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The Situational Leadership Model: A Basic Guide for Managers
The Situational Leadership Model was developed by Ken Blanchard of The One-Minute Manager fame, and is a helpful tool for managers to improve their awareness of their own management style, and more importantly to match their leadership style to the current situation.
The Situational Leadership Model suggests four different leadership styles that can be used by leaders which are discussed below. The Situational Leadership Model is in widespread use by many companies around the world, and is simple to understand and implement. It simply states that there is no best leadership style, but rather style should be selected according to the situation.
The Situational Leadership Model
The Situational Leadership Model requires that you evaluate each one of your employees on their levels of commitment and competence on a task. This will obviously vary between employees, and will also vary from task to task. In other words, one employee may be highly competent and committed at one task, but have very low levels of commitment and competence at another task. As such, the Situational Leadership Model would suggest that a manager adjust his or her style accordingly.
Definitions for the Situational Leadership Model
Competence: The knowledge or skill level as it pertains to a goal or task.
Commitment: The motivation or confidence as it pertains to a goals or task.
If you are not sure of whether a performance issue is due to commitment or competence, you can use the crude (but effective) “gun to the head” test. If a person could adequately complete a goal or task when forced to, and it’s not happening, you have a commitment issue. If, when forced, a person can still not complete a goal or task, your have a competence issue. Keep this distinction in mind as we further discuss the Situational Leadership Model.
The Four Management Styles of the Situational Leadership Model
S1: Directing (Telling)
Task Focus: High
Relationship Focus: Low
Decisions: Made by Leader and announced
Communication: Mostely one way
Competence Level: Low
Commitment Level: High
Supervision: Close supervision necessary
S2: Coaching (Selling)
Task Focus: High
Relationship Focus: High
Decisions: Made by leader, but with input
Communication: Two-way
Competence Level: Some, but still needs improvement
Commitment Level: Lower, as a result frustration from the learning curve
Supervision: Still required, as is support and praise to build self-esteem
S3: Supporting (Participating)
Task Focus: Low
Relationship Focus: High
Decisions: Many belong to the employee, facilitated by the leader
Communication: Two-way, consultative
Competence Level: Adequate to high
Commitment Level: May lack confidence or motivation
Supervision: Not much direction required, as core competence is in place. Support is necessary
S4: Delegating
Task Focus: Low
Relationship Focus: High
Decisions: Manager involved in problem solving, but decisions mostly belong to the employee
Communication: Two-way, but reduce in frequency with high level of competence and autonomy
Competence Level: High
Commitment Level: High
Supervision: Minimal supervision and/or support necessary.
While the Situational Leadership Model is helpful to frame up performance issues and the appropriate managerial style to address it, it is important to remember that the model is not linear, and people will not progress through the stages in a linear fashion. Some people may skip certain steps completely, or only be there for a short time.
The Situational Leadership Model process
Now that you understand the four leadership styles of the Situational Leadership Model, you need to put this knowledge to work. Here is a quick summary of the suggested process:
1. Prepare a list or spreadsheet that lists your direct reports, and the core job tasks you need them to execute.
2. Assess each employees development level at each task based on your evaluations of their commitment and competence
3. Match the appropriate leadership style to the development level of the person on that task.
4. Manage and lead according to this information. Don’t hesitate to engage your people in this discussion.
5. As always, you should have a performance plan that you review regularly with your people.
3 Things to Remember about the Situational Leadership Model
- You will have a tendency to prefer one style more than others! Understand what your preferences are, and recognize when it might not be a good match. Work to improve your comfort and ability with the other styles of the Situational Leadership Model.
- Take the training. What is listed above is intended to be an overview of this tool. For maximum benefit, you should take a course offered by a certified facilitator of the Situational Leadership Model.
- Check your diagnosis often. People will move through the different development levels, and your leadership style needs to change accordingly.
Improve your leadership skills! Visit www.wilymanager.com for more information about the Situational Leadership Model and more Just-in-Time Management Advice
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Learn More About The Situational Leadership Model
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