Comparing Two Leadership Theories Essay -- Leadership

There are different leadership theories developed throughout the history. about popular ones are trait theories, behavioral theories, contingency theories, and leader-member exchange (LMX) theory. The author of the post exit briefly discuss two theories, Fiedler contingency theory and Leader-Member switch over (LMX), and compare and contrast their strengths and weakness.Fiedler model is considered the first highly visible theory to present the contingency approach. It stated that effective groups depend on a proper(ip) match between a leaders style of interacting with subordinates and the degree to which the position gives control and influence to the leader (Fiedler, 1967). Fiedler argued that the leadership style could be indentified by taking a Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) questionnaire he designed. When evaluating a least enjoyed co-worker, a relationship oriented leader scores high in LPC, opus a task oriented leader scores low. Fiedler identified three contingency or si tuational dimensions leader-member relations, task structure, and position power. A leader will have more control if he has better leader-member relations, high structured job, and stronger position power. The task-oriented leaders perform best in situations of high and low control, while relationship-oriented leaders perform best in moderate control situations. Feedler views an individuals leadership style as fixed. To assure leader effectiveness, either situation needs to change to fit the leader or the leader needs to be replaced to fit the situation. But in reality, a leader can not use a homogeneous style to treat all their followers in a similar fashion in their work unit (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 382). Leader-Member alter (LMX) theory, on t... ... over 25 years Applying a multi-level, multi-domain perspective, Leadership Quarterly, 6(2)219-247.Gils, S. v., Quaquebeke, N. v., & Knippenberg, D. v. (2009). The X-Factor On the Relevance of Implicit Leadership and Followership Theories for Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Agreement European Journal of defecate and Organizational Psychology. Rotterdam, Netherlands Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM).MindTools (n.d.) Fiedlers Contingency Model. Retrieved November 16, 2010 from http//www.mindtools.com/pages/article/fiedler.htmRobbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational behavior (14 ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ Pearson.Mao Zedong (n.d.). in Wikipedia. Retrieved November 16, 2010, from http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_ZedongZhou Enlai (n.d.) in Wikipedia. Retrieved November 16, 2010, from http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhou_Enlai