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Situational Leadership'

The importance of a leader's diagnostic ability cannot be overit that Edgar H. Scheinexpresses well when he contends emphasized. and must ualuea managerrnustbe a gooddiagnostician the successful spirit of inquiry. If the abilities and motives of the people under the manager are so variable, he or she must have the sensitivity and diagnosticability to be able to senseand appreciatethe differences.r In other words, managersmust be able to identify clues in an environment. Yet even with good diagnostic skills, leaders may still not be effective unless they can ad,apt their leadership style to meet the demandsof their environment. This is the secondof the three impordiscussedin Chapter 1. "He must have tant leadership competencies the personal flexibility and range of skills necessaryto vary his own behavior. If the needsand motives of his lfollowers] are different, they must be treated differently."2 It is easier said than done to tell practicing managersthat they should use behavioral science theory and research to develop the necessarydiagnostic skills to maximize effectiveness. First, much of the research currently published in the freld of applied behavioral sciences not even understoodby practitioners, and often appearsin is final form to be more an atte-pt to impress other researchersthan to help managersto be more effective.Second, even if practitioners could

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184 / Situational l*adenhi7o

understand the research, _manywould argue that it is impractical to considerevery situational variable in evEry decision. As a result, one of the major focusesof our work has been the development of a practical model that can be used by managers, s-alespeople, teachers, or parents to make the momeoi-by-r,,oi"rri decisionsnecessary effectively influence other people.The result: -to Situational Leadership. and observa. This approachusesas its basicdata the perceptions tions made by managers-parents in the home or supervisorson the job-on a day-to-day basis in their own environmentl. situational Leadershipwas developed paul Hersey and Kenby neth H. Blanchard at the center for Leadershipstudies in the late 1960s.3 until 1982,Herseyand Blanchard worked togetherto continually refine situational Leadership.After that timelBlanchard and his colleagues Blan-chard at Tlaining and Development(BTD) began to modify the original situational Leadership model and develoied diagnostic instruments and training materials to support their approach(calledSLII@) tra-iningseminarsand presentations. in The best descriptionof this approach Situational Leaherrnip to t" found in Leadershipand the One Minute Manager.4 """ The situational Leadershipmodel used in this book will reflect the present thinking.of-Paul Hlrsey and the center for Leadership studies and will not include any changesto the model made by Ken Blanchardin SLII@-

SITUATIONALLEADERSHIP The CenterFor LeadershrpStudres

help peopleatt6 ;eardless of their role, to be more effective in their daily interactions i,ith otherr. itp;;;hes leaders with some understanding of the relationship uet*iei an effective style of leadership-and the level of readinessof irr"i" iorro*""". 'l'hus, while all the situational variables 0eader, follower(s),senior. management,associates, organization,jol d;;;;;;"nd time) are important, the emphasisin situational Leadership*iir u" on the behavior of a leader in relation to followers.As Fillmore H. sanford has indicated,there is somejustificatio" ro" followers G"idt"g-;; 103

(taskbeha"ior) feuaei ( 2 ) , " : - E r y 3 u q r r e c L l o n ( E a s K D e h a v r o r ) a l e a d e r g i v e s :ffir;t h e(2) the "@ a a leadF ; and (3)the readiness owers exhtbrt rn ing a specifictaskl concept was

