Situational Leadership
(Blanchard Hersey)

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Adopting different leadership styles depending on the situation. Explanation of Situational Leadership Model of Blanchard and Hersey. ('68)


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What is Situational Leadership? Description

The Situational Leadership method from Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey holds that managers must use different leadership styles depending on the situation. The model allows you to analyze the needs of the situation you're in, and then use the most appropriate leadership style. Depending on employees' competences in their task areas and commitment to their tasks, your leadership style should vary from one person to another. You may even lead the same person one way sometimes, and another way at other times.

Blanchard and Hersey characterized leadership style in terms of the amount of direction and of support that the leader gives to his or her followers, and so created a simple matrix (figure).

 

Situational LeadershipLeadership Behavior of the Leader

  • S1 - Telling / Directing - High task focus, low relationship focus - leaders define the roles and tasks of the 'follower', and supervise them closely. Decisions are made by the leader and announced, so communication is largely one-way. For people who lack competence but are enthusiastic and committed. They need direction and supervision to get them started.
  • S2 - Selling / Coaching - High task focus, high relationship focus - leaders still define roles and tasks, but seeks ideas and suggestions from the follower. Decisions remain the leader's prerogative, but communication is much more two-way. For people who have some competence but lack commitment. They need direction and supervision because they are still relatively inexperienced. They also need support and praise to build their self-esteem, and involvement in decision-making to restore their commitment.
  • S3 - Participating / Supporting - Low task focus, high relationship focus - leaders pass day-to-day decisions, such as task allocation and processes, to the follower. The leader facilitates and takes part in decisions, but control is with the follower. For people who have competence, but lack confidence or motivation. They do not need much direction because of their skills, but support is necessary to bolster their confidence and motivation.
  • S4 - Delegating - Low task focus, low relationship focus - leaders are still involved in decisions and problem-solving, but control is with the follower. The follower decides when and how the leader will be involved. For people who have both competence and commitment. They are able and willing to work on a project by themselves with little supervision or support.

Effective leaders are versatile in being able to move around the matrix according to the situation, so there is no style that is always right. However, we tend to have a preferred style, and in applying Situational Leadership you need to know which one that is for you.

 

Likewise, the competence and commitment of the follower can also be distinguished in 4 quadrants.

 

Development Level of the Follower

  • D4 - High Competence, High Commitment - Experienced at the job, and comfortable with their own ability to do it well. May even be more skilled than the leader.
  • D3 - High Competence, Variable Commitment - Experienced and capable, but may lack the confidence to go it alone, or the motivation to do it well / quickly.
  • D2 - Some Competence, Low Commitment - May have some relevant skills, but won't be able to do the job without help. The task or the situation may be new to them.
  • D1 - Low Competence, High Commitment - Generally lacking the specific skills required for the job in hand, but has the confidence and / or motivation to tackle it.

Similar to the leadership styles, the development levels are also situational. A person could be skilled, confident and motivated for one part of his his job, but could be less competent for another part of the job.

 

Blanchard and Hersey said that the Leadership Style (S1 - S4) of the leader must correspond to the Development level (D1 - D4) of the follower - and it's the leader who adapts. By adopting the right style to suit the follower's development level, work gets done, relationships are built up, and most importantly, the follower's development level will rise to D4, to everyone's benefit.

 

Steps in Situational Leadership. Process

  1. Make an overview per employee of his/her tasks
  2. Assess the employee on each task (D1...D4)
  3. Decide on the leadership (management) style per task (S1...S4)
  4. Discuss the situation with the employee
  5. Make a joint plan
  6. Follow-up, check and correct

Strengths of the Situational Leadership model. Benefits

  • Easy to understand
  • Easy to use

Limitations of the Situational Leadership model. Disadvantages

  • Model fails to distinguish between leadership and management. What is called leadership style is really management style. Compare also: Leadership Pipeline
  • Leadership is not primarily about making decisions anyway - it is about inspiring people to change direction.
  • Leaders may indeed vary the way they inspire people to change. But this is when they have already decided on the need to change. Hence leadership style does not reduce to decision making style.
  • Focuses too exclusively on what the person in charge does.
  • Of course both leaders and managers have to behave differently in different situations. But that is just a trivial fact of life, rather than anything profound in terms of our basic understanding of what it means to lead or manage.

Assumptions of Situational Leadership. Conditions

  • Leaders should adapt their style to follower 'maturity', based on how ready and willing the follower is to perform required tasks (that is, their competence and motivation).
  • There are four leadership styles that match the four combinations of high/low readiness and willingness.
  • The four styles suggest that leaders should put greater or less focus on the task in question and/or the relationship between the leader and the follower.
  • Presumes that leadership is about how the boss makes decisions.

