Situational Leadership
Different situations need to be dealt in a different ways; different people should also be dealt in diverse ways as well. Situational leadership theory states that a leader should not consider all the circumstances to be similar and apply the same methodology to deal with each one of them.
In fact different styles are recommended for to deal with new situations in order to get the desired outputs. Hersey and Blanchard gave a model on situational leadership which is highly acclaimed. They believed that the leaders should be very flexible and should be able to adjust themselves to the new situations and new circumstances very quickly. Leadership style and Development level are the two concepts on which their model is based.
Leadership style states that there are four categories of leaders viz. Directing Leaders, Coaching Leaders, Supporting Leaders and finally Delegating Leaders. Directing leaders are those who lead from the front; they communicate the task to his subordinates and very closely examine the progress of the task. These leaders rarely discuss the ideas with their followers which are in contrast to Coaching Leaders.
Coaching leaders are very much open to suggestions and ideas from their subordinates and infact they even implement those ideas. This kind of two way communication helps the leader to develop a good rapport with their followers and is held in high esteem by their followers. Though such type of leaders may look very attractive, but it might not be applicable in all situations. There are moments when the leader has to be tough; in fact different situations warrant different styles. In case of supporting leaders it is the subordinates who have control over the decisions and the leaders just become a facilitator during the whole process.
On the other hand the delegating leaders entrust the work to their subordinates; though the leaders are the part of the decision making but it is the prerogative of the subordinates to allow the leaders in the decision making process or not. The followers whom the leader leads too have different traits and they exhibit different developmental levels. These developmental levels are: Low competence, Low commitment; Some competence, Low Commitment; High Competence, Variable commitment; High Competence, High commitment.
For further reading on Situational Leadership please check our material below.
Coaching and Team Management
It is a kind of behaviour or role that leaders enforce in the context of situational leadership. In a Situational Leadership theory, a leader shouldn’t deal with different situations in the same manner and methodology. In a leadership style, coaching, members of a group or team are competent and motivated.
Check Situational Leadership By Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey
As we come across different circumstances, we need act differently according to them. The Situational Leadership techniques taught by Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey suggest that managers must implement different leadership methods depending on the situation
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