SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP: MODEL, ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES, EXAMPLES - PSYCHOLOGY - 2025

The situational leadership is a leadership model that was developed over several decades by Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard. His field of study is the way in which the behavior of a leader changes depending on the type of people he has to lead and his level of development.

One of the main ideas of this theory is that there is no one way to behave like a leader. On the contrary, elements such as the situation or the level of maturity of both the leader and his followers will determine the best strategy to follow to lead effectively.

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Currently, the two authors who created the model have each created their own company, so the theory of situational leadership has followed two different paths. In this article we will see the points that both approaches have in common, as well as their main advantages and disadvantages.

Model

The basis of the situational leadership model is the idea that there is no one way to lead a person or a group. On the contrary, depending on factors such as the characteristics of the followers or the nature of the task to be carried out, each situation will require a different way of taking control.

According to this theory, a good leader must be able to adapt his behavior and way of leading to the specific environment in which he finds himself. In their studies, Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard tried to differentiate which were the most common types of leadership, and with which class of subordinates each of them was most effective.

The Blanchard and Hersey model distinguishes between four types of leadership based on the amount of directive behaviors that the leader has, and the support that he shows his subordinates.

Likewise, a distinction is made between four "maturity levels" of employees based on their competence to carry out the task they have to perform, and the degree of commitment they are willing to make with their obligations and their motivation to fulfill them.

Types of leadership

According to Blanchard and Hersey, a leader has to adapt his way of behaving with his subordinates mainly according to the level of maturity of these.

Thus, depending on whether they have to be very directive (that is, give orders) and whether they should show support to their employees or not, four levels of leadership can be distinguished.

These four levels are known by several different names, but the most common are as follows:

- Tell.

- To sell.

- Take part.

- Delegate.

It is important to note that none of the four styles is better than the others; on the contrary, each one of them will be more or less useful depending on the situation. Next we will see what exactly they consist of.

Level 1: Say

Level 1 is also known as "directing." In this type of leadership, the leader has to deal with employees who are not competent in their tasks, and who are also not motivated to do them well. Usually the followers that you need to wear this style with are just new to your job and inexperienced.

When a person has not yet gained enough experience to do their tasks correctly, the most effective way to lead them is to give them clear guidelines that they can follow. Therefore, the focus at this level is primarily on the objectives to be achieved, and not on the relationship between leader and subordinate.

At this level, the employee will receive information from the leader not only about his final goal, but about each of the intermediate tasks that he has to carry out.

The challenge here is not to overload the person with data and instructions, and to help them develop so that they can end up with a degree of autonomy.

Level 2: Sell

The second level of leadership is more suitable when the person wants to start working independently but does not yet have the necessary skills to be able to do it correctly. That is, their motivation is high but their technical knowledge is insufficient.

The biggest problem that followers experience in this situation is insecurity. Therefore, at this level a leader has to be able to explain the why of his instructions to his employee, and pay attention to his suggestions, doubts and concerns.

The second level is called "selling" because the leader must be able to convince his subordinates the way he considers correct to carry out the tasks, in addition to the idea that they are qualified to carry them out.

Here, the ringleader is still the decision maker; but subordinates can give their opinion and propose improvements. The leader should be able to praise them when they make progress or discover an innovative way to accomplish their tasks.

Level 3: Participate

This level is especially indicated when the followers are already able to carry out their tasks by themselves, but for some reason they have lost part of their motivation.

Usually, due to an increase in their responsibilities, they may begin to believe that they are being exploited; this would increase their insecurity and work worse.

The main objective of the third level of leadership is to restore motivation to employees. To achieve this, the leader has to involve them actively in the team's decision-making processes. At the same time, you must support them and show them the things they are doing well, so that they regain their confidence.

Therefore, at this level, the leader has to focus primarily on supporting the members of his team, rather than giving them orders or instructions.

Level 4: Delegate

The last level of leadership is useful when employees are not only able to carry out their tasks without assistance, but are also fully committed to them. Therefore, they no longer need instructions from the leader, nor her constant support.

The challenge for leaders at the fourth level is that they have to be able to trust their subordinates. They must inform their superiors of their progress in the way they consider most appropriate. In addition, they can ask for help at specific times when they have a question that they cannot solve.

Advantage

The situational leadership model can be very useful in most contexts if applied correctly. Rather than offering a single way to lead a group of people, this theory offers several alternatives.

This allows managers to better adjust to the tasks at hand and the characteristics of their employees.

On the other hand, when a leader is able to truly understand his subordinates and direct them effectively, they tend to develop both their abilities to carry out their task and their motivation.

In fact, when situational leadership is used correctly, employees progress spontaneously through different levels of maturity. This causes that, after a while, the leader can relax and delegate much of her tasks to her team.

Disadvantages

However, as with almost all psychological models, situational leadership theory also has a number of disadvantages that make it not suitable for all situations.

The main drawback of this model is that, for an inexperienced leader, it can be extremely difficult to understand what level of maturity each of his employees has.

Therefore, until you gain more experience working with teams, it may be more helpful to have a unique role model to follow in your relationship with them.

On the other hand, when following the situational leadership model, a leader will necessarily have to behave differently with each of his subordinates.

This implies that some of the employees will be given almost complete freedom, while others will be directed in practically all their tasks.

This can cause resentment among employees, who at times may feel like they are being treated unfairly. This drawback is not present in other leadership models, which propose treating all subordinates equally.

Example

Next we will see an example of the evolution of a subordinate through the four levels of maturity, and the change in the behavior of his boss with him.

Level 1

A. has just arrived at his new company, and he still does not know how to do his tasks. You feel quite insecure about your new position; and his boss, therefore, decides to give him a list every day of everything he has to do, without taking too much into account his opinion.

Level 2

After a few months in his new position, A. feels much more confident doing his tasks, but he still makes quite a few mistakes. However, he is a little tired of not having any independence, and he wants to begin to understand why he is being commanded.

His boss, detecting the change, begins to explain many of the decisions he makes, but continues to give him orders that A. has to follow.

Level 3

Some time later, A. understands almost perfectly his responsibilities and the best way to carry out his duties. However, he feels demotivated, since he has not yet achieved the freedom he wanted, and thinks that his superiors do not trust him.

A.'s boss realizes this, and begins to give him fewer specific instructions and gives him more freedom to make decisions. At the same time, it flatters him when he does something especially well, and helps him whenever he has a problem that he cannot solve. Little by little, A. regains his motivation and improves even more in his work.

Level 4

A. has reached a point where he is able to perform his tasks almost perfectly, and also feels like an expert in them and wants to perform them as well as possible.

Your boss hardly intervenes in your work; it only helps you when A. wants to ask you a specific question, as well as explaining the general objectives on which you have to focus.

References

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2. "Situational Leadership - Meaning and Concept" in: Management Study Guide. Retrieved on: November 27, 2018 from Management Study Guide: managementstudyguide.com.
3. What is Situational Leadership? How Flexibility Leads to Success ”at: St. Thomas University. Retrieved on: November 27, 2018 from St. Thomas University: online.stu.edu.
4. "Situational theory of leadership" in: Very Well Mind. Retrieved on: November 27, 2018 from Very Well Mind: verywellmind.com.
5. "Situational leadership theory" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: November 27, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.