Situational Leadership/Contingency Theory
As the weeks have gone on, it has been interesting to see how each individual in my office has exhibited their own style of leadership — especially since the five of us have only been working together now for about six weeks.
This week, in particular, I began to focus my attention more to one of the full-time staff who has the more “senior” position at the firm (Employee A). I’ve noticed that Employee A has been increasingly more comfortable with taking initiative during team meetings and “holds her own,” with my supervisor. She has become a well-respected member of the team because of this. I noticed that when the other full-time employee (Employee B) was having a tough time communicating with my supervisor (she is a newly-graduated college student), she felt comfortable approaching the other full-time employee instead of my supervisor.
I found this power dynamic development interesting because I had imagined that as a small team that we would go to my supervisor with any problems or concerns. It was interesting to see how quickly Employee B turned to Employee A for guidance in this situation. I’m still developing thoughts as to why this may be the case, but one of my initial thoughts goes back to contingency theory. Situation plays a big role in contingency theory, and I find that because my supervisor has been her own boss for quite some time now (the situation), it can be difficult for her to be responsible for divvying up work while allocating the appropriate amount of supervision (leadership outcome). I don’t think that this is necessarily true in every instance, but may be an explanation or observation about the behavior exhibited between Employee B and Employee A.
Interesting observation. Perhaps Employee A appears to Employee B to be more aware of other’s developmental levels than your supervisor. So perhaps Employee B feels that Employee A adjusts his/her approach a bit more (directing, coaching, supporting, delegating) based on where Employee B is at (competence/commitment). Thinking of the situational model, maybe that is it; Employee B is self-selecting who to see feedback from (Employee A) based on his/her ability to meet Employee B where he/she is. As for contingency, don’t forget to also consider the three factors (leader-member relations, task structure, and power position); looking at those and then thinking about the leader’s style (task versus relationship) will allow you to consider whether the leader is a good match for the situation.