ABSTRACT

This chapter is an attempt to build a contingent-holistic model of leadership based on our earlier three-approach model (Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995; Graen & Wakabayashi, 1994). This means that we seek to answer the question: When to use which leadership approach? The novel idea advocated here is that contingencies can be applied to team settings. Specically, contingencies may change during the life cycle of a team project, and they may be best understood at the dyad level. These ideas contribute to the literature by extending the view of leadership contingencies, which can be employed over multiple followers and situations. In this paper, we identify and discuss (1) a taxonomy of approaches to leadership, (2) contingency factors that theoretically might affect the relative organizational effectiveness of these approaches, (3) the application of this contingency approach to teams, (4) preliminary tests of the model, and (5) how this model can yield a holistic picture of leadership.