Situational Leadershipis basedon an interplay among(1)the amount

Situational Lcadenhif

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factor in any leadershipevent."sFolrowersin any situation are vital, not only because individually they acceptor rejecl the leader,but because a group they actually determinewhatever as personalpower the leader may have. It may be appropriate at this point to note the differencebetween a modeland a theory..A theory attempts to explain rllzy things happen as they do. As such, it is not designedto recriate everits.a inoaer, on the other hand, is a pattern of already existing events that can be learned and therefore repeated.For example, in trying to imagine "yo., why Henry Ford was motivated to mass-produceauto-mobiler, would be dealing with a theory. However, if you recorded the irocedures-an_d sequences necessaryfor massproduction,you would have a model of the process. situational Leadership is a model not a theory. Its conceprs, , procedures,actions, and outcomes are based upon tested methodologies that are practical and easy to apply. It was emphasizedin chapter 4 that- when discussingleaderfollower relationships,we are not necessarilytalking about a hierarchical relationship: that is, manager-employee. same caution ThE will hold during our discussionof situational Leadership. Thus,any reference leader(s) follouter(s)in this model should iiply potintiil to or leaderand potentialfollower.As a result, although o.r, may "*"-ples suggesta hierarchical relationship, the conceptlpresentedin situational Leadershipshouldhave-application matter whetheryou are no attempting to influencethe behaviorof an employee, your sup6rvisor, an associate, friend, a relative, or a group. a Basic Conceptof Situational Leadership Ac_cording situational. Leadership, ttrere is no one best way to to itvre a person .li;J; use with i4."91.. -people.which readership individuals or groupsdepends the readineis level ofthe peoplethe on leader is attempting to influence, as ilrustrated in rigurl s-r. Beforewe look at the application of the situatioial Leadership model, it is important that wi understand leadership styles as they are used in the model and the idea of follower readinesJ. our earlier discussionof different-leadership theories in chapters 4 and 5 introduced us to our definition of leadership stylebehaviorby the leader_as perceived the follower{s). .iro saw the by w" ways that classifyingleaderbehaviois developed, ' including the iden_ ' tification of task and relationship behavior.G
spelling out the duties and responsibilitiesof;,, i;diridual or group.

'as the mostcrucial

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BEHAVIOR LEADER

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HIGH -R4 Able and Willing or Confidenl

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but u n a b l e a n o Able but Unable U n w i l l i n g Willing U n w i l l i n g or OI or lnsecute lnsecureConlident LEADER DIRECTED

FOLLOWER DIFECTED

FIGURE8.1 Situational LeadershiP

Addpted hpm Paul llerreg, situational Studiee, nAil, P. 19.

selling (Egcandido, calif.: center for Leddenhip

to These behaviors include telling people what to do, how to do it, when it' do it, where to do it, and who is to do

An example of high amounts of task behavior might be the last probably very time you askei someo;e for directions. The person was pi".ir" and clear about telling you what streets to take and what to You were told wtr-ere start and where to frnish. It is il;;a;ake. that being directive doesnot mean being nasty or important to noiice ,t o*-t"-pered. The person helping you might have been very pleas' arrt to*ard you, but the actions and statements were aimed at com' behavior is pieting the iask-that of helping you find your wly.Ia+ -.h""aCt"ti"ed communication from the leader to the folby one-way io*"r. The person o'as not so much concernedwith your feelings, but with how to help you achieve your goal.

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Situatbnal Lcdenhif I tg7

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Relationship behauior is defined as the extcnt to which the reader e.nc-acg.s two'way or multi-way communication. The in berri"i"i,l": clude listening, facilitating, andiupportive behaviors?

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l.:::l*:1"_rc***ent, listenin-g, over the trump. The encouraging,_and faiifitali"g tating leader doesin this gxampte an it-tustrati,on?;til;;i;,p1"i""i"". a fe does $i.s example is an i in " Task behavior and relationshi are
mens!ons. axes of a two-

witha1 *:i J'o,l lil.l_: I i*p":*.bur need."rigr,*-"ii.'v";il;;"il.d;; someencouragement get you ro


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An example of high amounts of relationship_behavior might be

toi ruusrratesthesestyles.yoE WIII note that task behavior is pl,ottedfrom low to frigtoitire horizon-

onthe l.:t:::::lfl" fJ?_r':"lhip possibreio vertical axis. This makei it describereaderbehavior in four ways or styles. As we discussedin chapter b, the four quadrants shown in Figure 8'2 can be used as the basis for reader behavior. No one style is effective in all "r.".r1"g-"H.iive style is appropriateand effective dependingon the"it,raiio"rrs.--g;n situation.

behlvio:.is prottea rio-l?"?irgh

FIGURE8-2 Leadershipstytes

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Hagh Task ano Low Relationship

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(Etondido, Catif,: Center for

Paul Heney, Situationat *uirg l\bd_?y Ledenhig Studia, IQES), 20. p.

