PATH-GOAL THEORY OF LEADERSHIP - LESSONS, LEGACY, AND A REFORMULATED THEORY

In this paper I present a retrospective review of the development and history of the path-goal theory of leader effectiveness. I briefly des cribe the origin of the theory. The theory is then summarized. The var ious methodologies that have been used to test the theory and lessons learned from empirical testing are discussed. Two legacies of the theo ry are described: the substitutes for leadership theory and the 1976 t heory of charismatic leadership. A reformulated 1996 path-goal theory of work unit leadership is presented. The reformulated theory specifie s leader behaviors that enhance subordinate empowerment and satisfacti on and work unit and subordinate effectiveness. It addresses the effec ts of leaders on the motivation and abilities of immediate subordinate s and the effects of leaders on work unit performance. The reformulate d theory includes 8 classes of leader behavior, individual differences of subordinates, and contingency moderator variables which are relate d to each other in 26 propositions. The contingency moderators of the theory specify some of the circumstances in which each of the behavior s are likely to be effective or ineffective. It is argued that the ess ential underlying rationale from which the propositions are derived is strikingly parsimonious. The essence of the theory is the meta propos ition that leaders, to be effective, engage in behaviors that compleme nt subordinates' environments and abilities in a manner that compensat es for deficiencies and is instrumental to subordinate satisfaction an d individual and work unit performance. This meta proposition, and the specific propositions derived from it, are consistent with, and integ rate, the predictions of current extant theories of leadership. Furthe r, the propositions of the theory are consistent with empirical rests with empirical generalizations resulting from earlier task and person oriented research. It is my hope that the 1996 theory will be subjecte d to empirical tests and that such tests will lead to a further improv ed theory to be formulated at some future time.