Leadership Style Theory

One of the main contingency approaches to leadership is the Situational Leadership Model proposed by Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard , in Stonner (1996:171) saying that "The most effective leadership style varies with employee readiness." 

 Hersey and Blanchard define readiness as a desire for achievement, a willingness to accept responsibility, and abilities related to tasks, skills and experiences. Goals and knowledge of followers are important variables in determining an effective leadership style.

According to Hersey and Blanchard quoted by Rivai (2014: 16) stating that the relationship between leaders and their members has four stages/phases needed for leaders to change their leadership style, namely:   

 The first stage , at the initial readiness of the leadership's attention to the task is very high,membersare given clear instructions and familiarized with the rules, structures andwork procedures.     

 The second stage is where members are able to handle their duties,attention to their duties is very important because subordinates have not been able to work withoutstructure. Leadership trust in subordinates is increasing.   

The third stage where members have greater abilities and achievement motivationbegins to appear and they are actively seeking greater responsibility,the leader still has to support and give attention, but nolonger needs to provide direction. The fourth stage is the stage where members begin tobelieve in themselves,can direct themselves and experience, the leader can reducethe amount of attention and direction.       

This situational model attracts attention because it recommends dynamic and flexible leadership types, not static. The motivation, abilities and experience of employees must be continually assessed to determine which combination of styles is most appropriate under flexible and changing conditions.      

 So leaders who want to develop their followers, increase their self-confidence, and help them learn about their jobs must change leadership styles continuously. This theory still has several weaknesses, including if managers are flexible in their leadership style, or if they can be trained to change their style, it can be assumed that they will be effective in various leadership situations. If, on the other hand, managers are relatively rigid in their leadership style, they will work effectively only in situations that best suit their style or which can be adapted to fit their style. Such rigidity will hinder the manager's personal career leading to    organizational tasks in filling management positions are not effective. 

Then came the theory of leadership according to Fiedler in Stonner (1996:173) that measures leadership style on a scale that shows 20 levels of a person describing favorably or adversely his least preferred co-worker (LPC, Least Preferred Co-worker).