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IEB / Sdfuotional l*adenhif

The following descriptions apply to the four styles: by above'average is r Style 1 (S1): This leadership -s!yl-e characterized of relationship amounts u"ro*-average amounts t"ri'l;;;;oi.ia "f behavior.
is I Style 2 (S2):This leaderslrip -stV-le characterizedby above-average ielationship behavior' umorrntsof both task and amounts of r Style 3 (S3):This style is characterizedby above'average task behavior' of below-aver"gi relationship ;;il";;;";d "*onttts of (S4):This style is characterizedby below'averageamounts r Style 4 boih relationship behavior and task behavior'

this model is in the The important information presented by -i"- oi tatt behavior and relationship behavior }"fi"itioit op.riio""i f""a"tship situations involving the family' presented earlier. ain"t"nt words mav be more -aPpropriate tt;i"gt, ;r;it;; 5;;;i* example, guidance .and supportiue than fash ^"a ,riiiiiit;hip-for and facilitating behavior-but the un' behavior or directiui U"tt."io" derlying definitions remain the same' Readiness of the Followers or GrouP In Chapter ? we looked at the situation-the

that within a given environment-'wg@noted ;;;t;;;;r'"t :i--^upon the situation ".iJ there is no one best style d-leadershiPi! more

comPlex Pattern of

il to their attempts i"n"*"

by the various *f h".r" "ot"a, ", of the pri*Lt] fi.tott in the situation that influence leader "i."a,Some
effectiveness include the following: I r I r r I r Leader Followers Supervisor KeY associates Organization Job demands Decision time.

e moreeffective situation'*-'."I1 l:::1: become'.The conditionsthat are present'

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interactive' Thesevariables do not operate in isolation' They are, Style i is often referred to as "crisis leadership'because fo, "*ffiIe, in times of crisis. The important thing to remember is it;;;;";riate them' If we that we should or" it to respondto crisis, not to create

107

Situdtional Leadenhipt I 189

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treat an organizationas if it is in crisis,that's what we get. . . crisis.If we treat people like childreh they will often begin to behouelike children This is one of the most important conceptsin the field of -the conceptof the self fulfiUing prophecy. applied behavioral sciences In working with others and helping them develop,leaders should have positive assumptions about followers' potential. Effective leadersbelievethat peoplehave the potential to grow and that, given an opportunity, can and will respond.e We need to remind ourselves that the relationship between leadersand followers is the crucial variable in the leadershipsituation. If the followers decidenot to follow, it doesn'tmatter what the supervisoror key associates think or what the job demandsmay be. There is no leadership without sorneone follnwing. In order to maximize the leader-followerrelationship,the leader must first determine the task-specific outcomesthe followers are to accomplish-on an individual and group basis.Without creating clarity on outcomes, objectives, subtasks,milestones,and soon, the leader has no basisfor determining follower readinessor the specificbehavioral style to use for that level of readiness. Readiness Defined
I Leadership is defined as the extent to which

a follower has the a-Eili

wullngness

f,o accompllsh a sDecl

characteristic;it is not an evaluation ofa person'straits, values,age, and so on. Readiness how ready a person is to perform a particular is tas&.This conceptof readinesshas to do with specificsituations-not with any total senseof readiness. All persons tend to be more or less ready in relation to a specifictask, function, or objectivethat a leader is attempting to accomplish through their efforts.Thus, a salesperson may be very responsible securing new sales,but very casualabout in completingthe paper work necessary closeon a sale.As a result, it to is appropriatefor the managerto Ieavethe salesperson alonein terms of closing on sales,but to supervise closely in terms of paper work until the salesperson can start to do well in that area too. In addition to assessingthe level of readiness of individuals within a group, a leadermay have to assess readinesslevel of the the group as a group, particularly if the group interacts frequently together in the same work area, as happens with students in the classroom. Thus, a teacher may find that a class as a group may be at one level of readinessin a particular area, but a student within that group may be at a different level. when the teacher is one-to-one witii that

