Crisis management is a crucial aspect for organizations which calls for managers to utilize effective steps to handle the negative effects of a specific crisis. The path-goal theory provides managers with dynamism to positively impact performance and satisfaction. The approach can come in handy when exploring a response to a problem by adjusting to different stages within the crisis.
The path-goal of leadership effectiveness, developed by Robert House, outlines steps for a leader to adhere to the overall target of achieving high productivity and morale for specific situations. The leader generally makes it a case to clarify the route to a goal for group members increasing job satisfaction and performance. The path-goal theory of leadership effectiveness is multifaceted and entails multiple versions in line with the expectancy theory of motivation, which is its basis. The manager selects the leadership style to enroll depending on the characteristics of the situation and the task's demands to achieving the outcomes of productivity and morale. The underlying thought for the enacted measures to succeed involves subordinates accepting the initiating structure given it assists the group to have a clear route from their somewhat ambiguous tasks. They use the guidance of the leader to achieve efficiency. House provides a reformulated version of path-goal theory through a meta-proposition positing that the effectiveness of leaders requires engaging behaviors that complement subordinates' environments accompanied by abilities. The leaders should adjust their behaviors to compensate for deficiencies while concurrently enhancing subordinate satisfaction and individuals and work unit performance. Therefore, the two main elements in the path-goal theory regard matching the leadership style to the situation at hand and the probable steps the leader may adopt to influence performance and satisfaction positively.
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Apart from recommending the leadership style subject to a specific situation, the path-goal theory provides other suggestions to leaders relating to motivation and satisfaction. They include recognizing group members' preferences and needs that leaders can control and raising personal payoffs to team members subject to attaining overall work goals such as offering special recognition for high-performing employees. Other options include easing the paths to rewards by providing direction, assisting group members in having clearly clarified expectations concerning how their effort will facilitate good performance leading to positive payoffs, and reducing any challenging barrier to reaching goals. Other measures adaptable for the managers include increasing opportunities for personal satisfaction if a group member performs effectively, avoiding irritating people by issuing them instructions on activities they already perform well, and clarify goals desirability for the group members. The mentioned methods of influencing performance are crucial for leaders attempting to enact path-goal theory. The overall attractiveness of the model regards the idea that managers' actions have a significant impact on group members' motivation and satisfaction. The leadership styles available for leaders to enact the mentioned options include directive, supportive, achievement-oriented, or participative leadership (Sousa and Rocha, 2019). Therefore, the path-goal theory emphasizes the dynamism of leaders, offering them the platform to adjust their style subject to what a specific situation demands with the mentioned options available to assist them in achieving their targets.
Crisis management has become a norm or expectation within organizations to handle potential adversities that may arise due to risks faced. According to Bundy et al. (2017), crisis management involves applying strategies with the overall goal of assisting entities to deal with a sudden or a very negative event with crises occurring as a result of unpredictable occurrences or an unforeseeable situation that was initially considered to entail potential risks. The gravity of the problems demands making decisions hastily to reduce the damage to a firm. The nature of the crisis impacts the weight of the potential harm, with most cases having crises adversely affecting health, finances, reputation, or a combination of the mentioned. The stages of an emergency include warning and risk assessment, crisis response accompanied by management, and post-crisis alongside resolution (Xu et al., 2020). The first stage involves identifying risks and planning for initiatives to minimize the risks and their negative effects. The second stage entails management directing the organization's response subject to the established crisis management plan. The final step involves management evaluating the progression of the recovery efforts after the crisis subsides and business operations start to return to normal. The path-goal theory can assist managers in responding to the situation using proper management tools at the stages of crisis management.
The dynamism expressed in the path-goal theory can assist managers in responding to a specific crisis using relevant styles to ensure the response is effective. During the pre-crisis stage, managers can identify potential risks and plan ways to minimize those risks by developing specific strategies to the situation at hand accompanied by measures to influence performance and satisfaction positively. The manager will address subordinates and encourage them to create an effective response plan based on the crisis. Participative leadership is crucial during the initial stage, whereby the manager will collaborate with employees to develop an ideal response plan subject to the crisis. The achievement-oriented leadership style can subordinate directive leadership by setting goals to handle potential risks. When the crisis occurs leading to the second stage of crisis management, the manager will readjust to using the directive style of leadership given the understanding of what needs to be done, the tasks that require enrolling, and the timeline for specific actions. The manager provides the framework for the team of employees to follow for success in responding to the crisis. For the final stage, the manager will encourage subordinates to evaluate the progression of the recovery efforts, which involves applying directive and participative leadership.
The path-goal theory provides dynamic approaches to responding to a crisis with different initiatives with leadership styles such as directive, supportive, achievement-oriented, or participative leadership to respond to specific stages in crisis management. The theory assists managers in effectively handling potential risks, addressing the particular crisis, and following through with initiatives when the case subsides.
References
Bundy, J. et al. (2017). Crises and crisis management: Integration, interpretation, and research development. Journal of management , 43 (6), 1661-1692.
Sousa, M. J., & Rocha, Á. (2019). Leadership styles and skills developed through game-based learning. Journal of Business Research , 94 , 360-366.
Xu, L. et al. (2020). The dynamic effects of perceptions of dread risk and unknown risk on sns sharing behavior during eid events: do crisis stages matter?. Journal of the Association for Information Systems , 21 (3), 8.
