In his article “Leadership That Gets Results,” leadership expert Dan Goleman (2000) describes six leadership styles. Successful leaders do not employ only one style; instead, they select the appropriate style for the situation, deftly switching from one style to another, as circumstances demand. The scenarios and leaders that Goleman describes in his article demonstrate the contingency theory of leadership in action.

Bjugstad et al. (2006) approach the contingency theory of leadership in a different way. Instead of examining profiles of leadership styles, they examine styles of followership. After illustrating the different styles that followers employ, the authors align the styles of leadership that should be used for various followers.

You will use the frameworks of examining leadership and followership styles provided by Goleman (2000) and Bjugstad et al. (2006) to analyze two leaders with whom you are familiar.

To get started you need to select two leaders with whom you have interacted as a follower in your personal or professional life. The leaders you select could be current or former managers or executives in your professional life. However, you may also select current or former coaches, teachers, mentors, etc. from your personal life.

I Choose my Pastor Dr. Terry L. Whitaker and My Director, Tony Lowe Finance and Administration Director

Submit your paper including:

• A summary of the reasons why you chose each leader for this paper.
• Your analysis of how their behaviors and actions were consistent, or not, with contingency theory and the styles referred to in Goleman (2000), Bjugstad et al. (2006), and at least one other resource that you selected from the discussion in Week 4. In other words, you will explain how the leadership styles of each leader aligned, or did not align, to the challenges they faced.
• Your analysis on the effectiveness, or ineffectiveness, of each leader you selected.
• An analysis of the reasons you, or others, chose to follow, or not to follow, these leaders and the risks you and others take when making this choice.

Support your conclusions with references to the articles by Goleman (2000), Bjugstad et al. (2006), and at least one other resource that you selected from the water cooler discussion in Week 4. An exemplary paper will also integrate resources from previous weeks.