches the situation.
• Most favorable situation: When the leader is well-liked, the task is highly structured, and the leader has strong positional power.
• Most unfavorable situation: When the leader is disliked, the task is unstructured, and the leader has weak positional power.
• This theory is widely used in organizations to select effective leaders and optimize team performance by aligning leadership styles with situational factors.

Source: VMOU : PDF : LINK