This model determines the effectiveness of a team by measuring the work style according to the team’s situation.
Professional demands require leaders to be fully prepared to lead and manage the organization of any type: from a web studio to a client company, as https://essayswriter.org/. It is the only way to motivate employees and increase the company’s efficiency.
In this sense, and under the premise of selecting the best leader for each work group, Fiedler created his “Contingency Model.” Do you want to know what his philosophy is? Read on.
What does the Fiedler model consist of?
Fred Edward Fiedler, one of the leading researchers in industrial and organizational psychology of the 20th century, created the “Fiedler Contingency Model” (1965 – 1967), intending to manage the choice of the right leaders for each type of group.
It was the first theory that specifically proposed contingency relationships in the field of business leadership and arose to answer questions that arose to achieve effective management of organizations.
This model determines the effectiveness of a work team by measuring leadership style according to the team’s situation. In this theory, Fiedler distinguishes between two positions: employee-oriented and work-oriented.
To identify each leader’s style, Fiedler developed a “Least Preferred Co-worker” (LPC) questionnaire, which measures the group members’ evaluation of him or herself or another co-worker. This questionnaire assesses 16 antonymous concepts that evaluate their personality, such as boring or interesting, distant or close, and efficient or inefficient. In this way, respondents can define their working relationship with that person.
The three dimensions of Fiedler’s model
Although this model does not describe all possible situations, it does provide accurate results that can be adapted to different contexts. Fiedler asserts that these responses confirm that leadership style depends on the environment, which in turn is determined by three dimensions:
- The leader’s relationships with group members: the quality of the bond between the leader and the employees is measured. Trust, respect, loyalty, and feelings toward the boss greatly influence them.
- The structure of the job or task: the degree to which the tasks are correctly defined is assessed. The process to be carried out to achieve the objectives must be specified.
- The leader’s position of power describes the leader’s ability to lead the group and influence his employees, as well as his particular way of getting the workers to comply with the assigned tasks in a motivated manner.
- Knowing these situational factors and each leader’s style, it is possible to determine in which contexts the best results will be obtained.
How to apply Fiedler’s model?
Fiedler’s model is based on three main factors that are scored as follows:
- Leader-member relationship (good or bad)
- Work structure (high or low)
- Leader power position (strong or weak)
Thus, with their respective options, the mixture of these three situations generates eight possible combinations, known as degrees of favorability, which result in which leadership style best fits each context.
These eight situations are classified from most favorable to least favorable, and for each, it is possible to identify which leader is most suitable. The most favorable correspond to those in which these three variables are scored high, while the worst scored belong to the least favorable.
Due to their characteristics, task-oriented leaders are more effective in highly favorable or unfavorable situations. They exercise their authority over employees and fit perfectly in groups where the level of control is high and tasks are clearly defined.
In contrast, relationship-oriented leaders are most effective in moderately favorable situations. They can use their interpersonal skills to address problems and motivate the team to get the job done.
What does the Fiedler model propose when a change is needed?
Once the situation and the conclusions of the questionnaires have been analyzed, if they show that a change in the work dynamics is needed, how should one proceed?
- Alternating the leader: the company can replace one leader with another who does adapt to the situation. For example, if a relationship-oriented leader manages the group with a highly unfavorable rating, they should be replaced by a relationship-oriented leader.
- Changing the situation to suit the leader: either by restructuring the tasks; or by increasing or reducing the leader’s power so that they can have control over everything concerning the group, such as disciplinary sanctions or the responsibilities of each employee.
Advantages of Fiedler’s contingency model
Being a quick and easy method is one of the main reasons why, at present, the Fiedler model has become popular for leader selection processes in companies worldwide. Moreover, its application benefits both HR departments and the leaders themselves, as it allows them to take advantage of these benefits:
- Identify leaders: the results of this method allow the company to position each leader in the most suitable work environment.
- To favor relationships: it boosts interpersonal relationships and improves the work environment since the company considers the employees’ reflections to improve the situations that require it.
- Recognize their strengths and weaknesses: the boss can modify his behavior to meet the requirements of a good leader.
- Flexibility: obtaining precise results allows them to adapt to an infinite number of leaders, groups, companies, and situations.
- Knowing the needs of the employees concerning their leader: the answers of the professionals in this questionnaire allow the company to know which aspects its leader must improve and what must be offered to the worker so that they are motivated.
Disadvantages of Fiedler’s contingency model
The contingent approach also has some disadvantages that, like its advantages, are important to know and take into account for its application:
- It does not consider the leader’s adaptability but rather forces the organization to change the style of the organization and not the style of the leader.
- Members who do not have high qualifications cannot have a say in the group’s decision-making.
- There is a lack of resources to know and measure the maturity of the components of the workgroup.
- The model indicates that leaders should be able to see flexible behaviors, but this may not always be the case.
However, it is interesting to note that applying the Fiedler method is a differential factor among companies to improve their productivity and to know the profile of the leaders and workers who are part of it. In addition, this contributes to having full knowledge of what kind of changes and dynamics should be carried out to enhance teamwork and generate a better working environment.
