Situational Leadership

Situational theory is one of the type of leadership theory, leadership model and leadership style that believes that different leadership style suit different situations. That is as per the situation, you should apply leadership style. Situation leadership theory assumes that the best action to be taken by a leader depends on the situation. The leader should also be able to adapt the style according to the situation. As the situation changes, you (leader) should also quickly change the leadership style. Depending on the situation, you (leader) should adopt leadership style.

Adopting a particular leadership style also depends on the relationship between the followers and the leader. The cooperation of the employees also plays a major role in deciding the type of leadership that should be in that organization. Factors such as mood and stress may affect the leader’s behaviour. When a situational leader is required to take a decision, he or she does not use only one preferred style. Situational leaders are effective and versatile. In our day-to-day life, we do this in dealing with different people. That is our leadership style is different for different people.  We avoid getting angry if a new employee makes a mistake. We also remind forgetful employees. This theory is not only applicable to people who are leaders or are holding leadership management positions but is also applicable to those people that lead others  at play, at work and at play.

Alternatively, smart people have often forgone formal situational leadership theory and sought out useful leadership books and learning material that will help them along the path to happiness and leadership.

A situational leadership model is also associated with situational leadership theory.

The basic idea of this model is that leadership flexibility is necessary for effective leadership. It also believes that different leadership approaches are required for different situations. This model defines four leadership styles. These styles are based on how much guidance or direction the leader can give to his or her followers.
Leadership Styles are as follows:

Directing Leaders.  Tasks and roles of the followers are defined by these leaders. Directing leaders also supervise their followers very closely. All decisions are taken and announced by the leader. Here the leader is more focused on completing the task than keeping a good relationship with the follower. Thus, communication is one way.

Coaching Leaders. Here the leader still defines the tasks of the followers but asks for any suggestions from the follower and tries to keep a good relationship with the follower Final decision is made by the leader and not the author but communication is two way.

Supporting. Here the leader frequently takes the help of followers for day-to-day decision. Decisions include processes and task allocation. The leader facilitates decisions but the final decision is taken by the follower.

Delegating Leaders. Here the leader is too involved in problem solving and taking decisions but the authority to take the final decision is with the follower. Followers also decide how and when the leader should be involved.

Depending on level of development of the employees, a particular style will be most effective. The leadership approach should also match to what is required or needed by the employees or followers.

The Ultimate Guide to Transformational Leadership

You may be looking for: The Ultimate Leadership Guide.

Transformational leadership is leading by motivating. Transformational leaders provide extraordinary motivation by appealing to followers’ ideals and moral values and inspiring them to think about problems in new ways. These followers have felt trust, admiration, loyalty, and respect for them and were motivated to do more than they thought they could, or would do. In essence, transformational leaders make tomorrow’s dreams a reality for their followers.

Perhaps the most important characteristic that transformational users possess is their ability to create a vision that binds people to each other. Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a Dream” speech galvanized a generation to support the civil rights movement in the United States. But transformational leaders must have more than just a vision, “They also have to know which path to follow in order to attain it.” The followers are attracted to the vision and the leader has to have the plan to energize them to reach it.

All excellent transformational leaders regularly invest in themselves. Leaders have often sought out useful leadership books and learning material that will help them along the path to happiness and leadership. Alternatively they seek Leadership Training Courses or Leadership Coaching.

Vision plays a crucial role and leaders who are totally committed to their vision and course of action are often called charismatic. Charismatic leaders have an unshakable belief in their mission, are confident for their success and have the ability/talent to convey these certainties to their followers. They are in turn, awarded with unquestioned loyalty and obedience.

In our society, we carry a common notion of the leader as a person with the vision, who then gets people to buy in, to align themselves with that vision. This notion is bankrupt and dangerous, because the leaders who have done well for their communities and organizations are not the ones who came up with the vision. If we picture them as the conductor of the orchestra, they are good at embodying the soul of the music. These leaders are good at articulating the transcendent values of the organization or the community. A leader’s vision has to have accuracy and not just appeal and imagination. Articulating a vision for an organization or community has to start with an awful lot of listening, a lot of stimulating of debate and conversation, to distill, to capture the values. It has to start, as well, with carefully diagnosing the current problematic environment to which one needs to adapt.

