Contingency Approaches to Leadership

The leadership situation that I am applying is the dynamics of the Japanese Dance Club (JDC). I recently joined the Japanese Dance Team which seeks to promote participation and appreciation of Japanese dance. 

1. Leader-Member Exchange Theory is when the leader has a unique relationship with their followers. This theory has three components: role taking, role making, and routinization. Role taking is the opportunity to evaluate follower performance and potential. The JDC leaders give anyone a chance to join and learn the culture of Japanese dance. They carefully assess your progress and teach you the movements of the dance multiple times. If you are having difficulty mastering the movements, they demonstrate how to correct. Role making is trust building. When I joined the club I felt very welcomed and appreciated. They treated me like a family and it made me feel like I could be myself and not be worried that they would judge me, while at the same time, making great friends for life. Routinization is when relationships are well established and when similarities and differences become equal. I feel this in JDC because I am never intimidated that I will appear awkward because we are all different but treated equally. I feel a connection to them and loved by them for just being me.

2. The Normative Decision Model of Leadership is how much input the followers have in decision making. The choreography leader in JDC for the choreography of the dances informs you of what you will learn and how you will do it. The followers can choose what different dances they can be in depending upon the number of dancers. The choreography is accepted and appreciated by the followers. The situation is learning the dance in a specific time period.

3. The Situational Leadership Model has 2 parts: the task behaviors and relationship behaviors. The task behaviors is the extent to which the leader tells the followers their responsibilities. JDC tells you exactly what you need to do. The leaders do the instruction, but also participate themselves. The outcomes of the tasks are based upon accomplishment and follower readiness. Follower readiness is the ability and willingness of the dancers to accomplish the task. I have high follower readiness because I am very willing to accomplish the task and strive to develop my ability. Relationship behaviors are ways communication occurs between the leaders and the followers which involves listening, explaining, encouraging, facilitating, and clarifying. The relationship behaviors are high in JDC. The leaders listen to you if you have questions, help you if you do not understand something, demonstrate and clarify the movements for you, take it step by step and encourage you to do your best. 

4. The Contingency Model of Leadership is selecting the appropriate leader to achieve a determined goal. Low LPC leaders are motivated by the task and high LPC leaders are motivated by the relationship with the followers. I think the leaders of the Japanese Club are motivated by both because the task is important to them, but having a good relationship with them is equally important. The outcome is an effective group performance while having a good time. The situation favorability is the amount of control a leader has upon the followers. I would not say they control us but they do strongly encourage everyone to come for each practice. The follower’s interactions are the relationships with the leaders.

5. The Path-Goal Theory is a cognitive approach to understanding motivation. The leader is supportive, friendly, genuine, approachable, and haves concern for the individual needs of their followers. In Path-Goal Theory it is necessary for the leaders to demonstrate the ability to listen to concerns, set goals, improve performance having followers perform at their highest level, and put forth the necessary effort to have success. The JDC possesses and participates in all of these qualities and ideas. All members of the club work hard to improve the performance and produce at the highest possible level. The leaders are very approachable and I am not afraid to ask for help. The situation involves task characteristics and authority. The follower expectations are traits, skills, abilities, expectations, and perceptions of group abilities.
       Overall after studying all the types of leadership models I now know why I am satisfied with this club. They have made me feel accepted and they have actively worked towards my growth as a performer and understanding of the culture.  The club leaders are good examples of utilizing a variety of leadership styles successfully and the followers in the club work well together because we have a strong and positive leader influence.