Understanding Situational Leadership

Building strong leaders is a primary path to business growth, industry development, and increased profitability. Using practical leadership tools, like the styles, values, and methodology of situational leadership, can be a surefire way to substantially increase professional success and efficiency at work.

Understanding effective and proven leadership strategies are the first step in becoming a good manager, adapting to a new job or approaching a new project, improving communication and productivity at work, training new leaders, and creating a work environment that enables team members to get things done and be successful.

Whether your goal at work is to be an effective leader by delegating tasks to coworkers and subordinates, focusing on teamwork and building productive professional relationships, motivating people and engaging with colleagues, or directing new employees, situational leadership techniques can help you determine your management style and use effective leadership strategies while on the job.

What Is Situational Leadership?

Situational leadership is a style of management that allows leaders to change their leadership style based on the individual or team they are attempting to supervise or guide.

To put it simply, the situational leadership model allows managers and supervisors to implement specific leadership strategies based on the current situation between themselves, their employees, and their business.

This adaptive leadership style focuses on the relationships between leaders and followers and encourages leaders to consider many variables, like an employee’s professional qualifications and skills or how an employee handles stress and pressure, before selecting the leadership style that is most conducive to their goals and workstyle.

The situational leadership model provides a framework to help managers analyze the performance of their followers or subordinates, then, based on that analysis, select a leadership style that would offer the employee or team the best amount of guidance and support to get their work done and to promote growth and development within the company.

This model, which allows managers to direct employees using telling, selling, participating, or delegating leadership styles, was first developed and tested in 1969 by leadership theorists Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard.

Hersey and Blanchard originally coined the management style “Life Cycle Theory of Leadership” before it was renamed as the “Situational Leadership Theory” in the mid-1970s. Both management experts continued to refine the leadership strategy through the 1980s.

Today, the situational leadership model uses the key strategies coined by Hersey and Blanchard, allowing managers to choose between supportive and directive behavior and analyzing an individual’s abilities and development level before offering guidance and direction.

Primary Styles of Situational Leadership

One of the key reasons that situational leadership is one of the most celebrated professional leadership training methods globally is that it focuses on multiple leadership styles rather than declaring that only one leadership approach is adequate.

Situational leadership addresses several leadership styles in order to cater to working professionals at every level and in nearly every occupational industry.

To help you fully understand situational leadership and reap the full benefit of the business strategy, we’ve broken down each of the primary styles addressed through situational leadership. Here are the four most typical types of situational leadership styles:

1. Telling. In the situational leadership model, the telling style of management is the most hands-on as it requires leaders to offer very specific guidance and direction to their followers. In this style of leadership, managers are tasked with closely supervising an employee or team.

   Telling leaders are primary decision-makers who create and communicate clear objectives for others to follow. Telling leadership is typically used on new employees, who don’t yet have a professional relationship with the leader, and in times of instability.

2. Selling. Unlike telling leaders, selling leaders are much more open to suggestions and alternate opinions. Instead of explicitly directing subordinates, the selling situational leadership style allows managers to explain and persuade their followers in an effort to “sell” their leadership ideas.

   The selling style of leadership relies heavily on cooperation and stable employee-to-manager relationships. The selling style includes less telling and more suggesting. While it still requires a big chunk of a leader’s time and attention, it focuses on developing trust and enhancing productivity.

3. Participating. Situational leaders following the participating style of management primarily focus on sharing ideas and facilitating decisions.

   Compared to the telling and selling leadership styles, this strategy is much more hands-off as it allows followers to make important decisions and enables leaders to focus even more on developing working professional relationships with their employees.

   Although participating leaders often still have a say in the decision-making process, they no longer give very detailed or exact instructions or guidance. As a whole, the participating style of situational leadership is overwhelmingly follower-driven.

4. Delegating. The most hands-off style of the situational leadership model is delegating. Leaders who delegate are still in charge of their subordinates, but they primarily allow their employees to make their own professional decisions. Delegating leaders offer very little guidance or supervision.

   For managers and supervisors following the situational leadership model, the delegating style of leadership is the ultimate goal as it requires minimal follow-up, minimal supervision, and minimal focus on tasks and employee relationships.

Types of Successful Situational Leaders

There are many different types of successful situational leaders based on the primary style of management a supervisor chooses to focus on within the situational leadership model. To help you to determine what kind of leader would best benefit you and your company, we’ve rounded up the six most common examples of situational leaders.

The six types of successful situational leaders listed below are all included in The Goleman Theory of Situational Leadership, which was developed by Daniel Goleman and incorporates the concept of emotional intelligence or the ability to handle interpersonal relationships and express and control your emotions — with the primary styles of situational leadership.

1. Coaching leaders. Coaching leaders act as coaches at their place of work by helping employees grow and develop their professional skills and abilities. These situational leaders work to guide their employees by offering both praise and constructive criticism.

2. Pacesetting leaders. Pacesetting leaders expect perfection and hold their followers to very high standards. These situational leaders set bold and competitive goals and drive their employees to meet and exceed them.

