Chapter 79: Contingency Management and Situational Leadership Theories:

Contingency management and situational leadership are two sides of the coin of belief that there is no one best way of managing or leading, the twin concepts I will address in this chapter. Sometimes there is overlap in use and meaning; sometimes the concepts veer in meaning or use. I will discuss the conceptual overlaps and differences as I describe the theories and discuss their original development, iterations, and uses and applications of the theories. I conclude with a discussion of the strengths of the theories and comments from critics of the theories.

From a somewhat evolutionary standpoint, management and leadership theorists wanted to expand beyond the early great man and trait theories and early behavioral theories. They wanted to address the criticism in management and leadership studies that did not take into account the contexts or situations in which managers and leaders make decisions. Contingency and situational theorists attempt to discuss management and leadership from both organizational and behavioral perspectives.