A Contingency Theory of Leadership

By: Jay W. Lorsch

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Synopsis: The idea of a contingency theory of leadership is not new. In the 1960s several scholars, most notably Frederick Fiedler, argued that effective leadership style depended on situational contingencies, such as the nature of the task-specifically, how certain or uncertain it was. But agreement ended there, as researchers and scholars failed to reach a consensus on what leaders' primary tasks were or on which contingency factors influenced them most. This chapter picks up where those scholars left off, as author and Harvard Business School professor Jay Lorsch places the leader's relationship with followers firmly in the center of his analysis. According to Lorsch, followers' values and expectations must align with the goals set by the leader, communication between the parties must be strong, and the leader must draw effectively on power as a function of position (a directive approach) and on influence through perceived competence and charisma (a participative approach). The appropriate mix will depend on four contingent factors: 1) the leader's power and influence and his or her chosen goals, 2) the followers' expectations, 3) the complexity of the organization, and 4) the certainty or uncertainty of the task. This chapter was originally published as Chapter 15 of "Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice: A Harvard Business School Centennial Colloquium."