In the 1970s Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard developed their Situational Leadership Theory. Under this theory no single leadership style is the best, instead the most appropriate leadership style will depend on the situation and the tasks that need to be completed.
This Hersey and Blanchard's Situational Leadership Model diagram depicts the leadership styles S1 to S4 and the associated readiness level R1 to R4.
Leadership Styles Balanced With Readiness Level
Under situational leadership the leader should adapt their leadership style to suit the maturity (developmental) level of the employee/follower that they are trying to influence. Leaders will need to adapt their leadership style in line with changes in the situation.
Leadership Styles
Situational Leadership Theory categorises leadership styles into four categories: S1 Telling, S2 Selling, S3 Participating, And S4 Delegating.
S1 Telling: As the name suggests under this leadership style the leader makes all of the decisions and tells the followers what to do and how to do it
S2 Selling: This stage is more of a two way process, leaders will sell their ideas to their followers so that the followers "buy" into the process and ideas. Although this stage is a 2 way process the leader is still leading the group
S3 Participating: At this stage the leader shares the decision making with followers. Followers participate in generating ideas and deciding what to do. The leader is still involved in the process at this stage
S4 Delegating: As the name suggests the manner is which the task is completed has been delegated to the followers. The leader's role is simply to monitor how well the task is progressing.
Follower's Readiness
The Situational Leadership Model asserts that Leaders should adjust their leadership style in line with their followers readiness. Readiness is based on the competency and willingness of the followers and is split into four categories by Hersey and Blanchard.
R1 - followers do not have the ability nor the willingness to complete the task.
R2 - followers do not have the skills or knowledge to complete the task but they are willing to try
R3- followers have the skills and knowledge to complete the task but they do not have the confidence/motivation to complete it
R4 - followers have the skills to complete the task and they are ready to complete it
The maturity level for followers may change according to the task, as they may have the skills to complete one task but not another task or they may be more willing to complete one task over another.
How Do Leadership Styles and Readiness Levels Fit Together?
Quite logically leadership styles and maturity levels go together as follows:
S1 aligns with R1 as incompetent or unwilling followers will need a directive form of leadership
S2 aligns with R2 as the 2 way process of selling and coaching takes advantage of the followers motivation but their lack of skills means that they require direction
S3 aligns with R3 as the followers are capable but unwilling, the leaders job is to encourage followers to participate in decision making
S4 is a perfect match for R4 as the followers have the skills and motivation to complete the task. The leaders job is simply to monitor progress in this situation.
Conclusion
Hersey and Blanchard's Situational Leadership Theory acknowledges that the effectiveness of a leader will be influenced by the ability and motivation of their followers; as followers are the people who need to complete the task for the leader. Fantastic leadership alone can not compensate for lack of competency or willingness so Hersey and Blanchard's Situational Leadership model attempts to provide a solution for those shortcomings.
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