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than when student, the teacher may have to behavevery differently may find a the teacher Itt reatity' working with the .i.;;;t;gtoup' ieadiness ievels. For exampl"' th." ;*i;"s of student;; number the assigned yor\ teacher may have one student who is not doing in' it is poorly organized and regularly; and when the work is turned may have to initinot very academic.Witft that student, the teachlr however' 'opt"'ise closely' Another studer-rt' ate somestructure "r,d ri'"t is insecur6 shv'With.thatstudent' and *"tr., ;;fi;;il;d
task behavior in terms of the teacher may noUhave to engage in much in two'way but may need to be supportive, to engage ,.iroot*ort, interaction with communication, and to help facilitate the student's may be competent and others in the ctass Stitt anottrer student alone. so leaders have confrdent in the schoolwork and thus'can be left differently one-on-one that-ihey may have to behave i"-""a"r.tand the way they dc with the group as a of their grotplto* *ltfr *"-Uers whole. are ability and The two major components of readiness willingness.ro

and skill that an individual or is the knowledge,experience, t-urr,r" task or activity' \ gto"p U.ings to a particular I -WO"r, very important considering the ability level of others' it is music and twenty in to be fosh- ipecifi.c--f"p"tto" who has a Ph.D. plaving the piano mav be of little help oi prof"r.io""i ;;;; "ip"tl"nce j"tengine. Itls e-ssentialto focus on the specificin the design of ""* to .o"tlaer the ability of the followers in light of " outcome desired "iJ that outcome. the is the extent to which an individual or group has f*rrrrnrness lconfidence,"o-*it*"nt,andmotivationtoaccomp}ishaspecifictask.

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Willingnessisonlyonewordthatdescribestheissue.Some. it'sjust that times, it isn,t .o ,,,.rJ ihat people are really unwilling-, donea specifict"ik b"fot". Perhapsthey don't have any iir"l """"uer*itt tt-, ,oit or inse-cure afraid. Generally, if it is on ;;1;;;; "y'r"so^"thing, the problem is insecurity' Tbe io" issueof neverh";;;; reason or Lermunwiiling mi{ht be most appropriatewhen' fo19.ne ttre iiaiviiuals have tliilpgd, or lost some of their commit""olnur, motivation. It might imbly that they are regressing. ment and ---of aUitity and willingne.ss are differn.,"r, thougir the "orr""itt that they are an.interactinginfluence ent, it is importani to t"*"*Uer the Ttris mean"-tft"i a significont ihonge in one will offect systern. specific a whole.The extent to which followers bring willingness.into use of their presenf ability. And it affects the situation affects the

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HIGH

MODERATE

tow
R2 TI
Unoble ond Unwilling or Insecure

R4
Able ond Willing or Confident

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Able but Unwilling or Insecure

Unoble bul Willing or Contident

FIGURE8-3 Continuum ol lollower readiness


Adapted lmm Paul lleney, Situational Selling (Eeandido, Calif.: Center for Lcadenhip Sfsdies, IgEs)' p.27.

I I I I I I

and ability. extent to which they will grow and developcompetence and skill brought to Similarly, the amount of knowledge,experience, a specific task will often affect competence,commitment, and motivation.
Readi are the different combi

willingness that ii-uum of follower

Figure 8-3.)

can be divided into four levels.ll Each represents a different combination of follower ability and willingness or confidence: r Readiness Level One (R1) and unwilling Unable The follower is unable and lacks commitment and motivation. or Unable and insecure The follower is unable and lacks confidence. r ReadinessLevel Two (R2) Unable but willing The follower lacks ability, but is motivated and making an effort. or Unable but confident The follower lacks ability, but is confidentas long as the leader is there to provide guidance. I ReadinessLevel Three (R3) Able but unwilling The follower has the ability to perform the task, but is not willing to use that abilitv. or Able but insecure The follower has the ability to perform the task, but is insecure or apprehensiveabout doing it alone.

