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Educational Management

Notes

The concept of leadership is a social notion. It was formally developed during the
1960 to emphasize the ability of the leader to influence the people in his organization
in order to achieve the organizational goals. It emphasizes the interactional processes
involved in the achievement of goals.

11.3.4 Contingency Theories of Leadership

The behavioural theory of leadership had assumed that there are certain types of behaviour that
make for the success of the leaders, if they have them in the repertory of their behaviours. In other
words, the approach asserted that if a leader shows and adopts certain behaviour patterns, he is
likely to be more effective. For example, it asserted that if a leader shows regard for his coworkers,
he will be more successful. In a way, the theory presented a view-point that the determinants of
the effectiveness of leaders were locked in certain specific behaviours which they should adopt
while exercising leadership. Since, this approach could not stand the test of research, it was supplanted
by a more flexible and realistic point of view which emphasized that the effectiveness of leadership
is a function of an interplay between leader-behaviour and the situation in which leadership is
exercised. Consequently, it was found to be more logical to believe that the desire to have a single
ideal type of leader-behaviour pattern was unrealistic. Several theorists in the field, then, strated
saying that effectiveness of leadership should be considered a resultant of the interaction between
the leader and the situation which may be expressed as E = f (l, f, s) in which
7
E = Effectiveness
f = Function

l = Leader
f = Followers
s = Other situational variables.
This means that an effective leader is one who has the ability to adapt to the demands of the
situation and the needs of the followers. The leader or the manager must be like a painter artist who
changes his style and technique in order to produce a particular effect in his painting. It was, then,
realized that the more the leaders adapt their style of leadership to meet the situational needs
including the needs of followers the more effective they will be in realizing the goals of organization.
These were the views of the situational or contingency theories of leadership. These theories were
termed as contingency theories since the effectiveness of the leaders were, in them, seen to be
contingent upon the situational variables. These theories are based on four assumptions :
(a) that leadership can be described in terms of behaviour-patterns or styles of leaders.
(b) that a key issue is the extent to which leader behaviour is task-oriented and person-oriented.
(c) that there is no one universal best way to exercise leadership under all conditions. Hence, one
has to assess which way or style is more appropriate in a particular situation.
(d) that in choosing a style of leadership, the appropriate criterion is effectiveness or outcome.
There are four popular contingency or situational theories of leadership. These have had powerful
impact on training of managers and practice of management in all fields. They seem to have wide
applicability to management in the field of education also. They have been described as follows :

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