Situational Leadership Model (Hersey and Blanchard) : Whatsappemaillinkedinfacebooktwittersha Re

https://www.toolshero.
com/leadership/situational-leadership-hersey-blanchard/
Situational Leadership Model

(Hersey and Blanchard)
WhatsAppEmailLinkedInFacebookTwitterSha
re
Situational Leadership: in this article the Situational Leadership Model
(SLM) is explained. Founders Paul Hershey and Kenneth Blanchard have
developed a model that links leadership styles and situations. This article
explains the styles, effectiveness and interaction in a practical and
recognizable manner.
What is Situational Leadership?

Being a leader is not always easy and leadership in the work environment
can be executed in different ways. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard indicate
that a number of factors are decisive for the style of leadership. It is not
just the personal characteristics of the leader that are decisive; those of
his employees are too.
In addition, the situation is determinative and the leadership style depends
on this. In the 1970s Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard specified and further
developed the concept of their Situational Leadership Model.
Do you want unlimited ad-free access and templates? FIND OUT
MORE
Maturity
The level of independence of the employee or team members depends on
a number of factors. First or all, experience is an important indicator to
find out whether an employee is able to independently do their job and
take (full) responsibility for it.
In addition, they have to have sufficient knowledge and skills to complete

their tasks independently, and have enough motivation to lead
themselves. Someone who has been in the same position for years, might
be skilled and experienced, but could be struggling with motivation
because of a lack of career opportunities. A high commitment level is seen
as a crucial determining factor for success.
In that case, the employee will not score as high on Maturity as a colleague
who is highly motivated. If an employee starts in a new position within the
organisation, it will take some time for him to become Mature in there as
well. Newly hired staff, recent graduates and interns will be at the low side
of Maturity for longer. After all, it takes people a few months to as long as
a year to be able to work fully.
Situational Leadership Model

Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard designed these four styles of situational
leadership on the basis of a parabola.
The horizontal axis the level of maturity (independence of the employee)
is indicated in the gradation high to low. In the opposite direction on the
horizontal axis the directive behavior from low to high is indicated. By this is
meant the level of direction provided to the employee. On the vertical axis,
they indicate low to high supportive behavior; the degree of support to the
employees.
Figure 1 – Situational Leadership Model by Blanchard and Hersey
In the 1970s Hershey and Blanchard specified and further developed the
concept of situational leadership. In their situational leadership theory they
indicated that the effectiveness of the leadership style is dependent on
the situation.
But what is determinative for the situation? Both the maturity of the
employees and their attitudes are determinative. Therefore Paul
Hersey and Ken Blanchard distinguish four levels of maturity, or leadership
approaches, that can be placed in their situational leadership model.
These are also called development levels.
 S1. Directing: a lot of direction by the leader and little support; low
competence and low motivation.
 S2. Coaching: a lot of direction by the leader and a lot of support; low
competence and high motivation.
 S3. Supporting: little direction by the leader and a lot of support; high
competence and low motivation.
 S4. Delegating: little direction by the leader and little support; high
competence and high motivation.
The performance readiness level is the combination of the willingness and
ability of an employee to perform a task.
Situational Leadership Model : Leadership

styles
According to Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard a leader will have to adapt his
type of leadership style to the level of maturity of the employee. As the
maturity increases, the independence of the employee also increases
accordingly. This situational approach consequently results in four
leadership styles.
S1: Telling (Directing)

At this level, the leader has to deal with employees that are not competent
and (still) unmotivated. This may have different causes. New and/or
inexperienced employees are not capable enough to carry out tasks
independently. It may be experienced as threatening when an employee is
not competent enough to perform a task.
This might cause him to postpone the task or do this unwillingly. Good
instruction and monitoring of the entire work process would be the best
style of leadership in this situation. This is also sometimes referred to as
task-oriented leadership with little or no concern for human relationships
and support.
The employee will receive a lot of direction from the leader when it comes
to the tasks they have to fulfil. Not just the final objective is made clear,
but also the steps that have to be taken along the way. That is why he
needs specific instructions in the form of composed tasks. The leader
makes the final decisions.
It helps to compliment the employee about progress he is making and not

overburdening him with too much information at once. It is a good idea
for a leader to have the employee repeat in his own words what he is
supposed to do. That way, it becomes clear if the instructions have been
correctly understood.
S2: Selling (Coaching)

At this level the employees have a desire to work independently but they
are not capable of doing this yet. They are employees who have not
reached full maturity and are hindered by circumstances for example a
change or a reform of the organization. This employee wants to set to
work enthusiastically but he cannot work independently because of his
lack of skills and knowledge.
A situation like this might make an employee insecure. By explaining his

decision-making and by listening to the employee and giving him
undivided attention, the leader is guiding him. This style can be compared
to the consultative leadership style.
This leadership style is also called selling for a reason; the leader has to
‘sell’ the tasks to the employee and convince him that he is able to do
them. Specific instructions are important here, as are communication at a
level of equals.
The leader makes the decisions, but it is good if the employee asks
questions and wants to know the purpose of the task. When the employee
shows progress, he should be complimented to make him feel confident
about his skills.
S3: Participating (Supporting)

