Contingency Theory of Leadership
Overview of the Selected Topic
According to Carragher & Gormley (2017), one of the most difficult and challenging tasks to a nurse leader is deciding to select a specific leadership style to apply in nursing practice. The primary responsibilities of a nurse leader are to promote collaboration and coordination within a team of followers; this calls for the selection of a leadership theory that will aid in achieving the above-stated objectives. Several leadership theories can be applied in different situations by a nurse leader to ensure that a solution to a problem is found, and this solely depends on the leadership theory adopted. The process of policy development and implementation also requires collaboration and cohesion among team members; it is essential for the success of the policy either in a bottom-up or top-down approach. McAdam, Miller & McSorley (2019) postulates that the process of creating a supportive and collaborative team needs an effective leadership style that will ensure that the team that is selected remains intact through the process of policy development and implementation (Eva et al., 2018). The utilization of the theories of leadership is essential for the achievement of the organizational goals and objectives in health facilities. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how contingency theory of leadership can be used to develop and support team collaboration in policy development and implementation and its utilization in healthcare settings.
Contingency theory of leadership postulates that there is no single better way to manage an organization, team of followers or make decision in certain situation. The final direction of optimal action taken by the nurse leader is contingent upon various situations (internal or external to the healthcare setting). A leader selects a specific leadership style to apply in the right situation. According to this theory, an organization needs careful management since they are open systems that their internal needs are to be balanced, satisfied and adapted to the surrounding environment. To achieve the balance of the organizational needs, it is adequate to acknowledge that there is no better way to manage the organization rather the leader picks what fits a particular situation, as in Rasool (2015).
Explanation of the Background of the Selected Theory
Contingency theory is a theory of leadership that was developed in 1958 by Fred Fiedler when he was conducting research on leadership mostly during group situations. The contingency theory model by Fred Fiedler focused on the relationship between leadership style and the particular situation that they are likely to thrive in. He developed the metric system known as the least preferred coworker. The metric system measured the thought of a leader to a coworker that they least prefer working with. Having a high score form the metric system meant that the leader is relational in style while a low score indicates a leader that is more task oriented (Steinbach et al., 2017). Fiedler came up with three derived dimensions to describe situation favorableness. The three derived dimension were; leadership member relationship (high if there were good relations between the leader and the followers), leader’s position power (high if more authority and power is in the leaders possession) and degree of structure task (high if the task is structured). According to Fielder, situational favorableness is achieved when all the three dimensions are high. The task structure concentrates on the clarity if a specific job structure or task and the methods to achieve the end results. Availability of guidelines can allow for easy accomplishment of the task assigned (Jansen et al., 2016)
According to William Scott (a theorist), Contingency theory has it that the best way to manage or organize an institution is to identify the relationship between the surrounding environment and the organization itself. It mainly majors on the contingent factors that may affect the organization operations or structure. It can be concluded that there is no single approach in management or leadership that is effective, rather different situations call for different leadership styles. Healthcare settings always face different problems, and change in trends of diseases, emergencies and policy making that calls for different leadership styles and that why I always apply the contingency theory in the healthcare settings, as stated in Hu & Gifford (2018).
Literature Review
A study done by Boehe (2016) found out that there are various factors present in the work environment and affects the manager’s ability to lead the organization and the followers. The abilities of a manager is essential in managing the work environment but that doesn’t account in contingency theory where the abilities of the leader doesn’t necessarily determine his or her success. The success of the leader is contingent to his or her roles and responsibilities. The contingency theory doesn’t call for a leader to adapt to a situation instead the leader should match the goals and objectives to the leadership style.
Shao, Feng & Hu (2016 stipulates that in healthcare settings, leadership is very essential to management of the emergencies, practice dilemmas and patient care. Contingency theory has established that these situations can be effectively managed by trying to adopt different techniques and styles to find solutions. It identifies that instead of a nurse leader jumping to save a situation after one of the staff has faltered, the leader should provide all the requirements that will ensure the nurse staff provided quality patient care. The leaders cultivate the culture of change in them and involve the staff to experience different changes in the healthcare setting while applying the different leadership styles.
