A Report On The Air Force

Situational leadership theory is when a leader adapt’s to the situation and the management styles to the behavioral needs of the individual or group. Trait approach leadership gives more credence to the qualities and traits that people are born with that make them natural born leaders.

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;

Winston Churchill once said, “Not to have an adequate Air Force in the present state of the world is to compromise the foundations of national freedom and independence” (Quotes about Everything). In this sense, the military is important to America, especially the Air Force. The Air Force provides security and safety to the people. Military lifestyles are usually not everybody’s first choice in the beginning. Particularly, the U.S. Air Force is not always is not always the first branch that comes to mind when thinking of the future. Most of the time, people come to conclusion of enlisting in any branch of the military because of an uncertainty of their future. “…I had no career or education goals, no plans; it’s just where my path took me”

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.

The United States Air Force is a dedicated and effective establishment, and has been a great advantage in protecting the United States during numerous wars. It all started on August 1, 1907, General James Allen, Cheif Signal Officer or the U.S Army created and established the Aeronautical Division. He entrusted this organization with "All matters pertaining to military ballooning air machines and related subjects." (Creation) Allen then put in command, Captain Charles D. Chander who was assisted by two enlisted men. The Aeronautical Division is the very beginning of todays U.S Airforce.

According to Yuki, G. (2010) there are five different leadership approaches that are being researched. These five approaches are:

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

Situational leadership requires a leader to be mature enough to properly assess and execute the best leadership style based on the current situation that faces the organization. In many situations, if the leader can satisfy the

The United States Air Force This paper deals with the contributions of the United States Air Force to the eventual victory of the Allies in Europe during World War II. The Allied powers had no idea how important a strong air force would be against the Axis powers during World War

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

Chapter sixteen discusses various leadership theories which can implemented by leaders to achieve success. The choice of leadership theory differs from leader to leader as they possess different vision and way of managing. A theory isn 't always perfect in itself, it is the endless effort of the leaders which makes the theory a perfect one. Two approaches of leadership that I prefer are Situational Leadership Theory and Servant Leadership Theory. Among many theories I prefer these two because I tend to practice those principles most of the time and I assume these are theories that I truly tend to continue in a long run.

Such theories are continuation of the situational approach to leadership. In these theories the factor of situation and behavioral aspects are taken into consideration. The leader’s appropriate behavior changes with situation. The favorableness of the situation depends on the leader’s interpretation and point of view.

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.

Situational leadership can be defined as a concept that helps understand leadership in terms of changing environment. Situational leadership theory was developed in 1969 by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard.

People have always asked if there is any style of leadership that is most effective. Nevertheless, numerous theories and models have been created to show that there is no style of leadership that is the best. Rather, styles of leadership need to adjust depending on the variables such as the leader, the situation, the subordinate, the task, the environment and other factors. Paul Hersey, Kenneth H. Blanchard, and Dewey E. Johnson noted that if the leader’s style of behavior is appropriate or matches the situation it is considered effective. If it is not appropriate to a given situation, it is deemed ineffective. The difference between the effective and ineffective styles is often not the actual behavior of the leader, but the appropriateness of that behavior to the environment in which it is used. In reality, the third dimension is the environment.