At this level, the employees are capable but (temporarily) unwilling. They
are qualified workers but because of the number of tasks, they might get
the idea that they are being inundated with work. This can make them
insecure and reluctant. To take away this insecurity, it is important that
the leader confers with the employees and supports them in their work.
By having employees participate in the decision-making process,

acceptance will increase and the employees will be able to work
independently again. It is also possible that a mistake has been made for
which the employee blames himself. This can make him stagnate and lose
confidence. That is why support from the leader is important.
The employee needs to be stimulated and has to get back the confidence
to make decisions independently again. It is a good idea for the leader to
give that confidence to the employee and remind him of other tasks and
projects that he did do well in the past.
This type of employee can benefit from some calm, face-to-face

brainstorming or sparring about a question or an issue. That increases his
confidence and makes his superior someone he can talk to. The employee
is allowed to take some risks and trust in his own abilities.
S4: Delegating
At this level the employees can and want to carry out their tasks
independently, they have a high level of task maturity as a result of which
they need less support. Employees inform the leader about their progress
of their own accord and at the same time they indicate when problems
present themselves or when the work is stagnating. They become
motivated because of their independence and as a result a leader does
not have to consult with them continuously.
Delegating may seem easy, but it rarely is in practice. It is a good idea for a
leader to discuss the final goal with the employee, when the task has to be
(deadline) and how he plans to carry it out. It is possible to plan evaluation
moments in order to monitor progress and check if everything is going
according to plan.
The leader has to realise that delegating involves keeping distance; the
employee is responsible for the decisions. If things go well, compliments
are in order. Boosting confidence and letting go are the foundational
techniques of delegating.
Situational Leadership Model : Adjustment of
leadership behavior
Through situational leadership, leadership task behavior is immediately
adjusted to the employee’s behavior. According to Hershey and Blanchard
the main factors are independence and suitability. Based on these two
factors, they directly link four situational leadership styles.
It should be noted that a leader must be willing to be very flexible with

respect to his employees. In addition, employees will always develop
themselves in the (positive) direction of delegating (S4).
Situational Leadership Model : Interaction

Vice versa, the leader and his situational leadership style will directly
influence the suitability of an employee. The employee will get more
responsibility when he is more suitable for a certain task. This will increase
his security which in turn will have a positive influence on his qualities.
Despite this interaction, it is important that the leader is aware of the

adoption of his leadership style in different situations. In an emergency he
does well to apply the S1 Telling style, whereas S4 is more appropriate for
an independently operating project group. In addition to the various
situations, the leader will have to adapt his situational leadership styles to
the suitability of his employees.
Comparison to transformational leadership

The comparison with Transformational Leadership is an easy one, although
these are two distinct leadership methods. Where Transformational
Leadership is mostly focused on a different way of leading an organisation
going through a change, such as a merger, downsizing, or reorganisation,
situational leadership looks at the situation, the employees’ independence
and the complexity of the work.
Transformational leadership supports employees during (significant)
changes within the organisation, giving them trust and stimulating them to
adjust to the change and contribute ideas.
Using Transformational Leadership, leaders are able to hold many discussions
with their employees, openly informing them and engaging them in
debate, increasing mutual trust. In that sense, it is similar to situational
leadership.
There, the support by the leader (relationship-oriented) in combination
with direction by the leader (task-oriented) play an important role.
Situational leadership can always be applied however. Transformational
leadership is mostly relevant for changing organisations.

Situational Leadership Model (Hersey and Blanchard) : Whatsappemaillinkedinfacebooktwittersha Re

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Situational Leadership Model (Hersey and Blanchard) : Whatsappemaillinkedinfacebooktwittersha Re

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Situational Leadership Model (Hersey and Blanchard) : Whatsappemaillinkedinfacebooktwittersha Re

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

https://www.toolshero.

Situational Leadership Model

What is Situational Leadership?

In addition, they have to have sufficient knowledge and skills to complete

Situational Leadership Model

Figure 1 – Situational Leadership Model by Blanchard and Hersey

Situational Leadership Model : Leadership

S1: Telling (Directing)

It helps to compliment the employee about progress he is making and not

S2: Selling (Coaching)

A situation like this might make an employee insecure. By explaining his

S3: Participating (Supporting)

By having employees participate in the decision-making process,

This type of employee can benefit from some calm, face-to-face

It should be noted that a leader must be willing to be very flexible with

Situational Leadership Model : Interaction

Despite this interaction, it is important that the leader is aware of the

Comparison to transformational leadership

You might also like