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Situational
Leadership Defined
The model of situational
leadership was created by Paul
Hersey and Ken Blanchard in the late 1960s.
Correlation Between Major Leadership Schools
The situational approach to leadership is based
on the assumption that each instance of leadership is different and
therefore requires a unique combination of leaders, followers, and
leadership situations.
This interaction is commonly expressed in
formula form:
SL=f(L,F,S), where SL is successful leadership;
f stands for function of; and L, F, and S
are, respectively, the leader, the follower, and the
situation. In other words, this formula says that successful leadership
is a function of a leader, follower, and situation that are appropriate for
one another.5
Leadership vs. Management
Leadership-Management Synergy
Leaders:
Provide
vision.
Managers: Provide resources.
►
Resulting synergy:
Employee empowerment...
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12 Leadership Roles
Leadership Styles
Your
leadership style is how you behave when
you are trying to
influence the performance of others. It is the way you
supervise or work with someone.
The are four leadership styles (but there is no
one best leadership style):
-
Directing
-
Coaching
-
Supporting
-
Delegating.
Depending on your employees' competences in their task areas and commitment
to them, your leadership style may vary from one person to another. You may also lead the same person one way
sometimes and another way at other times. Use a variety of leadership styles
in directing and supporting the work of others and make them a second nature
to you in your roles as a manager and as a parent.
Your People Skills 360
Using the Skill/Will Matrix
If you assigned a task to someone and the job
does not quite get done well enough, one of the most likely reasons is that:
-
you have
delegated the task to someone who is unwilling - or unable - to complete
the job, and have then remained relatively uninvolved or 'hands-off', or
-
you may have been too directive or 'hands-on'
with a capable person who was quite able
to complete the assignment with little assistance from you;
you just ended up demotivating him/her.
Consequently, whether you are
managing or leading, or
coaching, it is critical to match
your style of interaction with the coachee's readiness for the task. The Skill/Will Matrix will help you do this...
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Energize
Others
Situational Leadership and Possible
Misunderstandings
By J. Kenneth Boggs
There are four SL styles:
telling, selling, participating and delegating. Telling is appropriate for
those least ready to work independently and delegating for those most ready.
As those who are being led grow towards independence, the leader must
progress through all of the SL levels. Leaders who do not match their style
to that of those being led make it impossible for those being led to grow
towards independence.
12 Causes of Failure in Leadership
Leaders are also challenged
to deal with the possibility that their leadership may be perceived in a
negative light. A leader who ignores either the possibility of negative
perceptions, the actual occurrence of negative perceptions or the
justification for negative perceptions is living in denial. The leader who
lives in this denial is climbing out on a limb; the longer the denial
goes on, then the further out on that limb the leader climbs. Eventually the
limb may break and down will come the leader. This approach is risky and
not recommended.
In summary, SL describes
how leaders interact with those being led. This interaction depends on
the readiness of those being led, which changes. Thus it is essential
that leaders monitor the readiness of those being led and adjust their
leadership style accordingly.
Misunderstandings may
occur and must be dealt with. This always means an adjustment on the
leader’s part.
Last, people are
sensitive about a leader’s priority – is the primary focus of the work
for the benefit of those led or is it for that of the leader. When the
primary focus is perceived to be first for the benefit of the leader,
many undesirable negative behaviors are energized on the part of those
led and further growth toward independence suspended.
On the other hand, when
the primary focus of the work is perceived to be first for the benefit
of those led, the greatest energy is given to the work and growth
towards independence. This then frees up the
leader to do other work and thus to become an even
more effective
leader.
Situational Leadership: Pros and Cons
By J. Kenneth Boggs
People can
perceive
your different situational leadership styles both positively (focus on
others and their benefits) and negatively (focus on self and for the
benefit of self)...
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