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192 I Situational I'edenhif

r Readiness Level Four (R4) Able and willing The followerhas the ability to performand is committed'

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Able and confident aboutdoingit' Thefollowerhasthe ability to performandis confident Nofa some people have diffrculty understanding the development of followers from Rl to R2 to R3. How can one go from being insecureagain?The important insecureto confidentand then become the is that at the lower levels of readiness, leader lfi"t1" remember the direction-the what, where, when, and how' Thereir pr?"lai"g directed At the higher levels of readifore, the dJcisions are lead.er becomeresponsible for task direction, and the decii""i, Sotto*ers .iorr,'"re follouter directed This transition from leoder directed to or may result in apprehension insecurity' selfd,irected move from iow levels of readinessto higher levels, As followers the combinationsof task and relationshipbehaviorappropriateto the situation begin to change' line thiough the four leadership styles shown in FigThe cur"ved ure 8-1 representsthe higli probability combinationof task behavior and relationship behavior. These combinations correspondto the readinesslevels directly below. To use the model, identify a point on the readiness continuum that representsfollower readiness to perform a specific task. Then construct a perpendicular line from lhat point to a point where it intersectswith the curved line representing leader Lehavior. This point indicates the most appropriate of task behavior and relationship behavior for that specific "-orrrr't situation. In selecting the high probability combination of task behavior As and relationship behavior,it isn't necessary-to_be.exact.you mo_ve gSaducombination, the probability of success rto* the optimal "*"y falls off, slowly at first and then more rapidly the farther away ally of yor, -o.,r". Because this, you don't needa direct hit-a closeapproxhigh' imation keeps the probability of success Selecting APproPriateStYles Leuel 1 usith Leadership Match of Readiness Stgle 1-Telling For a follower or group that is at ReadinessLevel 1 for a specifictask, it is appropriatJ to provide high amounts of guidance, but little ..rppotiil behavior. A word that describesthis specific leadership "
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Situational lcdcnhipo

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style is telling-tciling the foilowers what to do, where to do it, and how to do it. This,.tylg. appropriate when gr","p ;; i, l_ow ability and willingness Lnd needs direction. in "rri"aiuiJ,i"f "; oit one-word descriptors for this leadcrship styre incrua" "" directing, or i"iiii, structuring. Match of ReadinessLeuel2 with Leadership Stgte2-&iltng The next rangeof readiness Readiness is Lever2. This is an individual or group that is still unable, but they're rtyi"g. i;;ie willing or confident. The high probabirity styres are combin"tior* of high amountsof both rask and.relationship beha"ior. iheJ"rl u"rrruior is appropriatebeca'1oe peopleare still unable. g"t,i*" ti;";;;;il, it is important to be-iupirortiu"oiit"i,-oti;"ti;;;;d commitment. This stvre is selring.It is different from teltiiii" trr"t the leader is not only providing the guidance,but is also providing the opportunity for diarogueand foi crarification,in ordei to heri the person 'buv in" psvchorogicallv what the-ie"i;;;;;;. to ff simply says"go stand by the doorand keeppeople "La"r fro_ is telling' on the other hand,if th;i;ader -Id-swe "*i"jtlirough,,,that suggests appreciate it if you would be willing tostand uj t1e doorto guide peopre around the classroombeca p_eop comin'g thro" gh use le ;;r'";;;I i""., di sruptive," this would b: * exampre if seuiig. iil 6i;;er can ask questionsand get clarification, even trrougf the l;r;;;;". provided the guidance. The definition of task behavior includesproviding the what, how, whe4 where, and who. The reason ix^t *ny isn't incruded is that efforts to explain why bridge both task _andrelationship behaviors. one of the differenceJbetwe"en titirrg seuingisthe expranationof whv. other words-for this readersh:; "a rtyl;-ffi"a"'Zrif"ining, persuading, or clarifytng. Match of ReadinessLeuel3 with Leadership Stgle 3-Partictpating Readiness Level B would include a person or group that,s abre, but they've just developedthis abiiitv had an opportunity to gain confidence ioing it "rfr-rr".,r"rr,t in oirr. ar,-"*ample i.itl fledgring "ilitzir goesout on a salescalt for the firJt time without the i:l::p:l:l_who salesmanager. ReadinessL'ever arso be a pe_rson group that was or abre and willing, but for -'_.olld -onereason gr another is slipping in terms of motivation. Perhapst]rer.reupset,-ra"t the supervisor,or just tired of performin g thi j behavior ;;; iil;f"r; ;-;;"-l;;;;;;s"; i uing. ",

