Therefore, leaders must be willing to acknowledge the fact that their success depends partially on their circumstances in addition to their personal skills. Contingency theorists would say that no matter how successful a leader is, there will always be a particular situation that will challenge them. Different leaders, each with unique leadership styles, will respond to these variables in different ways. These include things like the size of the team, the scope of a project and the expected delivery date for a result. In the workplace, there are dozens of factors that can affect a leader’s effectiveness. Read more: 15 Leadership Qualities That Make a Great Leader Contingency theory of leadership in the workplace In most cases, this requires you to be self-aware, objective and adaptable. To maximize your likelihood of being a productive leader, this theory posits that you should be able to examine each situation and decide if your leadership style is going to be effective or not. According to this theory, an individual can be an effective leader in one circumstance and an ineffective leader in another one. The contingency theory of leadership supposes that a leader’s effectiveness is contingent on whether or not their leadership style suits a particular situation.
What is the contingency theory of leadership?
