Situational Leadership
Abstract
Situational Leadership, one of the most widely used leadership approaches in the business world today was developed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard in 1969. It is a leadership approach that focuses on leadership in different situations and is based on the premise that different situations demand different kinds of leadership. This approach stresses that a leader has to adapt his style of leadership according to the situation of his group. There are four different leadership styles based on Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Model. Although scholars have questioned this style of leadership due to lack of research and obvious biases in initial studies, situational leadership style is regarded as one of the most successful styles due to the adaptive style leaders must display according to the situation and the group or organization’s ability and willingness to perform the task at hand.
Situational Leadership Situational Leadership is a leadership theory based on the idea that leaders are most effective when they alter their leadership approach to fit the needs of individual employees as opposed to his own leadership style. This leadership approach is regarded as one of the most effective styles of leadership and is becoming more prevalent in businesses today, due to the more diverse workforces (Kokemuller, 2011). This approach offers four different styles of leadership, which allows the leader to assess each employee’s strengths and weaknesses then determine the best course of action for the task at hand. “These leadership styles are: the directing approach, the coaching approach, the supporting approach, and the delegating approach” (Blanchard, Zigarmi, and Zigarmi; 1985). Given the fact that each employee works differently and require a different type of attention from his or her leader makes this approach more feasible. However, like all other leadership approaches, there are pros and cons to the situational
Situational Leadership, one of the most widely used leadership approaches in the business world today was developed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard in 1969. It is a leadership approach that focuses on leadership in different situations and is based on the premise that different situations demand different kinds of leadership. This approach stresses that a leader has to adapt his style of leadership according to the situation of his group. There are four different leadership styles based on Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Model. Although scholars have questioned this style of leadership due to lack of research and obvious biases in initial studies, situational leadership style is regarded as one of the most successful styles due to the adaptive style leaders must display according to the situation and the group or organization’s ability and willingness to perform the task at hand.
Situational Leadership Situational Leadership is a leadership theory based on the idea that leaders are most effective when they alter their leadership approach to fit the needs of individual employees as opposed to his own leadership style. This leadership approach is regarded as one of the most effective styles of leadership and is becoming more prevalent in businesses today, due to the more diverse workforces (Kokemuller, 2011). This approach offers four different styles of leadership, which allows the leader to assess each employee’s strengths and weaknesses then determine the best course of action for the task at hand. “These leadership styles are: the directing approach, the coaching approach, the supporting approach, and the delegating approach” (Blanchard, Zigarmi, and Zigarmi; 1985). Given the fact that each employee works differently and require a different type of attention from his or her leader makes this approach more feasible. However, like all other leadership approaches, there are pros and cons to the situational
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