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194 / Sifuational Ledenhif

In either case,the appropriate behavior would be hiSh amounts low amounts -g"ia.*e. of two-way communicatioiiand supportive behavior, but have aheldy shown that they are able to Since they "i to task, it isn't necessary provide high amounts of what to ;;;;ate to ao it. Discussionand supportive and to do'it,;;how i;;-;t;r; for solving i".1it"ti"g behaviors would tend to be more appropriate the problem or soothing the apprehension' -* 'i;-;;iirtpaiii it te"d6r's major- role becomes encouraging " leadership and communicatinf. Other descriptori for this style of committing. Each of these imirrclu4e colloborotiig, facititating,-or plies high relationship, low task behaviors' Leuel4 with Leadership Match of Readiness 4-Delegating Style and ReadinessLevel 4 is where the individual or group is both ready had enoug-hopportunity to or ready and confident. They've ;illft, they feel comfortable without the leader providing ;;i;;, "nd direction. It is unnecessaryto provide direction about where, what, whgn, o, rro*-u""aose the'followers already have the ability. Similarly, above-averageamounts of encouraging,and supportive behaviors and moti,r".".-r.ry because they are confrdent, committe_d, giving them the ball and letting "i"rr't vated. The appropriate style involves them run with it. other words for this leadership This style is called d.elegating. ,tyf" i".f"a6 iUt"iii7 o, *ohiturlng- Remember-some relationship is still LJhruio, is still needei, but it tendsto be lessthan average'It going on, but it is imporappropriate to monitor the pulse of what's ii"i $ give these followers an opportunity to take responsibility and implement on their own. one point to remember is that when an individual or group is a"""fopi"i,- ih" i*o" is usually one of insecurity; wfren they are the issue is usually one of unwillingness. We will go into i"gr;i"j, thEse ideas in greater detail in subsequentchapters' . It should be clear that the appropriate leadership style r"r4t (R2)' four of the readiness designationi-low (R1), low to moderate the following moderate to high (R3), and high Ga)-correspond -to styte"designations: leuing (Sl), selling (52), porticipoting i;;e;hip style, isgj, ."a'd.etigoting (5a). t1"t is, low readinessneedsa telling and so on. These iow'to moderate r-eadinessneeds a selling style, combinationsare shown in Table 8-1' situational Leadership not only suggeststhe high probability leadershipstyle for variouireadiness levels,but it also indicatesthe

113

TABLE &1

LeadershlpStyles Approprlate tor Various ReadinessLevels APPROPRIATE STYLE

READINESS LEVEL R1 Low Readrnass or Unableand unwilling insecure

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Telling High task Low relationship behavior
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R2 Low to Moderate Readiness Unable,but willingor confident R3 Moderate to High Readiness Able, but unwillingor insecure B4 High Readiness Able/competent willing/confident and

s2
&tling High task High relationship behavior

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s3
Participating High relationship Low lask behavior

s4
Delegating Low relationship Low task behavior

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probability of success the other style configurationsif a leader is of unable to usethe desiredstyle. The probability ofsuccess ofeach style for the four readiness levels, depending on how far the style is from the high probability style along the prescriptive curve in the style of leader portion of the model, tends to be as follows: I ! r t Rl R2 RB R4 Sl high, 52 2nd,53 3rd, 54 low probability 52 high, 51 2nd, S3 3rd, 34 low probability SBhigh, 52 2nd,54 3rd, 51 low probability 54 high, SB2nd,52 3rd, 51 low probability

I T I T
I

In Situational Leadership, who has the problem? The follawer. The follower can get any behavior desired depending upon the fof Iower'sbehavior. The follower'sbehavior determinesthe leader'sbehavior. What a marvelous thing we now have available to use at home, at the oflice, in any kind of interpersonal situation. For example, how much easier parenting would be if children were to realize that it is not Mom and Dad who determine and control the children's behavior; it is they who control their own behavior. Another important consideration: Why is it that a leadership

