PathGoal Theory

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Path-Goal Theory

• Robert House

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Expectancy Theory

• Employees effort is tied to his Perception that
• There is a relationship between
• His effort and his performance
• His performance and the rewards he gets
• His rewards and his personal goal satisfaction

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Path Goal Theory of Leadership

• Leader chooses among four leadership styles in
  order to clarify the path for his followers
• Effort performance rewards
  personal goal satisfaction
• Leadership styles
• Directive
• Supportive
• Achievement
• Participative
• Leadership style selected is contingent on
• environmental factors
• Task and the authority system
• and subordinate characteristics
• Locus of control
• Ability
• authoritarianism

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Path Goal Theory of Leadership

• If the behavior that the leader selects is
  appropriate to the contingency factors the result
  will be a clearer path to job satisfaction,
  leader acceptance and motivation

Contingency Factors Subordinate -locus of
control -ability Environment Task Authority
system
Subordinate attitudes and behaviors Job
Satisfaction Acceptance of leader Motivation
Leader Behavior Directive Supportive Achievement
Participative
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Leader Behaviors

• Directive
• Emphasizes formal activities, e.g. planning,
  organizing, controlling
• Follower satisfaction with Directive behavior is
  low when
• Task is clear
• Employee locus of control is internal
• Employees ability is high
• Follower satisfaction with the leaders directive
  behavior is high when
• Task is unclear
• Employee locus of control is external
• Employee ability is low
• Employee is used to authoritarian leader style

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Leader Behaviors

• Supportive
• Displays concern for well being of followers
• Creates emotionally supportive climate
• Develops mutually satisfying relationship among
  followers
• Particularly effective when the task is
  ambiguous, dissatisfying and stressful.

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Leader Behaviors

• Achievement Oriented
• Sets challenging goals, pushes for work
  improvement and sets high expectations for
  followers.
• Works well when followers performed ambiguous,
  non repetitive tasks.
• The higher the achievement orientation of the
  leader, the more the subordinates were confident
  that their efforts would pay off in effective
  performance, when the task was ambiguous and non
  repetitive
• People who select these tasks have a personality
  that is amenable to this type of leader behavior
• Ambiguous tasks are amenable to flexible, goal
  oriented approaches

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Leader Behaviors

• Participative
• Uses group input when making decisions
• Followers understand what leads to what when they
  participate in decision making
• Leads to greater clarity of the paths to goals
• Followers select goals they value
• Increases followers control over his destiny
• Pressure for performance is decentralized-peer
  pressure

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Situational Leadership

• The Hershey Blanchard Model

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Matches leadership style and behavior with the
followers readiness to be led
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Characteristics of the followers
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Characteristics of R1 followers

• Unwilling or unsure of themselves
• Unable to complete task on their own.
• I dont know how and I am not interested in
  putting myself out there to learn-tell me what to
  do and I will do it.

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Leadership Style for R1 Followers

• Transactional-high task, low relationship
• Provide task information in digestible amounts
• Dont overwhelm the follower
• Reduce fear of mistakes
• Focus on instruction
• Tell them what to do

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Characteristics of R2 followers

• Unable to perform the task by themselves but they
  are trying.
• Tell me what to do and give me reasons why its
  important

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Leadership style with R2 followers

• Blend of Transactional and transformational
  leadership
• Encourage questions
• Discuss details
• Explore related skills
• Explain why
• Give incremental steps to success
• Emphasize how to

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Characteristics of R3 follower

• Has developed the skill but lacks the confidence
  to step out on his own.
• Student pilot on his first solo flight
• Has developed the skill but has lost his
  motivation to perform.
• Long term employee in a routine job

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Leadership style with R3 follower

• Transformational leadership
• High relationship and low task management
• Combine leader-follower decision making
• Encourage and support
• Discuss apprehension
• Share responsibility

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Characteristics of R4 followers

• Solid knowledge base
• Opportunity to practice and develop skills
• Excited and committed to the task

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Leadership style with R4 followers

• Transformational leadership
• Develop the environment
• Delegate responsibility and authority and
• Get out of the way.