The Situational Leadership Model
Situational leadership is interplay between the amounts of direction that a leader allows in: 1) the amount of directive (task) behavior and 2) the amount of relationship behavior (supportive behavior). What this means is that when an individual first begins a new task they require a lot of direction and managerial guidance. As they learn more about the task, the amount of direction decreases until they can make many of the decisions with the manager providing little input. The situational leadership model developed and refined by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard divides the model into four
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THE FOUR LEADERSHIP STYLES
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We begin in the lower right quadrant, S1 directing leadership style. This phase is where the new employee or older employee learning a new task begins. The directing will require that the leader define the roles of the follower. The leader initiates problem solving and decision-making and directs communication towards the follower. The leader will tell the follower what to do, how to do it, where to do it, and when to do it. Close supervision is also involved at this point. The X-axis beginning point is to the extreme right (high directive) indicating that leader will be providing directions. The rectangular object showing development levels is also to the extreme right but here it signifies that the amount of learned knowledge (amount of development to perform task) is low. The beginner may become enthusiastic about wanting to learn. They will probably be highly committed but competence will be low. The Y-axis is on the bottom end showing us that supportive behavior is at a low point.
The second quadrant is located in the upper right, S2 coaching leadership style. This phase is where the leader listens to the follower, provides support and encourages the follower's efforts, and facilitates involvement with problem solving and decision-making. Communication flows between leader and follower. The X-axis beginning point is to the
The word leadership has a lot of meanings, but its meaning is unique to the person who is giving the definition. Leadership is the ability to guide, direct, and motivate others to accomplish a mission or task. It is the ability to make subordinates see their own potential in their abilities and supervisors recognize and respect it. Leaders are entrusted with building up those they lead to ensure the individual can one day assume the responsibility of leading others. It is for this reason that the situational approach style of leadership best describes my leadership style.
Chapter four will define the plan of action to interview Chad Brake, the first shift Senior Supervisor for the Equipment/Component Preparation departments at Pfizer Corporation in McPherson, Kansas. The interview will be designed to pinpoint three key objectives based on the three leadership principles brought together in chapter two and chapter three. The purpose of the interview is to obtain responses from Chad Brake that will validate the importance of the objectives from a leader’s perspective. And lastly, this chapter will demonstrate the objectives that will be presented and documented as quantifiable analyses.
This paper defines “context” as it relates to leadership and the inclusion of context in leadership theories. I will show examples of different leadership styles and how they relate to the context of leadership. In closing, I will reflect on the challenges of contextual theories and how these challenges can be met in the current environment.
Safety First is a phrase most have heard throughout their career, but what impact does that have when there is an increase of safety incidents on base? Newly appointed safety officers inherit any outstanding safety challenges as well as any benchmark programs that brings safety to light. However, if the program is broken the safety officer must utilize the skills harbored within assigned personnel to make a difference for the betterment of the wing. As the new wing safety officer, I have been tasked to eradicate the trends in safety mishaps and make sure there is a process in place to prevent future occurrences. This paper will outline an
Research on leadership is a subject that has been approached in many different ways. Theories on leadership can be classified according to the type of variable that is emphasized the most. Three types of variables relevant to these theories include (1) characteristics of leaders, (2) characteristics of followers, and (3) characteristics of the situation (Yuri, G., 2010). In the textbook Leadership in Organizations, Yuri, G. classifies these theories into the following five approaches: (1) the trait approach, (2) the behavior approach, (3) the power-influence approach, (4) the situational approach, and (5) the integrative approach. This paper briefly discusses the situational approach of studying leadership.
Through identification and ongoing assessment of her leadership style and ability this leader is able to develop and understand her own strengths and limitations in order to grow and develop into a more effective leader. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of servant leadership, contingency, path-goal styles leadership to gain an understanding of current leadership models, identify this author’s style of leadership and explore why leadership is important to organizations, society and this author.
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.
Q1) Given the description of the leadership situation facing the airplane crash survivors described on pages 2-3, how would leader-member exchange (LMX), the normative decision model, the Situational Leadership theory, the contingency model, and the path-goal theory prescribe that a leader should act?
Interesting observation was noticed from both type of scenarios. Both plant possess the situational leadership style. Even though both plant A and B had similar culture they had different leadership styles. Both leaders adapt to suit the situation with confidence by dealing with people to different maturity levels and tasks assigned. One of the attribute of a situational leader is to change from one leadership style and also understand when to change to meet the goals and needs of the organization and the employees. Situational leaders should learn to demonstrate certain competencies. When a situation or crisis exist, these leaders should be able to diagnose and understand the situation they are trying to control. They should be able to adapt and adjust their behavior in response to what occur in the situation.
Although trait and skill theories have ideas that can be intertwined and can be compared
I appreciate your brief summary of situational and contingency leadership comparisons but feel there additional similarities that can be pointed out. First, both theories are rather prescriptive in nature, meaning both have behaviors that can be categorized. In the case of the situational theory, it states that the leader adjusts their behavior based the directive need and supportive need of their subordinate, which relies on a four quadrant guide (Northouse, 2013, p. 101). Similar in the contingency theory, is the Lease Preferred Coworker (LPC) scale, where the leader’s task and relationship motivation are rated. Another similarity is that in both approaches the results of the “scale” drive a particular action.
Leadership is an important factor within a business environment and often plays a significant role in achievement of organisational success (Landis, Hill & Harvey 2014). However, leadership is an art, therefore there is no simple formula for effective leadership (Hughes, Ginnett & Curphy 2015, p.33) and a leader’s effectiveness can often only be understood in the context of the leader-follower-situation interaction model.
Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory (SLT) asserts that a leader’s effectiveness is dependent upon the readiness, or ability and willingness, of the leader’s followers to complete a task. This leadership style is an amalgamation of task-oriented and relationship-oriented characteristics that are employed depending upon the situation and the followers involved. According to the SLT, as followers increase in readiness the leader’s style is to adapt accordingly (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2009).
Over the years, scholars and management theorists have cultivated several leadership styles that they have encouraged people to apply and try to implement. However, most of these theories have shown various short comings. Typically, none of these styles has proven to work best in diverse situations. In the late 1960’s, the Situational Leadership Model was developed. In this paper, I will discuss the details about the situational leadership model. In detail, the paper begins with a defined introduction of what the situational leadership model is about and an interpretation of its origination. An outline of the model will follow after which a discussion about the benefits and drawbacks of this model will shortly follow.
Leadership is an approach for a leader to guide, motivate, supervise, manage, and influence others in different situation to reach a goal. According to the Pettinger (2007), the leadership can be explained in several situations. First, the leaders have the responsible to provide vision and direction to the followers. Second, the leaders shall energise and motivate the followers. Third, the leaders shall set and enforce absolute standards of behaviour, attitude, presentation and performance.