Situational Leadership

.docx

School

Park University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

IS310

Subject

Management

Date

Feb 20, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by CoachThunder7846

Situational Leadership – Learning to Adjust I. Summary Businesses today are everchanging. To stay competitive, organizations need to be able to adjust to the ever-changing business environment. With an economy that is considered “global” and along with a very diverse workforce, the need for a situational leader is essential for the success of a company. In short, a situational leader adjusts his or her style to the employee or individual. A “one size fits all” approach to leadership is, quite frankly, outdated and obsolete. Gone are the days of democratic, autocratic, laissez-faire, or even transactional leadership styles alone. Today, you must incorporate your style of leadership to the individual. Models of leadership change from an experienced employee who has been with the organization for quite some time, to a new employee that is just starting out. For a seasonal and experienced employee, you have the ability to be more “hands off” as opposed to the new employees, who need a more “hands-on” approach. I will be dissecting the need for a situational leader, as well as the different types of “quadrants” situational leaders need to be in, per se, per the individual. Being more hands-on for new employees is essential for their growth of good “Building blocks” to put them on the path to success for a company. On the other hand, more freedom can be given to experienced employees to further aid in their growth. In order for a leader to be successful in a company, they need to grow the next generation of leaders for that company. This helps keep a company fresh and viable to stay competitive. A situational leadership model does exactly that. You adjust your style to the individual, not the individual to your particular style.

II. Leadership Concepts Involved Situational Leadership is considered an adaptive style (or a style that is ever changing) that takes into consideration current circumstances, or situation, or even a condition from a team or individual composition to determine the right way to lead. Instead of leading from a one- dimensional perspective, situational leaders effectively guide their people in their organizations by strategically deploying their leadership qualities . Therefore, they create better outcomes by modifying themselves to positively influence team members. The results of a Situational Leader can results result in an increased productivity and heightened levels of job satisfaction from individuals or teams. Thus, it is a proven method to be an in an effective leadership style to motivate employees in different kinds of segments. Effective leadership is not necessarily a one size fits all approach as people within an organization differ from one another. Some might need more support and direction while others may need the opposite. At several stages in a person’s career, or even in smaller situations, different types of leadership are needed. One of the co-founders of the situational leadership theory, Paul Hersey, described how people differ not only in their ability to do but also in their will to do, or contribute. Regardless of these differences, situational leaders serve in a way that gets everyone working towards a shared vision. Situational Leadership keeps all this in mind, teaching leaders how to adapt to their team’s needs on an individual level. Growing a cohesive, strong team that achieves your organizational vision and goals. Situational Leadership keeps all this in mind, teaching leaders how to adapt to their team’s needs on an individual level. The theory behind the Situational Leadership model originated in 1969. It puts the team members first as the leader will change their approach based on employees’ performance readiness standards to the company’s goals or desired outcomes. It incorporates four styles: Telling, Selling, Participating, and Delegating. It

is best used when an individual’s productivity or a team’s productivity need to be improved under a situation that is consistently changing and flexibility is required then. In quadrant one (the telling mode), the individual depicts the lowest level of performance readiness and thus requires the highest amount of attention. Leaders in this mode will go into great detail and best practices of how to get the job done successfully. Leaders will ask clarifying questions to the individual and explain where they can get help if needed. The next quadrant is the selling mode. Here the leader serves as an influential, supportive figure for those who show interest in learning on how to execute a job successfully. This style is used when providing motivation, growing buy-in, and building trust. In essence, a selling leader proves themselves as someone capable of leading their team members. In this quadrant the leader gives team members the chance to ask questions as part of the conversation to engage them in more of a two-way discussion over what must get done. In the next quadrant, the participating mode, the leader creates a cooperative, inspiring environment where input is welcome. While the employee at hand might be more experienced and capable than those requiring the telling or selling styles, they still need support. When practicing this style, hands-on leaders let the team member do the decision-making but help as needed. Leaders allow team members to make important decisions, especially from skills and abilities that the team member already excels at creating an environment where people feel comfortable taking risks and trying something new. The last quadrant, the delegating mode, the leader grants team members the highest level of autonomy because they’ve proven they can successfully direct themselves. With this type of person, business owners and managers can be more hands-off in decision making, yet still offer support if the person needs it. Here, leaders employ an overall vision for what the team should accomplish and monitors progress without delving into the daily tasks.

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version