When changes in the environment occur slowly, usually managers fail to recognize them as threats to their organizations. To become aware of environmental changes, transformational leaders have to frame their vision by providing employees with a new purpose for working. Framing is a process through which leaders define the group’s purpose in highly meaningful terms. In organizations, framing often involves identifying the core values and purpose that should guide employees. For example, at Walt Disney the core purpose is simply “to make people happy.”

Impression management involves an attempt to  control the impressions that others form about the leader through behaviors that make the leader more attractive and appealing to others. Impression sounds manipulative and sometimes is. On the other hand, it is also a natural and sincere expression that reveals to followers an alignment between the vision and the person. Integrity, for effective leaders is just that. Revealing how the message the followers hear is related to the personal experiences of the messenger. Telling a story or stating a clear example, can become a particularly effective way to manage impressions-according to some it is the essence of charisma.

With or without the authority, exercising leadership is risky and difficult. Instead of providing answers as a means of direction, sometimes the best you can do is provide questions, or face people with the hard facts, instead of protecting people from change. Often you need to make them feel the pinch of reality, otherwise why should they undergo a painful adaptive learning process? But, people often resist doing adaptive work and painful learning. They resist in a number of typical ways. If you want to lead others, you need to understand how to counteract these types of resistance.

Transformational leaders are more effective when the company is new or when its survival is threatened. The poorly structured problems that these organizations face call for leaders with vision, confidence, and determination. Such leaders must influence others to join enthusiastically in team efforts and arouse their feelings about what they are attempting to do.

Leadership Coaching

All excellent leaders regularly invest in themselves. Leaders have often sought out useful leadership books and learning material that will help them along the path to happiness and leadership. These days, many e-courses tend to be rather disappointing, but I’m pleased to recommend one e-course that is still respected by leadership professionals such as myself: Best Year Yet®. It is an on-line goal orientated leadership programme, which provides you with core habits, a new way of thinking and an ability to act on the things you have planned for to make you successful. it can be a self-directed learning programme, or you can opt for the support of a dedicated ‘on-line’ or ‘face-to-face’ coach.

About Leadership Coaching

Leadership coaches are experienced individuals whom charge wealthy clients between $50 and $500 per hour for their services. Similar to consultants – leadership coaches will analyse your personal situation and problems, and us their own tools and experience to produce solutions.

Coaching and Leadership have always been intertwined due to the very personal nature of leadership, and how it is best taught through either self reflection and literature, or through having a guru.

Is having your own leadership coach all that its cracked up to be? Or are they just overpaid individuals who simply tell you to get up off your chair and speak louder?

Is It Worthwhile?

I personally believe that, like consultants – leadership coaches are worthwhile for medium to large organisations where even tiny incremental changes at the top can increase profits by 5 figures or more. Without this scale, leadership coaches can drain resources at perhaps a time when budgets are tight and cash flow is poor, so choosing the right leadership coach and right level of coaching intervention is very important.

Is There A Cheaper Alternative?

A fresh alternative to expensive traditional leadership coaching is to join the private membership club of one of the world-famous personal development gurus. You’re going to get the same quality of material and ideas, and in much higher volume, which however means that YOU have to decide which pieces of knowledge are relevant to your situation to act on. There are several exclusive communities out there, my favourite being Patric Chan’s Success Trace Private Membership Club. It’s just £3 for the first month and £10 GBP thereafter which means that a years membership to – quite frankly – an impressive resource, is available a a price lower than one hour with a face-to-face leadership coach.

Alternatively, you can sign up to a proven coaching programme ideally suited to the Leadership-expert™ global leadership audience. Full details are given here.

Conclusion

Leadership coaches are becoming more prevalent now that companies are becoming leadership orientated and aware that autocratic leadership is not always the most appropriate way of running a business. Looking at the other options in a thorough and methodical way is something a standard CEO is not trained for. This is where leadership coaches really come into play.

If, for now, you just want to opt for self-directed learning, then I encourage you to subscribe for free to access the wealth of leadership training material I have published on the site and in my monthly newsletter, with the primary objective of helping you to become an authentic and accomplished leader.

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