1r4

196 / Situationol l*aden,hif

s t v l e t h a t m a y n o t b e o r r r . . n a t u r a l ' '*oift"a i s f r these learnedrstyles' stYle equentlyou most we have Thit it;;se effectiuestyle? "t and we have worked tu"""-u"ii""iors, -Y; we have practiced ;i;;il;"a also paid attention to the ** at them with some;ilffi;]; ttyt"t' We do not put the same details of applving ii1t""r"-ii"J we do our irrto o* _"natural" style(s) as amount of skill d#il ^re not as effective' t\ev learned styles. At ;;;;;"qo""t"' L6ailership is not a prescription one last tto'?ii:'SitGti""h no behavioral sciences' there are with hard-"rra-rt'i"rui";: il the to.the behav' as a ,nujor contribution rules. situational Leadership manimprovl the odds' In so doing' is iorai sciences they resources "'l"ltpii"c^to p'oa""ii"ity of human agerswill be aUteto actri"uJth" have been seeKrng' LEADERSHIP APPLICATIONOF SITUATIONAL InusingSituationalLeadership,iti.susefultokeepinmindthatthere others"Rather, any leader behavior is no,,oneu"rt *"1;i;i;ii;";; of the a"p""ai"e-"" the'readiness level may be more or l;"" ;f;i;" 8-4 is a more in Figure personyou are that "d;ild-toi"ri:91t"'-Sho*o sit:t"iio""r Leadeiship Model pro' th" tomprehen.in" nJ"i|";i It pag-es. will of trte past several of brings together ;*;;;rio" til ai"g"o.ing the level vide vou with a quick reference.r" +'il; pi;"UitiW leadership styles; ttigit readiness;(2) adaptingby selecti"e to ittfltt"ttt" behavior' it'"te and (3) .o**o"iJ"ii'ig "Wr"t "ff"Jtively that a leader should ;;';h; idea lmplicit i" sito"tiooi t'""a""t'ip tft"v are able and willing to help follow"" gio* i" '""di""" "t "tfJt d"ne by adjusting leaderri;"ld; go. This a"u"fopJrlrrt of'f"fi"*"t" shipbehavi"';ht;;;hthefourstylesalongtheleadershipcurvern
Figure 8-4. i r :_ contends ^^-+^*Ao +tiqr strons direction (task bethat strong dire SituationalLeadership if is appropriate thev are to *itft foiioit's *ig'-p*.1""di""tt in readihavior) jt J;;;;'it'f

3; iy'ease p,oaoJii"'dilii;'lv' become should be *t'o'"i"-somewhat-unready

ness on the part of people. and socioemotionalsupUv i'ireased po'iti*'".'"#*""*"nt rewarded hi gh level s-of rotto*"tt Fin ali]' :'"i:h port (reiati""';ip l;;;ior)' ""by nor onlv.continuing to deth"'iT;;;oora ry.pJnd .rto bv cgnlinging to decrea-se ieadiness, i"t crease.ort or oJJJiieir activitig.s, relationship##'#:.,-*"ri'wih'n'""nt1Yl"L1-1"'i."*if"*:: is no longer as rmlT need for ro"io"-motiottal sgpnort forgteaterft;;;'ettrtig-'!?g"'o"eofth"waysleaderscanprove and them more in the,;L;;"o;i" r! tg-t1-"i their confidenceand trust moreontheirown.Itisnottt,"t.tt,","islessmutualtrustand

115

I
lr
TASKBEHAVIOR-

L E A D E R E HAVIOR B
T

f,

The erlent lo whrch lhe eaoer engages In definrngroles i.r. lel,rng whal. how. s'hen, where. and rl mo.e lhan one I G person. who rs lo do wnal In . Goal-Seltrng . Organrzrng . Eslablrshrng Ttme Ltnes otD . Dtreclrng tDo. . Conlfoll'ng RELATIONSHIP

Share rleas and lac|lrlale In decls0n makrng

s3

;s

o x>

Erplarn oecrsrons and ptOvtde opoorlunrty lo. clartlrcaltor


Hr Rel. Lo. Task

sz

OECISION STYLES

II
Leader-MadeOecrsron ,'t

.8fi

Leader-MadeDecrsion wrlh Otalogueand/or Erplanal'on

BEHAVIORThe rlenl lo whrch a leaoe. engages In two-way (mullr-way) communtcalron. lrslenrng. lacrlrlalrng behavrorS. socroemolronal su9porl: . Gtvrng Supporl . Communrcalrng . Facrlrlalrng Interactrons . Aclrve LrSlenrn9 . Provrdrng Feedback

