Situational Approach and Path-Goal Theory

Question :

Define, describe, and discuss the differences and similarities between the situational approach to leadership and the Path-Goal theory.

Support your ideas with detailed examples of each approach that you have observed and evidence from your textbook or a peer-reviewed journal.

Answer :

Introduction

Path-Goal Theory of leadership is the concept regarding the approach to goals or achievements by working with a team or group of people within a society or an organization (Nwlink, 2019). The target set is to increase the motivational spirit of the employees that work under a certain leadership. It was introduced by Martin Evans in the year 1970.

Main Body

Path goal theory is the way to achieve or accomplish certain organizational goals by creating motivation among the employees. The role of the leader here is to change their behaviour and decisions according to the demand of the situation. It is the leader who decides the goals and pathway for achievement and even eliminates the risk factors while making the employees work for achieving the targets. Leadership under this theory has been subdivided into Achievement, Directive and Participative styles (Farhan, 2017). On the other hand, situational leadership is the theory based upon abilities or attitudes of the organization's employees depending upon the situation. In this theory, the main thing is about the activeness, maturity and mental stability of the employees. Depending on these parameters this theory of leadership works. Coaching, entrusting and supporting are the key elements involved in this theory.

Some similarities between the two theories are that in any kind of situation it is the role of the leaders to assess the team members towards the correct set of developmental progress according to the situation. The leader decides about assigning the responsibilities to the members who can execute the plan according to the demand of the situation. Supportive and cooperative approaches are integrated within both the theories of leadership management. Hence it is understood that leadership theories constitute of some similar principles that help in getting the desired outcomes in any kind of situations (Phillips & Phillips, 2016). For example, in an IT service company, the team-leader of the sales team is concerned about achieving the sales target of his or her team. If the figures are low then the leader depends mainly on the experienced executives to crack a sale rather than pressurizing the freshers. This can be applied both for the Path-Goal theory and also the Situational theory.

There are also some major sets of differences between the following theories of leadership. In the Path-Goal strategy, leaders provide various incentives, compensations to the employees for achieving the targets. They even motivate the employees to overcome frustration and assign everyone a similar set of task depending on their capabilities so that confidence is generated within them (Thompson & Glasø, 2018). On the other hand for Situational theory leaders are subjected to taking instant decisions depending on the prevailing situations. They have to assign tasks according to the structure of the organizational plans of the current phase. They need to be specific for addressing every member of the team, which implies that they cannot generalize the instructions for the whole team.

Conclusion

In this assignment, the specific theories of Situational and Path-Goal leadership have been discussed. Certain similarities and differences between the theories have been analyzed and put in front. It teaches about the way of approach of the leaders in particular circumstances while they are involved with an organization.

References

Farhan, B. (2017). Application Of Path-Goal Leadership Theory And Learning Theory In A Learning Organization. Journal Of Applied Business Research (JABR), 34(1), 13-22. doi: 10.19030/jabr.v34i1.10088

Nwlink. (2019). Path-Goal Theory of Leadership. Retrieved 15 November 2019, from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/lead_path_goal.html

Phillips, A., & Phillips, C. (2016). Behavioral Styles of Path-Goal Theory. Management Teaching Review, 1(3), 148-154. doi: 10.1177/2379298116639725

Thompson, G., & Glasø, L. (2018). Situational leadership theory: a test from a leader-follower congruence approach. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 39(5), 574-591. doi: 10.1108/lodj-01-2018-0050