Situational Leadership Theory Vs. Model

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;

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.

There are four types of leadership styles that describe the amount of interaction a leader has to its members. The leadership styles include autocratic, consultative and participative and free-rein leaders (Lamberton & Minor, 2014). Autocratic is a leadership style that has the leader as the “dictator” giving direction to members to follow. The group members are expected to follow the orders without inquiry and focus on task completion. This style leaves little room for individual development among its members however, can be effective in situations that demands strong leadership such as in crisis situations. Consultative leadership style involves having the leader spend a decent amount of time conferring with other members on ways to tackle the situation. Under this leadership, tasks are delegated to the proper individuals with the right skill set fit for job. The focus is on

Compare and contrast two theories of leadership. Do these theories offer practical guidance for managers?

Situational leadership, it’s the term I use to describe the style of leadership I have developed over my career. To me this means that each individual is motivated differently and each situation may require a different approach to reach the required goal. My first Officer in Charge in the Coast Guard was BMCS Downey, his leadership style was that of stern but fair, trust must be earned, and if trust is lost it is hard to get back. The

This situational leadership theory is a great assessment to evaluate how people respond to working and being led in groups. The four situational leadership theory are telling, selling, participating, and delegating (Northouse, 2013).

One of this style’s is the autocratic style, a style designed for leaders to teach others to follow by example; letting others knows what you expect from them by using a straight forward approach. Basically, they lay out the situation to others, and take full responsibility for their own and others actions; through the process of decision making. Though, most people would say that this style is not be any means the most positive, other would disagree since it seems to work quite well were leadership is concerned; especially at accomplishing the goals they set for the organization. However, for this to be beneficial in all aspects, one needs to have a wide range of choice

When it comes to situational leadership theory, it is the way that people respond to working and being led in a group. There are some important pieces to this

Situational leadership theories state that a leader emerges to fit the situation, (SOURCE). Different people will take the lead in various circumstances that will subsequently require different skills. (SOURCE) argues that the ever changing elements present within the healthcare settings would benefit from leaders such as managers encouraging subordinate leaders to develop diverse leadership styles to deal with different conditions.

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

Since there is no special or one precise type of leader, numerous leadership styles and theories have surfaced. This is because a different situations require different type of leadership styles. In many occasions, leadership theories help to predict the best leadership style to employ in a particular situation. This essay seeks explain why situational leadership theory is useful and relevant in developing an effective leadership culture. It is this writers hope that it can be used as a how to guide to enable managers to be more successful.

The first style I will be looking at is “Autocratic” Leadership also known as “Authoritarian” leadership.

The leadership style that was most predominant was a participating leadership style. A participative leadership style is one where a leader invites employees to suggest or voice input prior to making a decision, a boss that is open to suggestion and allows individuals to carry out certain tasks in the individual’s own way (Greenberg, 2013). A participative leadership style includes involvement of an entire team by means of suggestions or opinions. Participative leadership involves a leader working closing with team members to focus on building relationships among one another (Murdock, 2014). As a younger

There are several leadership styles. This refers to the behaviors that the leaders have. They include autocratic leadership, where the leader acts as a dictator. The leader makes all the decisions by him or herself and does not allow any decisions or advice from the subordinates. The democratic leadership style is where everybody has a say which can then be included into the final decision made. Laissez-faire style which is also called the free rein style is where the leader gives freedom to the subordinates. The subordinates are allowed to make their own methods and policies.

The last style is called laissez-faire leadership. Here leader usually participates minimally and let team members find their own way out by allowing complete freedom in decision making (Simmons and Striley, 2014).