Situational Leadership(no formatting)

11/01/13 DS

What is Situational Leadership?Leadership model based on the work of Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard.

Fundamental concepts:

• There is no “correct” way to lead• Leaders should modify their leadership style depending on the “maturity” of the employee

Assessments of maturity are task based, rather than person based, so a member of staff will likely sit at various levels of maturity for various tasks.

Defining MaturityMaturity in the scope of Situational Leadership refers to a specific set of attributes, all of which contribute towards the overall measure of maturity. These are:

KNOWLEDGE

SKILLSEXPERIENCE MOTIVATION COMMITMENT

ABILITY WILLINGNESS

MATURITY LEVEL

ATTITUDE

M1, M2, M3 or M4

High or Low? High or Low?

The Four Levels of Maturity

M1 - LOW ABILITY - LOW WILLINGNESS• Lack knowledge to complete task (ability)• Cannot take on responsibility (willingness)

M2 - LOW/SOME ABILITY - HIGH WILLINGNESS• Lack some/all knowledge to complete task (ability)• Willing to work on improving skills (willingness)

M3 - HIGH ABILITY - LOW/SOME WILLINGNESS• Able to complete task (ability)• Won’t take responsibility, perhaps due to lack of confidence (willingness)

M4 - HIGH ABILITY - HIGH WILLINGNESS•Able to complete task (ability) •Willing to take responsibility (willingness)

Unable and insecure

Unable but willing

Capable but insecure

Capable and confident

Exercise• Try and think of a task at which you sit at each maturity level.

Some examples to consider:

MS Excel

Maximo

Evaluating Staff

MS Access

Contract NegotiationMentoring

TrainingFacilitation

Conflict ResolutionControlling

A Budget

The Four Levels of Maturity

M1 - LOW ABILITY - LOW WILLINGNESS• Lack knowledge to complete task (ability)• Cannot take on responsibility (willingness)

M2 – LOW/SOME ABILITY - HIGH WILLINGNESS• Lack some/all knowledge to complete task (ability)• Willing to work on improving skills (willingness)

M3 - HIGH ABILITY – LOW/SOME WILLINGNESS• Able to complete task (ability)• Won’t take responsibility, perhaps due to lack of confidence (willingness)

M4 - HIGH ABILITY - HIGH WILLINGNESS•Able to complete task (ability) •Willing to take responsibility (willingness)

Unable and insecure

Unable but willing

Capable but insecure

Capable and confident

Leadership Styles

The Four Styles of Leadership

TELLING

SELLING

PARTICIPATING

DELEGATING

Task related instructions (click this, move there etc). Advising what to do and how to do it.

Task related instructions still required. Should begin to sell benefits, and begin building relations.

Staff have ability to complete task.Encourage participation, share decision-making and offer support

Staff able and happy to take responsibility. Only monitoring of progress should be required, employee happy to be responsible

M1 - LOW ABILITY - LOW WILLINGNESS

M2 – LOW/SOME ABILITY - HIGH WILLINGNESS

M3 - HIGH ABILITY – LOW/SOME WILLINGNESS

M4 - HIGH ABILITY - HIGH WILLINGNESS

From Task to Relationship BehavioursSituational Leadership allows a leader to develop interactions, moving from task behaviours for low maturity staff, to relationship behaviours for more mature staff.

M1 M2 M3 M4

TASK BEHAVIOURS

RELATIONSHIPBEHAVIOURS

Behaviours that “get the job done”. These are about structures, roles

and tasks - what to do and when to do it

These behaviours improve Ability

Behaviours that build interaction and trust. These are about fostering good relations

How they are doing, how they feel.

These behaviours improve Willingness

TELLING SELLING PARTICIPATING DELEGATING

Exercise

Discussion:• Think about a time you have noticed managers using different

styles?

• Did they use Task or Relationship behaviours?

• Did the leaders behaviour match the employee’s maturity for the task?

• How did that make you feel?

TELLING SELLING PARTICIPATING DELEGATING

Summary• No right way to lead, depends on situation and person/team

• Assess employees maturity for each task

• Decide on leadership style based on maturity

• Monitor employee progress and adapt approach as required. Do they need to be advised of Task or Relationship behaviours

Ensures you communicate with staff at correct “level” and get the best out of them!

Questions?

Further Reading

• Hersey, Paul and Blanchard, Kenneth. Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing Human Resources (Englewood Cliff, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1982).

• Blanchard, Kenneth. “Recognition and Situational Leadership II” Emergency Librarian. March/April 1997, Vol. 24 Issue 4, p.38.

• Center for Leadership Studies: www.situational.com• Ken Blanchard Companies: www.kenblanchard.com