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 Last time we published an article on leadership, we spoke about the six different leadership styles that successful managers can apply to different settings. One key to the success of a manager is their ability to switch or flex styles as conditions change. This is commonly referred to as "situational leadership."
Situational Leadership Theory
Most of the leadership training programs offered today attempt to help you discover the leadership style you exhibit and make you aware of its strengths and weaknesses. However, a situational leadership style is not dictated by the leadership skills of the manager. The idea of situational leadership is more closely tied to using the style needed to be successful given the existing work environment being managed or the specific needs of the business.
The effective manager is able to utilize multiple leadership styles as conditions change. This is the theory behind the concept of situational leadership. Implementing situational leadership in an organization then becomes a matter of training managers to recognize the current work setting or employee situation and using the most effective leadership style given that specific challenge.
For example, delegating work to an employee that is ill prepared to accept that responsibility may result in the impression that the worker is incompetent. This can lead to frustration for both the manager and worker. Ironically, in some situations it is actually the manager's inability to recognize the most effective leadership style, or refusal to switch styles, that is really the cause of an ineffective workforce.
Situational Leadership Models
Right now, there appears to be two mainstream theories describing situational leadership models. The first model we'll discuss is based on Daniel Goleman's elements of emotional intelligence - self awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills.
Goleman's Model of Situational Leadership
In Goleman's model of situational leadership he combines his five elements of emotional intelligence to formulate a total of six situational leadership styles which are described below. Goleman emphasizes the need for a manager to change between these six styles as conditions around them change.
Coaching Leaders
In the Coaching Leadership Style the leader focuses on helping others in their personal development and in their job-related activities. The coaching leader aids others to get up to speed by working closely with them to make sure they have the knowledge and tools to get their job done. This situational leadership style works best when the employee already understands their weakness and is receptive to ideas on how to improve.
Pacesetting Leaders
When employees are self-motivated and highly skilled, the Pacesetting Leadership Style is extremely affective. The pacesetting leader sets very high performance standards for themselves and their group and the leader exemplifies the behaviors that are sought from other members of the group. This leadership style needs to be used sparingly since workers can often "burn out" due to the demanding pace of this style.
Democratic Leaders
The Democratic Leadership Style gives members of the work group a vote or a say in nearly every decision the team makes. When used effectively, the democratic leader builds flexibility and responsibility and can help identify new ways to do things with fresh ideas. Be careful with this style, however, because the level of personal involvement required by this style and the decision making process itself can be very time consuming.
Affiliative Leaders
The Affiliative Leadership Style is most effective in situations where morale is low or teambuilding is needed. This leader is easily recognized by their theme of "employee first." Employees can expect much praise from this style; unfortunately, poor performance may also goes without reprimand.
Authoritative Leaders
If your business seems to be drifting aimlessly, the Authoritative Leadership Style can be very effective in this type of situation. The authoritative leader is an expert in dealing with the problems and challenges at hand and can clearly identify goals that will lead to success. This leader also allows the employees themselves to figure out the best way to achieve those goals.
Coercive Leaders
The Coercive Leadership Style should be used with caution because it's based on the concept of "command and control" which usually causes a decrease in motivation among those that are interacting with this type of manager. The coercive leader is most effective in situations where the company or group requires a complete turnaround. It is also effective during disasters or dealing with under performing employees - usually as a last resort.
Ken Blanchard's Situational Leadership Model
The second situational leadership model we're going to discuss is derived from the leadership theory explained by Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey. In this model, Blanchard and Hersey describe two fundamental concepts - that of leadership style as well as the development level of the person being led.
Situational Leadership Styles
Blanchard and Hersey characterized the situational leadership style in terms of the amount of the direction and the support that the leader provides to followers. The situational leadership styles they described fall into the following four types:
Telling Leaders
The telling leader defines the roles and tasks for each follower, and supervises them very closely. All important decisions are made by the leader and announced to the followers. This means communication is predominantly one-way. These leaders tell others what to do.
Selling Leaders
The selling leader defines the rolls and the tasks of each follower, but also seeks ideas and suggestions from followers. Decisions are made predominantly by the leader, but the communication style used is two-way. These leaders are good at "selling" their ideas.
Participating Leaders
A participating leader passes along the day-to-day decisions such as dividing up the workload to the followers. The participating leader will help to facilitate discussion and takes part in the decision-making process, but ultimate control is with the follower.
Delegating Leaders
The delegating leader is still involved in the workgroups' decisions and helps to solve problems, but ultimate control is with the followers. In fact, with this situational leadership style, the followers actually decide when to get the leader involved.
Development Levels of Followers
Blanchard and Hersey's situational leadership model also recognized the importance of the development level of those being led. Their theory states that the leader's style needs to reflect, in part, the competence and commitment of the followers. Those two dimensions were then used to develop the following four development levels of those being led:
- Low Competence, High Commitment
- Some Competence, Low Commitment
- High Competence, Variable Commitment
- High Competence, High Commitment
In Blanchard's model of leadership, there exists an ideal type of leadership style to apply to each development level. Much of that logic is the same as that found in Goleman's model.
Implementing Situational Leadership
As mentioned earlier, implementing situational leadership in an organization is really nothing more than teaching managers how to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of each leadership style and how this knowledge can be applied to a given work situation. It's also important for managers to recognize their intrinsic leadership style because that will often be the leadership style they will fall back into in times of stress.
Successful leaders in any organization are able to quickly recognize which style applies to a given situation, and make use of that style to achieve superior business results. Regardless of the model or theory used describe leadership styles both Goleman and Blanchard agree on this last point - flexibility is the key to success.
About the Author - Situational Leadership
Bill Sharlow is the Editor of Money-Zine.com. Copyright © 2004 - 2007 Money-Zine.com
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