Importance Of Situational Leadership Theory

Leaders are our role models. They influence the culture, values, thoughts and actions of the company and its people. Effective leadership is important to any organization’s success. The leaders of an organization must be able to effectively communication the company’s message, delegate work duties, and motivate their employees. The leader’s leadership styles will depend on the leader’s personality. Organizations can choose a leader or manager with a personal style that complements the needs of the company or they can pick a manager who uses the situational leadership style that will change according to employee needs. “Situational leadership brings attention to the role of the follower” (David Wyld, 2010).

Relevance of Situational Leadership Theory

Situational leadership is a leadership style that was developed and studied by Dr. Paul Hersey and author and leadership trainer Kenneth Blanchard in the early 1980s. Situational leadership is done when a leader or manager must adjust or change their set leadership style to fit and adapt to the development level of the followers that the leader is trying to influence.

The Path-Goal Theory “identifies an effective approach to leadership, based on what your people want and your current situation” (Mind Tools, 2016). The Path-Goal Theory provides a useful framework for understanding how different leadership behaviors affect the approval of the employees and their performance. This is the only theory that deals with motivation. The main strength of this theory is that it reminds leaders of their intention of to guide and coach employees as they move along the path to achieve a goal. The main weakness that I saw was the treatment of the leader. This theory put a great deal of responsibility on the leader and less on the employee. This can make the employee too dependent on the