Scribd
Upload
742 views2 pages

Situational Leadership Theory

1) Situational leadership theory proposes that leaders should adapt their style to fit the development level and needs of their followers and the demands of the situation. 2) The theory was developed in 1969 and encourages leaders to choose the leadership style that fits their goals and circumstances rather than relying on a single fixed style. 3) Situational leadership is based on task behavior, relationship behavior, follower readiness, and adapting leadership style accordingly.

Uploaded by

Rose Dumayac
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
742 views2 pages

Situational Leadership Theory

1) Situational leadership theory proposes that leaders should adapt their style to fit the development level and needs of their followers and the demands of the situation. 2) The theory was developed in 1969 and encourages leaders to choose the leadership style that fits their goals and circumstances rather than relying on a single fixed style. 3) Situational leadership is based on task behavior, relationship behavior, follower readiness, and adapting leadership style accordingly.

Uploaded by

Rose Dumayac
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP THEORY

Situational leadership is a leadership style that refers to a leader that can adjust his or her style to fit the
situation they are trying to influence. The person must be able to adapt to their situation. Situational
leadership encourages leaders to choose the style that fits their goals and circumstances. Situational
leadership is not based on a specific skill of the leader, instead they change their skills to what benefits
the followers. (Spahr, 2015)

“This theory was developed in 1969, by Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey. They wrote the book
“Management of Organizational Behavior” and called the leadership style the “Life Cycle Theory of
leadership.” (Spahr, 2015)

Read more about situational leadership here:

https://situational.com/the-cls-difference/situational-leadership-what-we-do/
 
Situational Leadership Style Characteristics:
1. Must understand the needs of the followers
2. Must be able to change accordingly to the situation.
3. Gain followers trust and confidence
4. Choose the correct leadership style based on the needs of the followers and organization
http://online.stu.edu/situational-leadership/#styles

 
Situational Leadership Vs. Contingency Theory
The contingency theory is for individuals that fit into one type of leadership style. The contingency theory
says there is no best way to lead. The leader finds a situation that appeals most to their style. In situational
Leadership any individual can adapt to the situation they are involved in.

Pros vs. Cons


Pros: One leader can be effective in many different situations. The leader can change their style as they
see fit accordingly to the situation. If successful, they can reach out to a variety of followers.

Cons: Not everyone can portray the situational leadership style successfully. It can be confusing for the
followers to know how their leader is going to respond each day.
Situational leadership theory is mainly based on task behavior, follower maturity, relationship and
effective leadership behavior. “Research has failed to provide the conceptual basis of the theory and
validity of the instruments. Research regarding the effect on subordinates’ performances when situational
leadership is properly practiced by the leader, has provided mixed results and only limited support for the
theory.” (Johansen, 1990)
In order to understand the basic concept of leadership theory it’s a good idea to look at it from the way
Hersey and Blanchard intended to have been understood. “As the level of task-relevant maturity to the
followers continues to increase, the leader should begin to lessen task behavior and increase relation
behavior.” (Case, R. W. 2013)
Situational leadership is based on different tasks assigned to a project and the relation to the employees
handling the task. It’s easy to say that Situational leadership theory can be used in a coaching example
like in the model shown.

Let’s say for instance that it’s the beginning of a new season of a high school swim team. If a coach were
to use the Situational leadership theory, he’d first have to get a strong feel for his new surroundings. 
Typically high school swim teams have both new and returning swimmers the coach would have to adjust
to coaching both swimmers he’s familiar with and swimmers he’s never met before. He might want to
take a lighter approach to the lessons he has in mind until he gets better knowledge of each swimmer’s
strengths and weaknesses. Then as the season progresses and the coach gets more accustomed he can
choose to change his leadership style of coaching to push the swimmers more. His leadership style may
also change between practices and meets, and the beginning of the season versus tapering towards the
end.

Hersey and Blanchard both agreed that there is “No one size fits all” approach to leadership. As divergent
style of leadership and management skills are imperative for this type of management style. Commonly
known as the “prescriptive method”, Situational Leadership tells managers what to do in certain situations
and what not to do in other situations. (Rowe & Guerrero, 2013) This leadership style is also based on
two underlying assumptions, that being that the leader must be able and willing to adapt their styles based
on each individual situation and the leader has dual set of responsibilities. This dual set of responsibilities
are directive and supportive and whichever style the leaders thinks works best for the situation is
majorly based on the follower’s level of development. A good video to watch that gives more of an
understanding of situational leadership theory can be found on
http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-situational-leadership-theories-styles-definition.html

Situational Leadership Examples


 Let’s apply an example of this kind of style to a position rather than a person. For instance, a quarterback
on a football team: depending on the team, the situation and their opponents, a quarterback will
sometimes have to tell his players what play they are going to run whereas other times he may be open to
other calls from coaches or teammates (Palestini, 2009). Also, a quarterback definitely participates with
the team in practice and games, even if it is not as intense as the other players, and sometimes he or she
may have to delegate the routes or plays to the receivers or running back and have them run what works
for them.
 

List of terms
Situational Leadership– a leadership style that refers to a leader that can adjust his or her style to fit the
situation they are trying to influence
 

You might also like