Leadership - A Critical Perspective

Running head: LEADERSHIP – A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE
Leadership – A Critical Perspective
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1LEADERSHIP – A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE
List of the Leadership Challenges:
1. Traits
2. Contingency approaches to leadership
3. Followership

2LEADERSHIP – A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE
Introduction
According to the Contingency theory, there is no best way to lead an organization.
Instead, the action that is to be taken is contingent or dependant on the internal aspects and
external aspects of a situation (Uhl-Bien et al., 2014). The Fiedler Contingency Model was
developed in 1958 by Professor F.E.Fiedler in his work ‘Leader Attitudes and Group
Effectiveness.’
Discussion
According to Professor F.E.Fiedler, leadership is fixed and it can be measured using a
scale that Professor F.E.Fiedler developed which is called the Least Preferred Co –Worker (LPC)
scale. The scale asks a person to contemplate and think about a person whom one has enjoyed
the least working with. A person is then asked to rate how one feels about this person in various
factors and then add up the scores. Low LPC- leaders are said to be very effective in completing
tasks. They tend to organize people in a group very quickly and efficiently to get the job done.
Low LPC leaders do not place much emphasis on building relationships with leaders and co –
workers. High LPC leaders on the other hand give a lot of attention to building relationships with
leaders and co – workers and they are good at evading conflict (Day et al., 2014). According to
this model, a high score means that one focuses more on relationships and a low score implies
that one is naturally task-focused. Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google belongs to the second
group wherein he is more task – focused.

3LEADERSHIP – A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE
Conclusion
One of the biggest limitations of this Fiedler Contingency Model is that it does not allow
any scope for flexibility The Least preferred co – worker scale is also subjective and
characteristics are relative to contexts. According to Fiedler, the Least preferred Co-worker Scale
is valid only for groups that are always under supervision rather than open groups, such as teams.
To conclude, one can say that there is no one best way of doing things and different situations
calls for different solutions for handling an issue. (Jansen et al., 2016).
Day, D. V., Fleenor, J. W., Atwater, L. E., Sturm, R. E., & McKee, R. A. (2014). Advances in
leader and leadership development: A review of 25 years of research and theory. The
Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 63-82.
Jansen, J. J., Kostopoulos, K. C., Mihalache, O. R., & Papalexandris, A. (2016). A Socio‐
Psychological Perspective on Team Ambidexterity: The Contingency Role of Supportive
Leadership Behaviours. Journal of Management Studies, 53(6), 939-965.
Uhl-Bien, M., Riggio, R. E., Lowe, K. B., & Carsten, M. K. (2014). Followership theory: A
review and research agenda. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 83-104.
Introduction
Followership is the opposite of leadership. Followership is essential because not much
work is done in an organization if there is no followership. Good followers have a plethora of
good qualities, which include judgement. Good judgement is necessary in order to be an