Fielder's Leadership Theory

The three determinants in Fielder’s leadership theory are leader-member relations, position power, and task structure. Leader-member relations in this theory refer to the extent to which the followers relate with the leader. This is how much the members trust, like, or are loyal to their leader (Author, year of publication). When the leader-member relation is good, the situation is favorable for the leader. A leader who has poor relations with the followers does not have the ability to deliver results for the organization. It is important for the leader to develop good relationships in order to deliver the required results for the team. Trust and loyalty within the group is required in order to enable the group to work without fear and suspicion. Task structure is clarity in terms of performance of work. It determines the extent to which the team members know what has to be done (Author, year of publication). A high task structure prevents the situation from having vague goals. Task structure enables the leaders and the subordinates to know what they have to do and which structures they should follow in the performance. High task structure makes it favorable for a leader because the subordinates do not require high levels of follow up (Zaccaro & Klimoski, 2001). Position power is the amount of power that the leader has in terms of rewarding, coercive, and legitimate power depending on the position. Strong position power results in a favorable situation for the leader.

Specific Examples

Leader-member relations would be an important determinant in a situation where the leader is expected to relay information concerning the grievances from his members about their working conditions. If the leader-member relation is poor in the team, the subordinates would not trust the leader to explain their needs to the management. This would make it difficult for the leader to achieve results with the group (Gupta, 2009).

In a situation where the chain of command is vague and the roles of the different employees are not properly defined, task structure would influence the achievement of results. In a case where the specialization is low and the structure of job performance is novel, the leader has difficulties achieving results because of the low levels of accountability and supervision. This would make the situation unfavorable for the leader to achieve goals because the subordinates will not take responsibility for activities and goals (Gupta, 2009).

A situation where a leader has the power of rewarding workers with bonuses and overtime that are based on performance has a high level of position power. The leader has the ability to influence productivity in the team through reward and coercive power because of the ability to reward and punish employees based on their performance or failure (Zaccaro & Klimoski, 2001). The power of the leader to punish or reward employees would also result in the high level of legitimate power making the leader effective in the performance of the tasks required.