The Art of Situational Leadership

“The single biggest way to impact an organization is to focus on leadership development. There is almost no limit to the potential of an organization that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders and continually develops them.” — John C Maxwell: The 17th Irrefutable Laws of Teamwork (2001, 185)

'Leadership styles' - an important topic in leadership programs - has received a lot of attention in the last few decades. The question that most people are trying to answer is, “What is the leadership style that a leader has to adopt in order to be successful?” The situational leadership model developed by Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey, states that there is no single best style of leadership but that the leadership style adopted should be dependent on the situation. This model provides the adaptability that is required in today’s fast-paced and complex business world.

The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Model rests on two fundamental concepts – the required leadership style and the individual/ group's maturity levels. Effective leadership is task-relevant, and the most successful leaders are those who adapt their leadership style as the situation calls for it. 

When a manager has to deal with an employee that is very skilled but has a negative attitude, the leader has to use the ‘Participative’ style with the key focus being motivation. If a person has just joined your team and does not have necessary skills, the leader should use the ‘Telling’ style, as it will provide the details and the direction needed to learn something new. The ‘one size fits all’ approach does not work anymore and meeting people where they are at enables them to develop faster. The ‘Selling’ style is used when a person has low skills as well as an undesirable attitude. Finally, the ‘Delegation’ style is used when your team member has both high skills and a good attitude.

“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” — Kenneth Blanchard, University of Massachusetts, Schatz, Managing By Influence, (Prentice-Hall, 1986)

Leadership Training Programs today are geared towards creating or developing a leader who is not bound by his or her own personality but is able to adapt and change accordingly to meet the needs of the company, job or personnel involved. For more information on how companies go about this process, please refer to the following article - Leadership Training and Development - What is it about?

MMM Training Solutions conducts soft skills training, executive coaching and leadership training programs for corporates in India and abroad. Please visit our website http://www.mmmts.com to know more about our programs and our trainers.