Research has shown that the application of contingency theory by managers has led to a higher staff retention as compared to other theories of leadership. Contingency theory also has a major influence on the effectiveness of an organization. Most of the contingency factors always affect the operations of an organization. In the healthcare setting, a leader must be able to identify these internal and external factors and analyze their effect on the structure, processes and outcome of the healthcare facility, as in Neubert, Hunter & Tolentino (2016). The approach that is selected must take into consideration the various trends and changes in the contingency factors. Some of the major contingencies to a healthcare organization includes the healthcare technology, patient’s interests and satisfaction, government and other organizations like insurance companies, competitors, suppliers and distributors of healthcare equipment’s and services. The careful control of the above mentioned in the healthcare setting determine the degree to success of the organization (McAdam, Miller & McSorley, 2019)
Carragher & Gormley (2017) states that it has been determined that the decision making process when using the contingency theory depends on various variables. The variables are; importance of the decision; amount of information available to the leader and the subordinates, relationship between the leader and the subordinates, motivation of the staff and likelihood of acceptance of an alternative solution. The variables above guides the leader to choose a specific style that will ensure that the staff are motivated and are able to agree to an autocratic decision made by the leader. The leader should also assume a participative style of leadership suppose the subordinates disagree with authoritative decision and prefer being involved in decision making.
Several leadership styles can be adopted when working with different groups of followers. The decisions to use a particular style depends on the maturity of the group you are leading. Maturity is broken down into different levels for easy determination of the specific style to employ with a certain cohort (Hu & Gifford, 2018). Maturity level one consists of followers or employees that lack knowledge or skills and lack the professional confidence to carry out a task. The leader hence has to push these cohort of employees to accomplish an objective or finish a task. Maturity level two consists of people who might be willing to work but doesn’t have the necessary skills to complete the task. When working with this type of followers the leader has to offer guidance and on the job training to ensure they gain necessary skills. Maturity level three consists of followers that are ready and willing to work but still not confident though they have more skills that level two and level four consists of those that are highly confident, have necessary skills and knowledge. For the last two groups the leader has to offer necessary motivation, as in Carragher & Gormley (2017).
Various leadership styles can be assumed when working with the employees with the above stated maturity levels. Leadership styles identified includes the telling and directing that is mostly employed to followers that have low competence and commitment and unwilling to work. The leader on the other hand must have high task focus and low relationship focus. The leaders tells them what to do , he or she directs them on what is supposed to be done without giving much concern on how that may affect their relationship, as in McAdam, Miller & McSorley (2019)
Selling and coaching is the other leadership style that can be used. This style is implemented to a group of followers that have some competence and varying commitment, motivated and willing to work but are unable. The leader assumes the role of high task focus and high relationship focus. The leader needs to sell another way of completing the task without demotivating the followers (Rasool, 2015).Participating and supporting style of leadership is used for a group of followers that are highly competent and variably committed, able but unwilling to work. The leader then takes the role of low task focus and high relationship focus. The main objective is to give support and persuade the followers to cooperate. The delegating and observing leadership style is sued on followers that are highly competent and committed and willing to work. The leader delegates authority and responsibility and observe how the tasks are accomplished, as in Boehe (2016).
Hu & Gifford (2018) recommends that the factors of maturity, various leadership styles and contingents must be considered at any time during the process of policy development to ensure that the nurse leader identifies task-oriented employees and those that relationship-oriented as group them according to the situation that they best thrive in to ensure that the team remains collaborative and supportive throughout (Jansen et al., 2016)
Contingency theory incorporates different aspects of other theories of leadership. The theory draws some ideas from the trait theory. The traits of a leader determine the leader will be successful in a particular situation, and this is closely related to the contingency theory. The aspect of the relationship with the followers also relates to the transformational and transactional leadership styles, as in Boehe (2016). According to the contingency theory, the leader relations with the employees determine his or her effectiveness. In transformational leadership, the leader focuses mainly on the building of a relationship between the leader and the followers. In contrast, in transactional leadership, a leader focuses on the ability to control his or her followers by the use of rewards and punishments to ascertain that the goals that were set are met, it is evident that the theory draws from other aspects of other leadership theories, as in Hu & Gifford (2018).
