Contingency Theory

Published on February 18, 2010. Updated on December 15th, 2023.

What Is The Contingency Theory of Leadership?

Maybe leadership isn’t about who you are, what skills you have, or how you act. Maybe what defines effective leadership is about more than just you. This inquisitive contemplation brought forth the idea of Contingency theory, and moved the field of leadership theory forward by another drastic step.

Developed by Fielder, Contingency theory examines the leader in conjunction with the situation the leader is in. In essence, it argues that effective leadership is contingent upon a match between the leader’s style and the work situation. Leadership style is assessed using a measure called the Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) scale. This scale divides leaders into task motivated (low LPC), socio-independent (middle LPC), and relationship motivated.

Three different variables provide a means for situational measurement: leader-member relations, task structure (defined or undefined tasks), and position power (how much power does the leader have). When considered together, these variables suggest a style of leadership that has the best chance of success. Generally, low LPCs are found effective in extreme combinations with high LPCs effective in moderate situations.

Contingency theory is easily measurable, and as a result has a considerable amount of research supporting it. As mentioned, it represents the first theory to consider more than just the attributes of leaders but also the situation leaders can find themselves in. While it is supported by substantial research, an adequate explanation of why it works has yet to be discovered. Contingency theory is merely predictive. It can predict which leaders will be effective in what situations but cannot be used to make leaders in unfavorable situations more effective.

More Articles in This Series:

HOME_AboutDavidBurkus

About the author

David Burkus is an organizational psychologist, keynote speaker, and bestselling author of five books on leadership and teamwork.

Learn More

Recommended Reading

Employees First, Customers Second…Why It Works

What if your company announced that, moving forward, it would be place customers second on its list of priorities? Sounds crazy. The customer is always right. Surely the customer is always first as well. But that’s exactly what Vineet Nayar, CEO of HCL Technologies did over a decade ago. He announced that the company’s senior […]

Servant Leadership In The Workplace

Servant leadership is a belief in and practice of “leadership that places the good of those led over the self-interest of the leader, emphasizing leader behaviors that focus on follower development and de-emphasizing glorification of the leader” (Hale and Fields, 2007, p. 397). Servant leaders see themselves as a resource, not the source or oracle […]

Introverts Are Great Leaders [4 Reasons]

There is a misconception about leadership that just won’t seem to go away. It’s the commonly held belief that the best leaders are charismatic and inspiring and hence, the best leaders are highly extroverted. Too many people still seem to believe that extroverts make better leaders than introverts. In a survey of senior corporate executives, […]

Scroll to Top