Book: Paul Hersey, Kenneth H. Blanchard, Dewey E. Johnson - Management of Organizational Behavior: Leading -

 

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Recent User Comments
Gail Muench - USA Approaching Different People Differently "I can fully agree with your statements. While I do not consider myself a "seasoned" leader, I have found that I need to approach different people differently in order to get them motivated and have the work accomplished. A leader really needs to realize that each employee is different and each situation can be different. While some may consider this a management style, I feel it is leadership because it addresses motivation and speaks to working relationships."    0
James L Mileur - USA We Naturally Regress to our Dominant Style "It may be "... just a trivial fact of life that leaders have to behave differently in different situations". But another "trivial" fact is that we "naturally" regress to our dominant style without constant vigilance to treat every situation as a unique encounter that will not be served by a "one size fits all" method."    0
Richard Longhurst - United States Situational Leadership & Performance Rating "Has anyone used the situational leadership development level definitions as rating scales for a performance management program? If so, please comment."    0
Julie Ann Garnett - UK Situational Leadership Helps you to Focus on Particular Methods "I am currently doing a L5 Dipl in Management and part of one assignment is to analyze different types/styles of leadership. Having read though all your comments it has really helped me get a full range of perspectives. It is really good to hear the opinions of experienced managers. I do think that Situational Leadership is more of a management than leadership style, however your own leadership style can be developed alongside. How can you chose to deliver the different situational types would reflect this to a certain extent would it not? It is simple to the point of common sense in many ways, as in life everyone behaves differently according to the situation, but it helps to focus on your particular methods enabling you to plan more effectively and consistently."    0
Herdianto Purba, SE, MM - Indonesia Supporting Style "Is the supporting style the same for counseling?"    0



