The Sensibilities of Path-Goal Leadership

Being a budget and finance professional, I keep an eye on the dollars, and I gladly accept any monikers that go with that. As a public servant, I focus on offering quality services to my constituents in the most cost-effective manner possible. Part of being cost effective is being able to hire and retain fellow professionals to
efficiently and effectively run government operations.  While I believe in maximizing the dollars that are
entrusted in me by the taxpayer, I also believe that you must offer a competitive total compensation package as one of the means of retaining quality staff. The cost of providing public services can be reduced by minimizing staff turnover. As an administrator, one way of reducing staff turnover is by doing what is necessary to promote satisfaction in the workplace, and promoting satisfaction means that leaders must understand the motivating factors of the staff in our organizations. While this can be a complex endeavor, it is not impossible when proper efforts are applied. It requires multiple aspects of leadership theories, such as those provided in the path-goal theory.


This week I read about the leadership concept of the path-goal theory. This subject intrigued me as it speaks to something we all strive for as leaders: to effectively understand and serve the needs of our employees. The theory seems like a win-win situation for the employee and the manager alike. This week I will focus on the employee aspects of the path-goal theory.

The foundation of path-goal theory is that it focuses on the ability of a manager to motivate their employees to accomplish the goals set forth by the organization.  This is a different approach than managers using contingency theory, where the goal is to survey an organizational problem and apply the appropriate management style best suited to solve the problem. Peter Northouse writes that path-goal theory focuses an employee’s characteristics, the work setting, and the appropriate leadership style. One example of an employee characteristic would be experience. For example, let’s say that there are two employees that work in similar jobs for the same employer. Employee A has been with the agency for 3 months, while employee B has been with the agency for 6 years.  Both employees were assigned to work together on a project.  The two get along great, but are struggling to complete the project. As a manager, what would you do?

Obviously, that would depend on the circumstances surrounding why the project has not been completed.  If the problem is due to the lack of training, then as a manager you would need to decide the proper course of action using a directive and/or supportive leadership style. Would you provide your employees the necessary training, or would you replace one or both employees with someone who already has the training? How would you address the problem if it is due to motivational factors?  As a leader, the solution can be complicated, but you have numerous options. Will you employ a directive style, and provide coaching to the employee, explaining the expectations?  Or, would you employee a supportive style, where you would coerce the employee to perform and reassure them that their skillset is more than adequate to complete the task at hand?   Would you use a participative style, where you could involve the employees in the decision process that determines why the problem exists and work together to determine the best solution? Lastly, would you try to utilize an achievement-oriented approach to establish the expectation of high performance and success? Using any of these leadership theories is highly dependent on the situation and the employee you are working with.  A leader needs to possess an understanding of their organization and the idiosyncrasies of their staff they are working with.

One of the strengths of the path-goal concept is that the leader’s approach to organizational problems are customized based on the employee, as it provides a useful theoretical framework for how the behaviors of leadership affect the satisfaction of your employees. Satisfied employees are content and motivated employees. Content employees will more than likely be retained; saving thousands of dollars in recruiting, hiring, and training staff. Motivated employees become higher performing employees. If you are a achievement-oriented leader, you gotta love that!