According to the research, there are several aspects of the theory that still has limited literature. The approach has not written out which kind of actions are to be done in these particular situations. The theory also states the leadership styles that fit a specific case but doesn’t come up with criteria that can be used with the leadership style and the situation to achieve the stated goals (Shao, Feng & Hu, 2016). More research should be done to find which actions should be done in a different situation in the as stated in the contingency theory. The theory should be able to state out that if this particular situation comes up, this specific set of actions and activities should be undertaken to help in finding a solution. The nurse leader or manager is given the responsibility to decide on the action to take, and this still has a tremendous impact on the outcome of the situation as compared to the leadership style demonstrated, as in Jansen et al. (2016)
Implications on Practice, Nursing Role, and Society
The contingency theory has various impacts in nursing role, practice and society at large. Most nurses always apply the theory because it encompasses the implementation of variable leadership styles to accomplish a specific objective. Different nurse managers will use different style of leadership to solve an emergency and still have positive outcomes. Nurse leaders always assume different nursing roles when using the contingency theory in nursing settings. The nurse leader can be a motivator, a director, delegator and an observer depending on the maturity of a specific group of followers. The subordinate nurses also assume different roles according to the changed situation and the type of leadership style displayed by the nurse leader. They can be wiling or unwilling to work, motivated or demotivated, non-committed with poor skills (McAdam, Miller & McSorley, 2019). A study conducted to see the relationship between an approaches of leadership versus a particular emergency found out that the type of leadership is contingent on the complexity of the emergency. The study found out that the use of the contingency theory of leadership always had a favorable implication on the nursing outcomes of a patient in a crisis. In society, nurse leaders still have the heart and support of the public because of their ability to display different kinds of leadership styles when working with them ion community projects, outreach services, or during vaccination campaigns where the cooperation of the public is essential. During disease outbreaks the contingency theory can be used to help in the disease surveillance, the report of access by the public as the nurse leader can relate with the audience differently according to the time, severity and extent of the outbreak and this helps in containing the public and avoid further spread of the disease (Hu & Gifford, 2018).
Conclusion
Contingency theory mainly checks on how a leader displays different leadership styles in different situations. The theory has it that the leadership styles are fixed and cannot be modified; instead, they are made to fit the situation. Three main factors determine a situation in contingency theory. The factor is; task structure, power relations, and leader-member relations. Contingency theory can be used in the creation of a supportive team during the process of policy development and implementation. This is because the process always has new issues that acquire a different leadership approach to ensure that the group remains collaborative. The contingency theory also borrows a lot from other theories of leadership as transformational, traits, and transactional theory, as in Boehe (2016). From research, it has been established that the main drawback or challenge about the theory is the specific action that should be taken in different situations. Due to the lack of this, many managers always find it difficult to decide on the type of action to take. It also reported that practically the theory is complex and doesn’t offer easy empirical testing. Besides, the theory remains one of the most used in healthcare settings and during policy development and implementation, as in Neubert, Hunter & Tolentino (2016).
References
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Carragher, J., & Gormley, K. (2017). Leadership and emotional intelligence in nursing and midwifery education and practice: a discussion paper. Journal of advanced nursing, 73(1), 85-96.
Eva, N., Sendjaya, S., Prajogo, D., Cavanagh, A., & Robin, M. (2018). Creating strategic fit: Aligning servant leadership with organizational structure and strategy. Personnel Review, 47(1), 166-186.
Hu, J., & Gifford, W. (2018). Leadership behaviours play a significant role in implementing evidence‐based practice. Journal of clinical nursing, 27(7-8), e1684-e1685.
Jansen, J. J., Kostopoulos, K. C., Mihalache, O. R., & Papalexandris, A. (2016). A socio‐psychological perspective on team ambidexterity: The contingency role of supportive leadership behaviours. Journal of Management Studies, 53(6), 939-965.
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Neubert, M. J., Hunter, E. M., & Tolentino, R. C. (2016). A servant leader and their stakeholders: When does organizational structure enhance a leader’s influence?. The Leadership Quarterly, 27(6), 896-910.
Rasool, H. F. (2015). Leadership styles and its impact on employee’s performance in health sector of Pakistan. City University Research Journal, 5(1).
Shao, Z., Feng, Y., & Hu, Q. (2016). Effectiveness of top management support in enterprise systems success: a contingency perspective of fit between leadership style and system life-cycle. European Journal of Information Systems, 25(2), 131-153.
Steinbach, A. L., Holcomb, T. R., Holmes Jr, R. M., Devers, C. E., & Cannella Jr, A. A. (2017). Top management team incentive heterogeneity, strategic investment behavior, and performance: A contingency theory of incentive alignment. Strategic Management Journal, 38(8), 1701-1720.