Leadership Theory : The Situational Leadership Model

Situational Leadership was a model originally developed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard to effectively assess what each person needs from leadership on each task. (Hersey, 2004) Dr. Hersey and Blanchard parted ways and put their own spin on the same model but it still stands that it works and can be applied to any person of any age with any task. The key is that the leader has to be perceptive and fluid in leadership styles. One of the reasons

Situational leadership has very little in common with the other models mentioned herein. This model revolves around the leader changing leadership behaviors to meet the needs in relationship to the follower (Kouzes, 2003, p. 111). The difference between situational leadership and charismatic, servant, and transformational leadership is the lack of an organizational vision and the empowerment of the followers. Situational leadership uses followers based on their readiness level that relate to their ability and willingness to complete the task (Wren, 1995, p. 208). This aspect coupled with the leader’s task and relationship behavior is used in relation to the

This paper will address why situational leadership theory is useful and relevant in developing an effective leadership culture. In addition, it will also discuss the three theories of situational leadership and what is considered to be the strengths and weaknesses of each theory when leading staff in the organizational environment.

All situations are different and a leadership style applied in one situation will not always work in another. A leader must use judgement to decide the most appropriate style needed for each situation. The ‘Situational Approach’ to leadership identifies four leadership styles which are;

Surprisingly, the research discovered that there is no one best style: leaders must adjust their leadership style to the situation as well as to the people being led. Hershey and Blanchard’s Model of Situational Leadership. Going back to the 1970s, the model primarily focuses on the nature of the task as the major variable in choosing your style. In this model, there are four options: telling, selling, participating and

Situational and Authentic leadership are increasingly important skills to possess in today’s era of technological changes and availability and flow of information we have in this day and age. Leaders today must be able to adjust their leadership styles to the whatever situation arises as well as to the people who they are leading. Leaders are not limited to just use one style in one situation, being able to adapt appropriate styles to different situations will influence and help a leader succeed. A leader’s judgement, intelligence, cultural awareness, and self-control plays major roles in helping them choose the proper style and appropriate technique for the task at hand (Lau & Cronin, 1998).

Leadership is a vast topic with a variety of profound explanations and theories, but overall, leadership gives people a standard to aspire for. Leaders have a vision, and thrive on inspiring those around them to participate along the road to achieving their vision. Leaders can promote success by motivation, empathy, and positive direction. Though there is no clear winner when it comes to theories of defining leadership, some approaches have greater appeal than others. My goal for the future is to utilize several approaches in an effort to consistently improve my leadership performance. The situational leadership model will be helpful for me to improve my training skills, and accommodate unexpected situations with ease. Situational leadership is where I want to go in the future, but it is not where I am yet. In the past, I have attempted to provide strong leadership by learning from my mistakes and changing my approach based on my experiences. This is why I believe that currently, I identify most with the skills approach to leadership.

Leaders must face various situations effectively. How leaders address the situation is an area of leadership with a lot of theories and research. One of those theories is Hersey-Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory. “Situational Leadership Theory proposes that effective leadership requires a rational understanding of the situation and an appropriate response” (McCleskey, 2014, p. 118). The Life Cycle of Leadership was the original term for Hersey-Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory (Thompson and Glasø, 2015). Because of the need to apply the proper response to a situation, it is no surprise that situational leadership includes four leadership styles (Thompson and Glasø, 2014). However, the theory continues to expand as more research is gathered. For example, situational leadership theory began as a task-oriented versus people-oriented leadership style (McCleskey, 2014, p. 118). As a task-oriented versus people-oriented leadership style, situational leadership is a behavioral theory, which states that no leadership style is the best; instead, the style must reflect the readiness of the subordinates in a given situation (Mehta, 2012). Furthermore, there are four levels of readiness (Mehta, 2012). The goal of situational leadership is to create a leader-follower match based on leadership styles and subordinate readiness (Luo and Liu, 2014). According to Furtado, Barista, and Silva (2011), the components of

The most popular and extensively researched situational theory of leadership was first proposed by Fred Piedler during the 1960s. Fiedler's model claims that group performance depends on the interaction of the leader style and the favorableness of the situation. Fiedlers major contributions consist of(l) iden-tifying the leadership orientation of the leader and developing a way to measure it, and (2) identifying three situational factors influencing leadership and developing a method of measuring them

Situational leadership, developed by professor Paul Hersey and author and consultant Ken Blanchard. Their approach was based off of a 1967 article by W.J. Reddin called The 3-D Management Style Theory. In his article, Reddin discusses the need to have different styles based on the demands of the leader. A leader needs to be flexible in their approach to meet the needs of the job, their superior and their subordinates (1967). Hersey and Blanchard progressed this theory by introducing the Situational Leadership II model. Their model breaks leadership into four different styles, and how a leader must alter their approach in supporting and directing their subordinates based on a given situation. These styles are directing (S1), coaching (S2), supporting (S3) and delegating (S4). The model also focuses on the development level of the subordinates by categorizing them between low (D1), moderate (D2 and D3) and

Situational leadership focuses on adapting your leadership style or approach based on the situation and the amount of direction and support that is needed by followers. As Jesus trained and equipped his disciples from simple fishermen to fishers of men, who carried on his ministry after he ascended to heaven, he integrated different styles and theories of leadership that best served and supported his followers (Blanchard & Hodges, 2003). Depending on the level of competency and commitment of their people, leaders will adjust their style to provide the necessary support and direction. The core competencies of situational leaders are the ability to identify the performance, competence and commitment of others, and to be flexible (Paterson, 2013). From being highly directive, telling their people exactly what to do and how, to delegating, clearly stating the objective and allowing them to complete the task with little direction and support, situational leaders adapt their approach to the needs of their people and the particular situation.

Therefore, “the philosophy of a leader should be flexible enough to adapt to situations and changing times, and we will have to use a combination of transformational and transactional leadership techniques to get the job done” (“Pros and Cons of”, n.d., para. 9). The rudimentary idea behind Situational theory is that we need to adapt our strategy to the changing of conditions.

Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory (SLT) asserts that a leader’s effectiveness is dependent upon the readiness, or ability and willingness, of the leader’s followers to complete a task. This leadership style is an amalgamation of task-oriented and relationship-oriented characteristics that are employed depending upon the situation and the followers involved. According to the SLT, as followers increase in readiness the leader’s style is to adapt accordingly (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2009).

Situational Leadership states that there is no one best leadership style for all situation. Rather, the leadership style that is best for a particular situation depends on the skill set and attitude of the employee. A tool used by leaders is the Situational Leadership® II Model which is divided into two parts; one with four leadership styles and the other with four development levels. The top portion of the model shows four leadership styles; Style 1 (Directing), Style 2 (Coaching), Style 3 (Supporting), and Style 4 (Delegating). These leadership styles correspond with the four development levels—D1, D2, D3, and D4—which will be explained in more detail below. Blanchard Companies, K. (2016).

A situational leadership model is a model that was created to make a working environment run better. The way it works is by making the management evaluate the work environment and choose what type of leadership style would fit their work environment. When this type of model is used employees are taken into consideration. No longer the management is just a boss that tells its employees what to do. Instead people are treated equally making sure that the environment that is set works for everyone.