Best User Comments
AS Recto - Philippines Educational Leadership "In school organization, various leadership models may be applied analogously to cater the needs of various learning institutions with its school heads and stakeholders."    90
Daniel Alan - USA Managing Very Clever People "Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones say in HBR March 2007 that to manage extremely smart key people in an organization, first of all you should understand 7 things: 1. They know their worth, 2. They are organizationally savvy, 3. They ignore corporate hierarchy, 4. They expect instant CEO access, 5. They are well connected, 6. They have a low boredom threshold, 7. They won't thank you. (...)"    78
Tina S. - USA Also adapt style to society "Remember that leaders should not only adapt their style to employee competences, but also to to the changing demands of society. I'm thinking of the increasing demands for transparency, integrity, and resistance to short-termism."    66
Jill Gilby - New Zealand Commitment "Commitment is variable, it depends upon the job and the management, inconsistant management of staff will cause yo yo commitment. Although simplistic the HB model serves perfectly for the amount of poor managers in the workplace to attempt to get it right."    65
Jimmy - UK Leadership vs Management "Leadership is getting people to do what you want them to do, even when they don't want to do it. Management is the efficient and effective use of resources, including people. Yes, the leader and the manager both have to adapt their ways to get the most from their people, but this model over-categorises - I prefer to think of a spectrum rather than a set of boxes."    52
Roopchand N - India Situational Leadership "It is a wonderful tool or technique for new managers to understand the developmental level of followers and get results by applying the technique. The question is: is it a leadership skill or a managerial technique? Are not sidelining the "Leadership By Example" and Leadership By Influence" and "Leadership by casting a Vision", to bring about a consistent personal change, and transformation in the followers to gain committment, and consider what the leader and the followers BECOME in the process? Won't it be a lasting change becoming successful by making the followers successful? Does it call for technique or influence/modeling?"    39
Jonathan - USA Sit lead "think of this - would martha stewart want you to sit down and take 30 minutes telling her how to bake a pie? She would get frustrated, upset, and feel you don't have confidence or trust in her to get the job done...employees feel the same way - that's where sit lead comes in. Don't try to over complicate it."    37
Melanie - USA Board Game "I remember planning a situational leadership board game in 1976 as a student. Is that game still available?"    28
Jan - USA Board of Directors "Question: is there a book/section/something that specifically addresses dealing with a non-profit's board of directors? Or boards of directors in general?"    19
Brian O'Neill - UK Little Research to Backup Situational Leadership "The SL model is appealing in its simplicity - hence, probably its attraction as a training model - but there is very little research evidence to support it. The formula it offers managers is a fairly dodgy promise. I would challenge your assertion that leadership is not primaily about decision-making - why isn't it? Read the literature - Vroom, Tannenbaum and Schmidt, Yukl . . . etc. Leadership is many things, it isn't just about inspiring people."    14
James P. Halliday - USA Model for Teaching Situational Leadership in a College Setting "Is there a model/materials that I could order that would help me to fromulate a method for teaching SL within the structure of a college academic schedule?"    8
Eddie - UK Situational Leadership "Yes Leadership is many things -but leaders also face different situations which requires different solutions -Hence Situational Leadership! It really is what it says on the tin!!"    7
CHITRALEKHA - INDIA HERSEY BLANCHARD MODEL "The model follows S3 style in case of high competence& variable commitment. But commitment can never be variable,it is either high or low."    4
nyunt hlaing - Myanmar Leaders must have multiple skills "Leaders must face different situations which requires different tactics.So they must have multiple skills."    3
T Sheppard - USA Theory and Practice "I have successfully applied the model in many situations. It allows me to adjust my management style (downward management) to meet the needs of my employees. It also allows me to adjust my manager's style (upward management) to meet my needs as situations change. Argue the theory and semantics as you like, it works."    3
Winebaldo D Serrano - Philippines Situational Leadership is a Key to Success in Good Governance "In good governance, one of the key factor of its success is situational leadership, in as much as leader needs to adopt to the present situation in their locality rather than indulge in the previous situation of a former leader. Rather than indulging on a non-productive activity, its better for leaders to discern or find out what causes the problem and learn more in solving such problems.
Situational leadership by Blanchard can be of great help in resolving some leadership issues and anyone can develop one suitable application with regards to his needs."		    2
Margaret - United States LBAII-S "I am a doctoral learner conducting my dissertation research study, titled "E-leadership for project managers: A study of situational leadership and virtual project success." I am interested in using the Leader Behavior Analysis II - self assessment (Hersey & Blanchard) to measure leadership style flexibility and effectiveness in matching the choice of leadership style to the situation. The LBAII instrument, however, provides little background on reliability and validity. Can anyone help with this or suggest another instrument that measures situational leadership style? Thank you."    1
Bla - Netherlands Drennan? "Has anyone heard of Drennan and his 12 factors in which you can recognize a corporate culture? He is the one who said culture is 'The way we do things around here'. There's so little on him and his theories on the net."    0
Dominic M Manjengwa - Zimbabwe Leadership Situational Approach "What precisely is job maturity and psychological maturity?"    0
Musa - Jordan Situational Leadership Model works for me "It's great model and I used it in my management. It works to help the business run smoothly. Very effective in the individual differences as well as in appraising your employee."    0
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Copyright 2010 12manage - The Executive Fast Track. V10.4 - Last updated: 3/19/2010. All names tm by their owners.






  └► Marsha (Australia) Educational Leadership "Pretty good"

  └► Daniel Alan (USA) Managing Very Clever People 2 "... Their (situational) conclusion is you have to be a benevolent guardian rather than a traditional boss to manage these exceptional people well, offering them a safe environment, encouraging then to experiment and play, and quietly demonstrating your expertise and authority all the while."
  └► Haynes (USA) Clever People have Manners "Number 7 is not always true, even clever people have manners. I myself always thank others for their input or assistance. But I will agree highly with the other six items."
  └► Roe (USA) Managing Very Clever People "While I consider myself one of these clever people, I do agree with all 7. Being from the South--I thank everybody. But I do understand why #7 is there. Very clever people shouldn't have to thank managers for managing them in the way they expect. I think that all managers who don't know these understandings, should expect a conversation from their employee if they don't let these clever employees work in a supportive environment. These clever folks can do their job and several others and have great productivity when managed at a distance. They just need appreciation and constant feedback on their performance as indicators for suggestions for improvement in any project or endeavor. They have great assets in these employees, and managers need to acknowledge them appropriately."

  └► Karen (Thailand) Agree "I have no argument and I totally agree with you. thank you."


  └► Guolin (China) Leadership vs Management "I remember someone said that: Leadership is to focus on 'do the right thing' , while Management is to focus on 'do the things right'."


  └► Jeff Austin (Australia) Situational Leadership "Jonathan's analogy (Martha Stewart) is sound. Try sending someone with high competency to a training course and see the response or outcome from the training. People who try to 'fix' commitment issues with training are bound for disappointment"
  └► Kate Fannon (Aust) Sit lead "Total agreement with Jeff. The baseline here is respect for the professionalism/intelligence of those with high competency/smartness. Would seem obvious to involve them in some of the organisations strategy making and give responsibilities to drive new projects to realise those strategies."