=o Ez o.c,
CL-

3=
Turn over responsrbrlrly lor decrsrons
ano rmOlemenlalron

? IJ

a3
UJ CC

s4

*
(LOW) <_TASK

PrOvrde spectlrc Inslrucltons and closely supervrse trEilOfmance

s1

LeadertFo!ower-Made Decrson or FollowerMade Decrsron wilh Encouragemenl lrom Leaoel

A .t Followe.-MadeDecrsion

(fltcH) BEHAVIoR-_______________ (Guidance) i


LLOWER READINEFS MODERATE I LOW
ABILITY has the neCeSSary knOwledge. extEilenceand Skrll

HIGH

R4
Able and Willing or Conlident

R3

R2

R1
WILLINGNESS. the has necesSarycontrdence. cOmmrtmenl. moltvalion

Able but U n a b l eb u l U n a b l ea n c Willing Unwilling Unwilling or or or I n s e c u r e Confident Insecure

LEADER DIRECTED Whena LeaderBehavior usedapproprialely its corresponcting of readiness, is is with tevel it lermeda High Probability Match.The tollowing descriplors can be uselulwhenusrno are that Siluational Leadership specificapplications: lor

FOLLOWER DIRECTED

sl
Telling Guiding Directing Establishing

s2
Selling Explaining Clarifying Persuading

s3
Parlicipating Encouraging Collaboraling Committing

s4
Delegating Observing Monitoring Fulf illing

FIGURE8-4 Expanded Sltuational Leadershlp Modet


PauI Heneg, situationel selling (f,rondi&, caliL: center for l*adenhip studjes, I9Eil, p. J2.

friendship betweenleader and follower-in fact, there is more-but it takes less supportive behavior on the leader's part to prove this to them. Regardless of the level of readiness of an individual or Soup, changemay occur. whenever a follower's performancebegins to stipfor whatever reason-and ability or motivation decreasei,the leader should reassessthe readiness level of this follower and move back-

116

. :::^4.':;;,)tt 'itj':,iA !f-'

198 / Situafional Lcdenhif

ward through the leadership curve, providing appropriate socioemo tional support and direction. will be discussed These developmentaland regressive processes in chapters10 and 11.At this point, though, it is important to in depth emphasizethat Situational Leadership focuseson the appropriateness or effectivenessof leadership styles according to the task-relevant readiness of the followers. DeterminingAppropriateStyle To determinewhat leadershipstyle you should use with a personin a given situation, you must make several decisions. What objectiv{s) do we want to accomplish? First, you must decidewhat areas of an individual's or a group's activities you would like to influence. Specifrcally,what objective(s)do you want to accomplish? In the world of work, those areas would vary according to a group'sresponsibilities. For example, sales managers may have responsibilities in sales,administration (paperwork),service,and group development.Therefore,before managers can begin to determine the appropriate leadership style to use with a Soup, they must decide what aspect of that group'sjob they want to influence. If the organization's goal was "to ship 100 percent of customer orderswithin 24 hoursof orderreceipt,"we would say it is too general a goal and needs to be broken up into specific tasks that can be assigned to a group. The vice-president for customer services of an international supplier of multipurpose pumps, identifies the specific the with a tasks neededto accomplish goal. Developedin association customerserviceunit, it works like this:
1. The goal is summarized using trigger words, e.g. prompt seruice. 2. Tasks to accomplish the goal are identified by the people involved. a. Answering the phone. b. Completing the order form. c. Completing the packing order. d. Shipping the order. e. Adjusting service problems. .

What is the readinessof the situation? The sales manager must then diagnosethe readiness of the group to accomplish these tasks. The key issue is: "How ready or receptive is the group to accomplishthese tasks?" If the group is at a high level of readiness, only a low amount of leadership intervention will be required. If, on

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