3. Democratic leaders. Democratic leaders promote democratic ideals through their leadership strategies. These situational leaders often involve their followers in the decision-making process, giving them a voice and a feeling of purpose.

4. Affiliative leaders. Affiliative leaders manage teams and employees using positive reinforcement leadership methods. Using praise and encouragement, these situational leaders aim to foster trust, belonging, and team building.

5. Authoritative leaders. As the name suggests, authoritative leaders manage using authority. These situational leaders typically provide clear direction and goals for their followers but leave the more specific details of a project up to the team or employee.

6. Coercive leaders. Coercive leaders manage employees and teams similar to that of a dictatorship. These situational leaders are ultimate authority figures and demand their followers to comply with specific instructions.

Benefits of Situational Leadership

Situational leadership has become one of the most popular strategies used by employers and supervisors across North America. To help you decide if this model of leadership is best for your company, we’ve rounded up the top five benefits of implementing situational leadership techniques at your organization.

Here are several advantages of the situational leadership model:

1. Personalized leadership. One of the biggest benefits of the situational leadership model is the ability for managers to personalize their leadership strategies based on the individual or team they are supervising.

   Choosing the right leadership style by analyzing a subordinate’s individualized needs and abilities can directly promote productivity and profitability as an employee receives the appropriate level of guidance to be successful at work.

   The personalization allotted in the situational leadership model is also extremely beneficial because it allows leaders to change their management styles as their employees grow and develop in their careers.

2. Simple to implement and easy to use. No matter what career level you’re at or what industry you work in, situational leadership is easy to use and simple to implement.

   The various leadership styles encompassed in situational leadership allow for professionals in every field to modify and improve their management techniques based on their employee’s performance.

   The simplicity of the situational leadership model makes this management style a worthwhile option for professional leaders of all types.

3. More of a partner than a boss. Situational leadership focuses heavily on curating professional, productive relationships between managers and employees. Research shows that managers who value productive relationships with their coworkers are more efficient leaders, making situational leadership even more beneficial.

   Because the situational leadership model values trust and team building, especially when utilizing the participating and delegating leadership styles, managers are seen as more of a partner than a boss, which typically improves efficiency.

4. Uses tasks and efficiency as a measure of performance. Since situational leadership is personalized, performance evaluations can be based on an employee’s efficiency and ability to complete certain tasks rather than an alternative structured rating system.

   Using tasks and efficiency as a measure of performance allows leaders to give more individualized evaluations and specific constructive criticisms, which in turn develop more productive and efficient employees and better functioning businesses.

5. Accelerates employee development. Individualized leadership styles directly accelerate employee development, as a manager is able to offer them guidance and support based on their skills and abilities. Such personalized support generally allows employees to grow and develop in their careers faster than they otherwise would have.

   Moreover, by choosing the best leadership style for their employees, situational leaders can directly drive change in their workforce and, as a result, improve and grow their company as a whole.

Disadvantages of Situational Leadership

Although situational leadership benefits may outweigh many of the drawbacks, as with everything, situational leadership can come with a few disadvantages. To help you weigh the possible weaknesses of the situational leadership model, we’ve rounded up the top three disadvantages of situational leadership.

Here are three things you should consider before adopting the situational leadership management techniques:

1. Does not directly consider other cultures. The situational leadership model is a North American leadership style. As such, the management style does not directly consider other cultures or international communication and work styles.

   While the situational leadership model can be highly personalized, it’s important to note that the leadership style is almost exclusively used in North America, so it may not be the best option for managing a global team.

2. Does not consider differing management styles based on gender. Studies show that professional management styles tend to differ based on gender.

   Taking this into consideration, it should be pointed out that situational leadership techniques do not consider the differences in management style between men, women, and nonconforming individuals.

3. It can be seen as a short-term leadership style. Sometimes situational leadership can be seen as a short-term leadership style since it directly relies on employee’s current abilities and behaviors rather than the long-term career skills they are developing on the job.

   However, the customization of situational leadership allows leaders to change their management strategies based on an employee’s changing skills and productivity levels, which can permit long-term management.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for a personalized management strategy based on an employee’s individualized situation as well as their strengths, skills, and professional abilities, look no further than the situational leadership model.

This adaptive management style focuses on building employee relationships, meeting professional goals, fostering employee growth and development, and increasing profitability within a business or department. Situational leaders enable their followers to be successful, get the job done, and live up to their fullest professional potentials.

By following the tips and guidelines outlined in this article, you’ll be one step closer to adopting the best leadership techniques for you and your company and celebrating the many benefits associated with situational leadership.

Author

Elsie Boskamp

Elsie is an experienced writer, reporter, and content creator. As a leader in her field, Elsie is best known for her work as a Reporter for The Southampton Press, but she can also be credited with contributions to Long Island Pulse Magazine and Hamptons Online. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from Stony Brook University and currently resides in Franklin, Tennessee.