Situational Theory And Situational Approach

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.

Herschey and Blanchard, in their Situational Leadership theory, recommend that a leader adapts their leadership style on the basis of the maturity of the group or individual in dealing with specific situations. If an individual is new to the organisation and have a low level of expertise but a high level of motivation then a directing leadership style is likely to be most suitable, whereas an employee that has a higher level of skills but variable commitment may respond to a supportive style in order to build confidence.

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.

According to Institute of Medicine (2011) capabilities of situational leaders include skill presentation recognition, flexibility including competence and pledge of others. Situational leaders relate with their subordinates by encouraging and directing them. Situational leadership is an association between the subordinates’ development level and leaders ' behaviour to offer encouragement and direction. (Carter et al, 2005; Northouse, 2013) The

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

The situational speculation of organization relies upon the characteristics of the various leveled followers and choosing the best possible expert direct. The theory has four standard specialist styles organizing, educating, entrusting, and supporting. The style associated changes in perspective of the task and practices of the lovers or delegates. "The situational specialist theory proposes the refinement between the successful and unsuccessful of the four organization styles is the respectability of the pioneer's lead to the particular condition in which it is used" (Waller, D, 1989) or the limit of the pioneer to change in light of the necessities of the lover or delegate. The situational theory evaluates the aficionados by ability, duty, and

This paper will address why situational leadership theory is useful and relevant in developing an effective leadership culture. In addition, it will also discuss the three theories of situational leadership and what is considered to be the strengths and weaknesses of each theory when leading staff in the organizational environment.

Situational theory assumes there is many different ways to approach a situation, but there is one theory that is best to use in dealing with the problem. When using the situational theory, the leader needs to consider all of the possible outcomes before determining the right solution in handling the situation. However, this theory could limit the creativity of an individual who has been doing a task for a long time. This theory is useful when a leader is surrounded by business specialists such as lawyers and accountants and wants their opinions before making a decision.

Applying the four categories of Situational Approach would be easy if i was a head football coach. I witness my coaches do it all the time. Say if i was a head coach at a middle school. This is the in between level of coaching that can sometimes be difficult. Because at this stage the children are old enough to know better, but still to young to exhibit there talent to its full potential. I would use the supportive branch by being a good support system or the kids when they are sad about loosing games (hopefully we would not). I can also use the supportive branch by being supportive to them when there parents are being hard on them about being the best. I can use the coaching approach easily, by being there for them when they make big plays

Situational Leadership is also called as Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory. Paul Hersey the author of "Situational Leader" and Ken Blanchard the author of " The One Minute Manager" are the one who introduced this theory (Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory, 2010-2015). The principle behind this theory is that every theory is not perfect in itself and the effectiveness of the theory is determined by the situation (Kreitner, 2013, p. 472). One of the important lesson that I have learned till this day is no one can be prepared for the upcoming problems. Problems may have same nature but may be different in the way it has to be solved. For instance: A Leader may motivate an employee by increasing salary but the same tactics may not work for another employee. Another employee may be seeking challenging job which may influence him/her to

The situational leadership model views leaders as varying their emphasis on task and relationship behaviors to best deal with different levels of follower maturity. First we have the directing/telling style (S1). This style gives specific task directions and closely supervising work; this is a high-task, low-relationship style. The leader defines the roles and tasks of the “follower”, and supervises them closely. Decisions are made by the leader and announced, so communication is largely one-way.

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

The situational leadership model was developed by two authors, Ken Blanchard, and Paul Hersey in the year 1969. These authors based this model on the concept that leadership should adapt to different management practices and approaches to fit different situations and surpass any diversity of their encounters (Lussier & Achua, 2010). In particular, this model provides guidance on how to analyze a situation, choose effaceable strategies and adopt the most appropriate leadership style. Apparently, the two developers of the model researched and found that, given some case, leadership may fail to accomplish some goals due to adopting single

Situational Leadership is about using the right leadership style in conjunction with the readiness level of the one being led. Situational leadership defines the right action as what the follower needs in a particular situation. Brady Pyle pointed out that great Leaders do not treat all followers the same, nor do they treat any single follower in the same manner all the time. They analyze the situation, identify what the follower needs to function and grow in that particular situation, and then proceed accordingly. Adapting the Nigerian church leadership style to suit the American context has become inevitable for TAC