If you have read more than one of our Publications, by now you may be wondering:
- But… Should I maintain my Leadership Style whatever happens?
- What if things change?
Obviously, the situation you find yourself in will largely determine how you should lead.
- It is not the same to heal a scratch on your son, in the park, than on a soldier, at the front.
This way of considering Leadership, as something that changes depending on the context, is called Situational Leadership.
Contrary to what many people think, this Leadership Style does not suggest that you do what you please, depending on the day.
- As if you were doing the shopping.
Hersey y Blanchard proposed 4 Styles of Leadership based on:
- The Autonomy of the Employees.
- The Involvement of the Leader in the tasks.
Situational Leadership Model
Delegation.
- High Employee Autonomy.
- Reduced Involvement of the Leader.
Participation.
- High Employee Autonomy.
- High involvement of the Leader.
Persuasion.
- Reduced Employee Autonomy.
- High involvement of the Leader.
Command.
- Reduced Employee Autonomy.
- Reduced Involvement of the Leader.
As you can see, these intuitive Leadership/Management Styles can be well understood using these 2 variables.
Now let’s look at some examples:
Situational Leadership Examples
Examples of Delegation Leadership:
- An Artistic Director that Delegates to his artistic Team.
- A Director that Delegates the accounts of his company to a Group of Accountants.
- A Lead Programmer that Delegates the programming of certain things to his team.
Examples of Participatory Leadership:
- A Conductor trains his orchestra, but he has to Participate.
- A Film Director participates because he has the global vision of the Project.
- The Captain of a Football Team.
Examples of Persuasive Leadership:
- When Leading Teams from external departments.
- When Leading groups that can only act in a limited way.
- Political Sector: They manage masses, without much autonomy.
Examples of Authoritarian Leadership:
- A Company in which rapid changes must be introduced.
- Companies that are experiencing difficulties; The Boss can’t be everywhere.
- The Army; Decisions must be adopted without hesitation, quickly.
As you can see, this Method suggests that you choose which Leadership style would be most appropriate, rather than sticking to a fixed Framework.
Finally, let’s see the Pros and Cons of it:
Pros and Cons of Situational Leadership
Pros:
- It is Versatile: It adapts to many situations.
- It’s Easy to Remember: There are only 2 variables to remember.
- It synthesizes many Leadership methods in a single Method.
Cons:
- It’s a bit Simplistic: Variables fall short in many situations.
- Evaluating what is considered Autonomous is not simple.
- In real situations, there is usually a Mix of: Autonomous employees and non-Autonomous employees, moments when presence is required…
