First Level Leadership

Situational Leadership is What Counts…

Application of Situational Leadership

 

The following section is founded on the model of Herseys and Blanchard,

which suggests that there is no style of leadership behavior that is the best. On the contrary, effective leadership behavior is that which is appropriate for the specific situation in which the leader is functioning.

I have tried to simplify the

application of situational leadership for your ready reference. To get the most out of this section, I suggest you read it thrice to build it into your everyday leadership style.

Situational leadership is founded on the interplay between:

1. Readiness level of the people the leader is attempting to influence.

2. Direction (Task Behavior) a leader gives.

3. Support (Relationship behavior) a leader provides.

A significant concept to reckon with under situational leadership is the level of readiness of your followers.

This is split into four levels:

Level 1: Low follower readiness – refers to followers who are both unable and unwilling. They lack commitment and motivation.

Level 2: Low to moderate follower readiness – refers to followers who are unable and lack ability. They are motivated to make an effort.

Level 3: Moderate to high follower readiness – refers to followers who are able, who have the ability to perform. They are unwilling to apply their abilities because they do not feel confident.

Level 4: High follower readiness – refers to followers who are both able and have the ability and commitment to perform. They are confident to apply their abilities.

For each of the four levels of maturity,

the appropriate situational leadership style is a combination of task behavior and relationship behavior. The emphasis on one type of behavior is more appropriate in certain situations and less appropriate in others.

The relationship between task (Direction) and relationship behavior(Support) gives rise to four basic situational leadership styles.

In other words, from the combination of task behavior and relationship behavior

we derive four leadership styles:

Structuring Style – emphasizes high amounts of guidance (task behavior) but limited supportive (relationship) behavior. This style is most appropriate for low follower readiness. Also known as Telling style.

Coaching Style – emphasizes high amounts of both directive (task) and relationship behaviors. This style is most appropriate for low to moderate readiness. Also known as selling style, because these leaders are good at selling ideas.

Encouraging Style – emphasizes a high amount of two-day communication and supportive (relationship) behavior but low amounts of guidance (task behavior). This style is most appropriate for moderate to high follower readiness. Also known as participating leaders. Also known as delegating style.

Delegating style – emphasizes little direction or support with low levels of both task and relationship behaviors. This style is most appropriate for high follower readiness.

You might be wondering, how do you find the effectiveness of each style? Each of the four styles can be effective when used at the right time and the right place.

Let us find out the appropriateness of each situational leadership style:

Structuring or telling is most appropriate when managing:

• A person who is new or has little experience of the task.

• A person who is not self-motivated or willing to do a particular assignment.

• A person who feels insecure and lacks self confidence.

• A person who is performing below standard.

Structuring or telling is least appropriate when managing:

• The subordinate who is skilled and experienced in doing a task.

• The subordinate who is self –motivated and confident of being able to meet or exceed performance requirements.

• Output is difficult to measure in short run

• The pressures are not critical.

Coaching or selling is most appropriate when managing:

• A person who brings to the task some skills and experience but is performing below the standard.

• A person who respects the boss, his knowledge and position.

• A person who wants to share responsibility and work with the boss in an inter-dependent way.

• A person who willingly finds the time needed for coaching sessions.

Coaching or selling is least appropriate when managing:

• A subordinate who is very skilled and experienced.

• A subordinate who is highly motivated and committed.

• A person who can do a good job without the boss’s hands- on involvement.

• A person who has little or no skill, experience or confidence in a particular work assignment area.

Encouraging or participating is most appropriate when managing:

• A person (or group) who is skilled and experienced in the task.

• A person who is self motivated and takes responsibility for the task.

• A person performing at, or above a given standard.

• A person who can choose from a number of different ways of the job done.

 

Encouraging or participating is least appropriate when managing

• A person performing below standard

• A person lacking knowledge or experience to perform well without direction

• A person who is not showing initiative

• A person who is not taking responsibility for the results obtained

Delegating is most appropriate when managing:

• A person has all the required knowledge, skill or expertise to do an outstanding job.

• A person who is self confident and highly motivated.

• A person who takes pride in excelling and performing well above standard in this particular area.

• A person initiates action and takes responsibility for the task

Delegating is least appropriate when managing:

• A person who is new, inexperienced or unskilled in a particular task.

• A person who is unwilling to take responsibility for his own planning and productivity in a work area.

• A person who does not feel comfortable or confident in a particular task

• A person whose performance while satisfactory, is not outstanding.

Each of the four styles can be effective when used at the right time and the right place. Each of the four styles can be ineffective if used at the wrong time and wrong place.

Conditions, which determine the effectiveness are:

• The willingness and ability of people to do their work assignments.

• The nature of the work they do.

• The climate of the organization they work in.

High Task (Structuring or Telling) is effective if:

You are often seen as knowing what you want and imposing your methods for accomplishing tasks without creating any resentment.

High Structuring or Telling is ineffective if:

You are often seen as having no confidence in others, unpleasant and interested only in short–run output.

High Task & Relationships (Coaching and Selling) is effective if:

Others see you as a good motivator who sets high standards, treats everyone differently and prefers team management.

High Task & Relationships (Coaching and Selling) is ineffective if:

Others see you as a person who tries to please everyone and therefore vacillates back and forth to avoid pressures in a situation.

High Relationships (Encouraging and Participating) is effective if:

Others see you as having implicit trust in people and being primarily concerned with developing their talents.

High Relationships (Encouraging and Participating) is ineffective if:

Others see you as a gentle person primarily interested in harmony. You are seen as someone unwilling to risk disruption of the relationship to accomplish a task.

Low Task & Low relationships (Delegating) is effective if:

Others see you as appropriately permitting your subordinates to decide how to accomplish the task. You only play a minor part in their social interaction.

Low Task & Low relationships (Delegating) is ineffective if:

Others see you as uninvolved and passive, as a “paper shuffler”, who cares little about the task or the people involved.

Implementing Situational Leadership

is all about recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of each leadership style and choosing the right style in a given situation.

The crucial factor to remember

is where you as the leader start on the model in any given situation. Everyone in a leadership situation has the ability to engage each of the four styles at any given moment.

The style can be infectious provoking others to copy

An efficacious leader will understand his initial style and change where necessary to ensure that the situation is successfully led. The style employed by the manager at any given moment is dependent upon the situation. However, the manager must remember that whatever the style employed, it is “contagious” and will be adopted by his team.

Do you now have some reason to enhance your Situational Leadership?

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