Contingency/situational theories - part 1

In this lesson

1. 0:00 Contingency theories of leadership overview
2. 2:00 Adair's action centred leadership model
3. 3:25 Team maintenance and individual roles
4. 4:31 Fiedler's contingency model explained
5. 6:02 Psychologically distant versus close approaches
6. 9:25 Hersey and Blanchard situational model

About this lesson

This video covers three key models: Adair's action-centred leadership (which balances task, group, and individual needs), Fiedler's contingency model (which uses leader relations, task structure, and position power to determine whether a psychologically distant or close approach works best), and an introduction to Hersey and Blanchard's situational model (which considers team readiness, willingness, and ability). Understanding these frameworks is essential for Strategic Business Leader and other CIMA qualifications, where you'll need to evaluate leadership effectiveness in different organisational contexts and recommend appropriate styles for specific situations. The core insight is this: there's no one-size-fits-all leadership approach. Adair teaches you to prioritise between task needs, group cohesion, and individual development depending on what matters most at any given time. Fiedler adds nuance by showing that when circumstances favour you (strong relationships, clear tasks, established authority), you can step back and let people self-direct; when circumstances are uncertain or tense, formal task focus works better; and when things are moderately stable, a supportive, people-focused style motivates improvement. By the end of this three-part series, you'll have a practical toolkit for diagnosing leadership challenges and selecting the right approach—a skill that directly transfers to case study analysis and real workplace decisions.

Duration: 11m