  └► Patti Kelm (Canada) Not-for-Profit Boards "See a book entitled "Not-For-Profit Governance Matters: The Relationship Model of Governance, Leadership & management (2006), Les Stahlke et.al. You order a copy at governancematters.com."
  └► Doug Wilson (United States) Not-for-Profit Boards "A classic: Peter F. Drucker, "Managing the Nonprofit Organization." (Available in audiobook as well.) Also, Jim Collins' recent monograph "Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great" applies his five "Good to Great" concepts to the social sector. Bobb Biehl and Ted Engstrom, "The Effective Board Member: Secrets of Making a Significant Contribution to Any Organization You Serve" -- originally published as "Increasing Your Boardroom Confidence.""

  └► David (USA) Brian's response "Brian, I agree with your thoughts on leadership, which is so much more than inspirtion and strategic thinking. In regards to your thoughtrs on the lack of reasearch for Situational Leadership, I believe it was derived from the research of (House, 1971; House & Mitchell, 1974) which was referred to as the path-goal theory of leadership, which states that a leader’s job is to help the work group attain the goals that they desire. Of course with the millions of mangers who utilize this approach, I would question if some research doesn't now exist."
  └► James L Mileur (USA) Situational Leadership is Foundation "Since my exposure to SL, it struck me as the foundational leadership/management principle that everything else builds on. Certainly not the end-all, but neither is the foundation of a building; but try constructing a building without that simple piece of the project."

  └► Michael Horwitz (USA) Text Book and Work Book for Teaching Situational Leadership "There is a text book and a workbook - Leadership: A Behavioral Science Approach, by Dr. Paul Hersey and Ron Campbell. It is being used by nova southeastern university's masters in leadership program. It has very thorough coverage of the SL model."

  └► Angie (Jamaica, we) situational leadership "I agree with Eddie (UK) that situational leadership is just what it says, 'situational'. A leader will at some point in time have to adapt to suit the situation and circumstance- both his and the employee's."
  └► Cyril L (China) Situational leadership "Agreed totally. This is not a total solution but part of a tool kit to use for leaderships."

  └► Jonathan (Sweden) Commitment "I strongly disagree with Chitralekha from india~, commitment is indeed a stong variable force, which will differ tremendously even on a day to day basis within any organization."
  └► Mike Foy (England) High or Low "I disagree that committment can ONLY be high or low. Also we should concentrate on trying to change factors contributing to low comitment as well as adopting a particular leadership style."
  └► scott (usa) Situational commitment "Disagree, your commitment to a task is situational, hence high or low. Along the way you find constraints and need to remove them. I suspect, if you are constrained within your task you will alter your commitment. Your cannot establish the anchors of high or low with commitment,"
  └► Dan (UK) Variable Commitment "I disagree aswell. D3 is all about your competence improving yet still having good and bad days - it's not all plain sailing yet."
  └► John (USA) Changing Commitment "Disagree. As groups move through stages of development--forming, storming, norming etc.--both individual and collective commitment changes. It's not static."
  └► Keith (England) Hersey Blanchard Model "Disagree committment needs to be managed and lack of committment addressed quickly."
  └► Bames (India) S3 "I disagree... the level of commitment varies depending on many factors... its never a flat line"
  └► DR (USA) Degrees of Commitment "Disagree. "Commitment" involves both confidence and motivation, and clearly both can be experienced in varying degrees. As indicated by others, this is a dynamic model describing a progression or movement - not clearly delineated states as in I was experiencing S2 on Tuesday, but S3 by Wednesday."
  └► derek (usa) situational commitment "By variable they mean that commitment is a combination of low and high."




  └► John (South Africa) LBA Instrument "Truthfully speaking given it's mass commercial application a limitation of four styles doubt if any significant validity and reliability impact studies have been done. Why don't you contact the distributors directly?"
  └► Connie Kemp (USA) Validity "You might want to talk to The Ken Blanchard Companies- Wendy Verkade. She might be able to direct you to the research and validity for the LBAII as well as the LAP (another instrument which measures SLII)"


  └► Roger Shields (United States) Leadership Situational Approach "The dimensions of job maturity are: past job experience, job knowledge, problem-solving ability, ability to take responsibility, and meeting job deadlines.
The dimensions of psychological maturity are: willingness to take responsibility, achievement motivation, persistence, work attitude, and independence."