Contingency and Situational Leadership: A Comparative Analysis

This essay delves into the core concepts of contingency and situational leadership theories, providing a comparative analysis of their principles and applications. It begins by defining leadership and highlighting the significance of leadership styles. The essay then explores the contingency theory, emphasizing the importance of adapting leadership styles to different situations, as proposed by Fred Fiedler. It examines the key elements of the contingency theory, including factors related to the group of employees, customers, competitors, and governmental bodies. The situational leadership theory, developed by Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey, is then presented, focusing on the idea that effective leadership depends on the readiness of the employees. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of applying these theories to improve organizational performance, offering practical insights into how these leadership styles can be used to enhance leadership capabilities. The content also references supporting academic research on the topic.

Running head: CONTINGENCY VERSUS SITUATIONAL THEORY
CONTINGENCY VERSUS SITUATIONAL THEORY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CONTINGENCY VERSUS SITUATIONAL THEORY
The concept of leadership refers to the matters that pertain to both the practical skills as
well as the research area that encompasses the ability of the concerned individual to deal with the
guidance that needs to be provided to the concerned individual, teams or the other organizations.
The following essay deals with the differences between the two different styles of leadership and
proceeds further to discuss the appropriate application of the theories in discussion.
The contingency theory of leadership tends to discuss the various theories that are related
to the effectiveness of the various situations that might occur and the ways in which he
concerned leader might have been handling the issue. The various contingency theorists state that
the concerned leadership theory might take in to account the regard paid by the group of
employees to the leader. The contingency theory of leadership was formulated by the Fred
Edward Fiedler and aims to state that the leader of an organization must bring about changes in
the leadership styles as according to the various situations that are faced by the concerned
organizations (Northouse, 2018). The concerned theory of leadership tends to deal with the
various business organizations that deal with the customers and the competitor groups, the
various interest groups that comprise of clients, the distributors and the suppliers of the business
organizations, the governmental bodies that are operative within the concerned territorial
boundaries wherein the company has been operating, the unions and the employee welfare
groups and the other factors that pertain to the technological matters that are dealt with within the
organization.
The situational theory of the leadership, on the other hand, states that there might not be a
single leadership style that would be relevant to all the situations that might have arisen within
the organization. The situational leadership style as developed by the Ken Blanchard and Paul
Hersey states that the responds provided by the concerned leaders are majorly dependent on the

2CONTINGENCY VERSUS SITUATIONAL THEORY
various requirements of the concerned subjects or the members of the workforce who have been
performing under the concerned leader (Northouse, 2018). The situational style of leadership
also relates to the factors that pertain to the levels up to which the concerned person might need
to be supported or directed by the leader. The effective leadership as put forth by a leader tends
to focus on the various matters that pertain to the performance readiness of the concerned
employee. The effective leadership often varies with the various situations as well as the jobs and
the functions that need to be accomplished within the concerned period of time (Buble, Juras &
Matić, 2014). The situational leadership style majorly takes in to account the factors that are
related to the leadership style as well as the readiness of the concerned group to perform the task
at hand.
Thus, from the above discussion, it might safely be pointed out that the leadership styles
in discussion might be applied in specific situations and on the concerned employees of the
concern. The theories at large aim to bring about an overall improvement of the concerned
organization.

3CONTINGENCY VERSUS SITUATIONAL THEORY
References
Buble, M., Juras, A., & Matić, I. (2014). The relationship between managers’ leadership styles
and motivation. Management: journal of contemporary management issues, 19(1), 161-
193.
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.