Figure 11.3 classifies these three individuals based on what we know about the situation in which they lead. The officer manager is in situation 1, in which she is liked, has a struc tured task, and has position power. The project engineer is in situation 8, with poor leader member relations, low task structure, and weak position power. The registered nurse is in situation 4. She's well liked, but she has no task-structure opportunities and no position power because of the physicians. The situation is more favorable for the situation 1 leader than for the situation 8 leader. When the situation is highly favorable or highly unfavorable, a task-oriented approach generally produces the desired performance. The well-liked office manager, who has power and has clearly identified the performance goals, is operating in a highly favorable situation.
The project engineer, who faces a group of suspicious and hostile subordinates and has little power andevague task responsibilities, needs to be task-oriented in this highly unfa- vorable situation:
Changing Situations to Fit the Leader