Leadership can be defined as a process by which an individual influences other individuals towards the attainment of goal or organizational goals. Effective leadership behaviour can be characterised by the ability of the leader to influence and motivate the activities of the group and by initiating the structures such as goal setting which enable the group to successfully overcome the problems and achieve their goals. Leaders should have a specific manner and style of providing direction, implementing plans and motivating people. This is considered as a leadership style. All organizations are different and they face different situations and they require different ways of managing. Contingency approaches are the theories that explain the relationship between leadership styles and effectiveness in specific situations. The contingencies most important to leadership are the situation and the followers. There are several models for the leadership which includes Fiedler’s contingency model, Hersey and Blanchard’s situational theory, Path Goal theory, and The Vroom- Jago Contingency model. These contingency approaches examine the leadership styles that can be used effectively. Task behaviour and the relationship behaviour are the two basic leadership behaviours that can be adjusted to address various contingencies. Path goal theory is a type of contingency approach to leadership .It is also called as a path goal theory of leader effectiveness. This theory describes the way the leader encourages and supports their followers in achieving their goals. The theory states that the leader’s behaviour is contingent to motivation, satisfaction and performance of the subordinates. Leadership styles that are associated with this type of theory include achievement oriented, directive, supportive and participative leadership. In directive leadership specific advice is given to the group and rules and structure are established such as clarifying expectations. In supportive leadership good relations are promoted between the leaders and the employees. In participative leadership decision is made by discussing and sharing the ideas with the employees. In achievement oriented leadership goals which are challenging are set and high performance is encouraged. The article “A path goal theory of Leader effectiveness” by Dr. Robert J House explains the influence of the leader behaviour on the employee’s performance, motivation and satisfaction. According to the article there are two behavioural dimensions for the leadership which includes initiating structure and the consideration. Leader initiating structure is used to describe the things such as assigning particular tasks, clarifying the expectations of other employees. Leader consideration is used to describe the degree to which the leader creates a supportive environment such as being friendly and helping others. Initiating structure is directly related to the performance and satisfaction. The leader through his own behaviour can provide the support for the subordinate’s efforts. The leader should be supportive in times of stress. The leader should encourage in subordinate’s wide variety of tasks. From the theory many hypotheses are derived. Leader initiating structure can be hypothesized to clarify the path goal relationships. Such clarification increases the subordinate’s effort in attaining the goal achievement. Leader consideration serves as a stress reliever as pressure for output increases and as tasks become more unsatisfying.
Conclusion:
The path goal theory is the best approach in contingency approach to leadership. In this the effective leaders will provide valued rewards for the followers. The leaders will help the subordinates to find the