Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory (SLT) asserts that a leader’s effectiveness is dependent upon the readiness, or ability and willingness, of the leader’s followers to complete a task. This leadership style is an amalgamation of task-oriented and relationship-oriented characteristics that are employed depending upon the situation and the followers involved. According to the SLT, as followers increase in readiness the leader’s style is to adapt accordingly (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2009).
The figures below (Babou, 2008) summarize the leadership behaviors that the SLT presumes are appropriate to the various stages of follower readiness. Each quadrant of the Leadership Behaviors chart corresponds to the same quadrant in the Follower Readiness chart.
Leadership Behaviors
Follower Readiness
For example, under this theory the leader would employ High Directive/High Support leadership behaviors to the Disillusioned Learner. Ideally, the leader helps the followers as they progress through the stages to achieve the Self-Reliant Achiever/Delegating level. While I do not necessarily fully subscribe to the theory, it does seem to have merit and I do believe that it is important for an effective leader to have the capability and flexibility to adapt his or her style to the needs of the followers in order to encourage everyone’s success. I also believe that an effective leader plays a significant role in promoting and molding individuals’ readiness as it relates to motivation and commitment. As such, I developed my leadership assessment with these points in mind. The assessment focuses on 14 attributes that I believe are important not only for a leader to be successful within the parameters of the SLT, but...
... middle of paper ...
...res any less difficult to ponder because they reveal that I have a long way to go – indeed further that I would have estimated. They also reveal that Bobby believes in my potential and my chances for success as an effective leader. I know I can do it, but it was very reassuring to hear it from another person who I respect very much. It also confirms the value of my decision to enroll in the Organizational Leadership degree program at CSU. The classes and exercises such as this will certainly be an integral part of my long-term success as an effective leader.
Works Cited
Babou. (2008, March 26). Variations in situational leadership [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from http://leadershipchamps.wordpress.com/2008/03/26/variations-in-situational-leadership/
Kinicki, A., & Kreitner, R. (2009). Organizational behavior (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Hersey, P. & Blanchard, K. (n.d.) Situational Leadership. In Wren, J.T. (Ed.). (1995). The Leader’s Companion (pp. 207-211). New York: Simon & Schuster.
In the context of the Situational model leadership theory, there are three identifiable weaknesses in my leadership practice. These weaknesses represent shortcomings in my role as a leader and might prevent my team from fully executing the organization’s mission. The three weaknesses are:
The leading work style feels motivated by pride and satisfaction in the tasks of the organization, while the style of relations motivated attempts to establish relationships and to extend additional support for the development of computer in the organization. There is no right or wrong style leadership. Each person has their own preferences for leadership. Motivation for Group executives are at their best when the group successfully as achieving a new sales record or above the main competitor. Relationship-oriented leaders are at their best when he takes greater customer satisfaction and a positive image of the company is established.
My impression of leadership is the ability to motivate, inspire, set a visualization, connect, and lead by example. To become a successful leader you have to be able to convince your followers that you are trustworthy of being followed. During this semester, we have learned many, if not all of the major leadership theories and how they play a role in our everyday lives. But personally, a few of these leadership models caught me and intrigued me the whole semester so much that this paper is going to predominately be referenced about them. For example, the proposed framework that organizes leadership theories based on each theory 's focus and approach. Focus is referred to as whether or not leadership is viewed as a set of traits or actions.
Situational leadership is a theory which was designed in 1969 by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard. The “contingency theories of leadership” states that a leader’s effectiveness is dependent on their behaviours in relation to different situational factors. Thus, situational leadership theory, relates to how a leader 's effectiveness is depend on their ability to adjust their leadership behaviour to the required level of the “followers” capability or if the situation is modified.
The situational leadership theory states that leaders use different styles and strategies depending on the situation. There are two models that support this theory. The Fiedler’s Contingency Model of Leadership Effectiveness states that an “effective leadership occurs only when there is an ideal match between the leader’s style and the group’s work situation” (pg
A leadership theory is a clarification of some features of leadership; theories have practical importance as they are being used for better understanding, anticipating, and controlling successful leadership. Hence, the main principle of any theory is to inform practice(Lussier and Achua 2009). Leadership theories could be classified into eight main categories: Great man, trait, behavioral, contingency, Situational, Participative, Relationship , management (Cherry 2010).
Uniquely, to the different leadership theories, the Situational Leadership Theory makes note that all leaders do not make the same decision equally or in the same method, in fact, by way of subordinate details, there are a number of aspects that
Many organizational theorists concur that existence of effective leadership is one of the important contributors to the overall organizational success. Leadership is defined as “a process of social influence by which an individual enlists the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a task or mission" (Chemers, 1997). According to Stogdill (1957) he defined leadership as the individual behaviour to which guides a group to the achievement of a common objective. Lee and Chuang (2009) explained an excellent leader does not only inspires subordinates’ potential but enhance efficiency to meet their objective in the achievement of organizational goals. Chen (2009) collaborates with these statements by considering that leadership is as process in which various behavioural approaches are used to guide employees to a shared goal. In the process the leader influences the organization members through a series of interpersonal interactions in which they seek to inspire the organizational members towards attaining organizational goals. Fry (2003) explains leadership to be the use of a leading strategy which
Theories of Leadership Leadership is the ability of a person to influence people toward the attainment of a particular goal. Leadership is a people activity, not like administrative paper shuffling or problem solving. It is a dynamic force and involves the use of power. Out of the forces of leadership come four powerful characteristics: supportive, directive, participative, and achievement-oriented leadership. Although these types of characteristics are not considered ingrained personality traits, they reflect types of behavior every leader is able to adopt depending on the situation.
Hoy, W. K., & Tarter, C. J. (2010). A Theory of Leadership: A Situational Approach. Retrieved January 28, 2014, from http://www.waynekhoy.com/pdfs/theory_of_leadership.pdf
The leadership is a result of a combination of traits, with special emphasis on the personal qualities of the leader, which he should possess certain personality traits that would be special facilitators in leadership performance. This theory shows that leaders are born as such, there is no likelihood of 'making' them later with personal development techniques.
Have you ever had a leader that inspired you to develop your own leadership traits? “A leader is someone who demonstrates what’s possible” (Mark Yarnell, 2015). There are numerous leadership styles. Each of the numerous leadership styles can be beneficial if utilized in an appropriate means. I have chosen three leaders and their unique leadership styles to discuss in this paper. The unique styles that will be discussed are situational leadership, transformational leadership, and laissez-faire leadership. I will also discuss each leader’s approaches, their fundamental leadership principles, and how each leader used their style within their profession.
The primary leadership theory I believe in comes from John Maxwell and speaks to the dual nature of leadership: leaders are both born and made. I believe that some individuals are born with innate leadership qualities and that those characteristics, though infantile, if cultivated, evolve through lifelong experiences, training and development. Maxwell asserts that born leaders require cultivation: “Leadership is developed, not discovered. The truly “born leader” will always emerge; but to stay on top, natural leadership characteristics must be developed”(Maxwell, 1993 p. viii). Maxwell indicates that individuals who want to become leaders fit into one of four categories: the leading leader, the learned leader, the latent leader or the limited leader.
The Situational Theories of leadership explain how leadership style must be tailored to the demands of the task and the qualities of subordinates.