The Situational Leadership Theory ( Slt Model Is Not Based On Any Research Evidence

There have been numerous theories surrounding leadership, which attempt to explain which form is most effective in the workplace. A universalistic approach was once used to rationalize leadership and it was believed that successful leaders possessed certain common abilities and traits. However, today due to external factors such as globalization and advanced technologies, there has been an evolution towards a new paradigm of leadership. Subordinates want to feel empowered and engaged at the workplace and often the behaviors and relationships between leaders and their subordinates become important to understand in order to fully understand effective leadership. Contingency theories have been developed in which people began to look at the behavior of leaders in specific situations. Two such contingency theories are: Path-Goal and Hershey and Blanchard’s Situational Theory.

In the United States, Americans are facing this ongoing battle of finding a job for personal fulfillment versus disutility. Ideally, workers try to get a job for personal fulfillment because it satisfies workers needs for achievements. In other words, workers live to work.  They enjoy what they do. However, that is not always the case, many times workers find themselves working a disutility job. In simpler terms, they do a job because they have to provide for themselves and their family. According to NY Daily News “A newly released Gallup report shows that 70% of Americans polled either hate their job or are "disengaged" from their work, and even perks don't work if they're unhappy with management”.  That is more than half of Americans who spend over 40 hours of their life a week unhappy. Not to mention, they can bring that unhappy attitude home. Even though many workers try and find a job for personal fulfillment sometimes, we are stuck with a job we are not satisfied with.

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.

From the first day of kindergarten to the last day of schooling, the concept of working one profession until retirement is familiar to nearly everyone. Such precedents are forced on young adults, as they take their first baby steps towards adulthood and finding a job. While the student dips their toes into the next step in their academic path, intrusive figures are pushing them to choose a career as soon as possible. Students learn that the only way to get by in a more demanding society is to take the first offer that seems just slightly of interest. Amy Adkins, the author behind one of the sources used in “A World Without Work” from the Stimulus Material, revealed, “A 2014 Gallup report of worker satisfaction found that as many as 70 percent of Americans don’t feel engaged by their current job” (Adkins). Engaged employees are classified as laborers that are “enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace” which can only be applied to thirty percent of workers in the United States. Workers have become unsatisfied with their chosen profession, and as a result are suffering the negative

Theory X and Theory Y, developed by Douglas McGregor, grew out of opposition towards classical management methods. Classical management theorists, such as Fredrick Taylor, focused on scientific training and efficiency and did not account for personal and behavioral issues, such as management styles or job satisfaction. McGregor saw these deficiencies in the classical school of management which lead him to develop a theory of management that would factor the importance of the individual worker. If a manager could tap into the feelings and attitudes of their workers, then the manager would be able increase their employee’s motivation which would then increase production. McGregor’s theory viewed the employee as a person and not as a machine

McGregor’s Theory Y has a positive view on employees. This theory believes that employees will do well when they are given the ability to do so. This is a Theory that trusts that humans are mostly committed to making the company that they work for successful.

I personally believe that those who lead should guide subordinates in a safe manner. I believe that front-runners should keep their subordinates informed. I believe that front-runners should promote advancement and progress among subordinates. I believe that front-runners should cultivate that growth. I agree with the results of the assessment that my form of management is in the range of the transformational style of leadership.

The main premise of the Situational Leadership approach is that there is no one size fits all to leadership style and that different types of situations will require different kinds of leadership. In order to be effective, leaders must be flexible in their leading style when moving from one situation to another and to adapt their leadership style to different situations. The flexibility that is inherent in this leadership style means that leaders

Situational leadership is a leadership model, which has been large influenced and moulded by its early developers Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey. In this section we’ll examine the early development of the theory in late-60s to 70s, before looking at how the leadership model has evolved from the early inception.

The situational leadership theory, developed by Hersey and Blanchard (1988), centers on the idea that a successful leader is one who adapts their leadership style to fit different situations. According to Northouse (2012), the situational leadership model focuses on a leader’s ability to “match their style to the competence and commitment of their subordinates” (p. 99). Hersey and Blanchard (1988) indicated that there were four main leadership syles: directing, coaching, supporting, and delegating.

The theory states that instead of using just one style, successful leaders should change their leadership styles based on the maturity of the people they're leading and the details of the task. Using this theory, leaders should be able to place more emphasis on the task and relationships with the people they're leading, depending on what's needed to get the job done successfully. In situational leadership, the style may change in order to meet the needs of others in the organization based on the situation. The theory categorizes leadership styles on four behavioral types: Telling (one way communication in which the leader provides some direction), Selling (two way communication in which the leader directs and influences the followers to buy into the process), Participating (the leader works with the team and shares decision-making responsibilities) and Delegating (the responsibilities are passed to the followers but the leader stays involved to monitor the progress).

Some supervisors believe that their employees are hardworking, committed, and responsible. Others view their employees as essentially lazy, irresponsible, and lacking ambition. This observation led Douglas McGregor to propose his Theory X -Theory Y. Theory X and Theory Y represent two sets of assumptions about human nature and human behavior that are relevant to the practice of management. Theory X represents a negative view of human nature that assumes individuals are generally dislike work, are irresponsible, and require close supervision to do their jobs. Theory Y denotes a positive view of human nature and assumes individuals are generally industrious, creative, and able to assume responsibility and exercise self-control in their jobs. One would expect, then, that managers holding assumptions about nature that are consistent with Theory X might exhibit a managerial style that is quite different than managers who hold assumptions consistent with Theory Y.

The theory is successful in reminding the leaders that the overall purpose of leadership is to coach and guide subordinates as they move toward to their goals. This theory also assumes that employees will be motivated if they think they are capable of performing their job, if they believe their efforts will result in a certain outcome and if they believe that the payoffs for their work are worthwhile. A leader has to tune in to three variables - leadership style, subordinate preference, and task structure in different leadership

Theory X presumes that average employees dislike work, are lazy, dislike responsibility, and must be

The worker always like work and wants to achieve their targets and goals on time