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The path-goal theory of leadership, which focuses heavily on employee motivation, has several different leadership styles associated with it. The goal of the leader is to find the style that best meets the needs of those working beneath them. This should not be confused with the contingency theory which focuses on finding the right style for the environment. The four main styles are directive, supportive, participative, and achievement-oriented (Northouse, 2013).
Directive leadership, as the name implies, involves the leader giving subordinates exact instructions, including but not limited to, how a task should be done and how long it should take. The supportive leadership style on the other hand focuses more on making the workplace pleasant for employees, and the leader strives to treat subordinates as equals (Northouse, 2013).
Participative leadership gives employees a role in the decision making processes (Northouse, 2013). The idea behind this style is that employees will work harder if they feel their opinions matter. The achievement-oriented style of leadership is all about challenging employees to work at the highest level while continuously seeking improvement (Northouse, 2013). Essentially, employees are motivated by their own success and their leader’s confidence in their abilities. This styles shares some characteristics with styles found in the leader-member exchange theory which focuses on “interactions between leaders and followers” (2013).
The path goal theories of leadership do not stand alone, and have in fact been associated with other popular theories. In 2008, the Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology examined the link between path-goal theory and transformational leadership. Transformational leadership involves the use of extrinsic rewards to influence employee behavior (Vecchio, Justin, & Pearce, 2008). This could include gift cards, bonuses, movie tickets, etc. In a way that is similar to path goal theory it is important to match the right reward with the right employee. While this may work for some the study suggests that replacing many of these extrinsic rewards with the intrinsic motivation of path goal leadership styles workplace performance can improve (Vecchio, Justin & Pearce, 2008).
It is possible for a leader to exhibit more than one leadership style, and some might argue that it is preferable for them to do so. For example, a leader can give employees a role in the decision making processes, thus exhibiting the participative style, while also striving to make the workplace a pleasant environment, exhibiting the supportive style. What is most important is that the correct style of leadership is matched up with the correct employee mindset. This will ensure that motivation stays high and employee discontent remains low, or preferably non-existent.
References
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Vecchio, R. P., Justin, J. E., & Pearce, C. L. (2008). The utility of transactional and transformational leadership for predicting performance and satisfaction within a path-goal theory framework. Journal Of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 81(1), 71-82.
