Principles of Situational Leadership TheoryBy Casey Reader, eHow Contributor , last updated August 30, 2014Situational leadership theory was created by the authors and management experts Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard in the early 1980s. According to their theory, what is effective management will depend on both the task involved and the maturity level of the people that the individual is managing. Hersey and Blanchard define maturity in a variety of ways, such as the ability to take responsibility for a task. They emphasize there is no single best management style.Other People Are Reading∙Definition of Situational Leadership∙The Concept of Situational Leadership1.Leadership Styleo Blanchard and Hersey distinguish several styles of leadership that are effective depending on the context in which they are used. "Telling" involves one-waycommunication, in which a leader simply provides commands. "Selling" involves giving commands, but also engaging in conversation justifying decisions."Participating" involves actual conversation between managers and employees on what course to take. "Delegating" involves allowing certain people other than the manager to actually make their own decisions based on judgments.Maturity Levelso Hersey and Blanchard have four basic maturity levels in their model, going from M1 to M4. M1 describes employees without any of the basic skills to do a job and lacking the ability to take responsibility. M2 describes employees with some of the basic abilities but lacking the ability to take full responsibility. M3 describes employees with ability and experience, but lacking the self-confidence for full responsibility. M4 describes employees able to take full responsibility.o Sponsored LinksProperty Mgmt SoftwareSoftware requiring no installation. Save time and boost profitability!Motivation Cycleo Blanchard and Hersey describe a basic motivation cycle with four steps, which an effective leader is able to negotiate and take their employees through. D1 involves workers with low competence and low motivation. D2 involves workers with low competence but high motivation. D3 involves workers with high competence but low motivation. D4 involves workers with high competence and high motivation.Different groups of workers will be at different points in this basic cycle.Motivationo Blanchard and Hersey place a great importance on motivation as a part of the management process. The best managers are not those who repeat themselves according to a standard formula, but those who find ways to appeal to the unique psychology of the particular employees they're dealing with. Different employees will have different needs and will require different styles to motivate them.Situational leadership theory is meant to be a more organic approach tomanagement.Read more : /info_8392565_principles-situational-leadership-theory.htmlDefinition of Situational LeadershipBy Kenneth V. Oster, eHow Contributor5Found This HelpfulDefinition of Situational LeadershipThose who serve in leadership positions develop an individual philosophy on how to lead their organization. Personal approaches to leadership are constantly challenged by unforeseen situations and issues that arise each business day. Situational leadership isthe change in approach that a manager must take in response to the day-to-day challenges of business.Other People Are Reading∙Examples of Situational Leadership∙Situational Leadership Pro & Cons1.Adaptive Leadershipo Situational leadership is the art of adjusting your leadership style to effectively respond to any change in your work environment. Changes that you may need to respond to include technological advances, unforeseen business setbacks oremergency situations that develop on short notice. Since employees do not always respond positively to rapid, unforeseen change, situational leaders must develop good communication skills. The basis for leading an organization to accept rapid change is the ability to communicate and promote the value of the change that must be made.Considerationso Situational leadership involves examining a situation to determine the best course of action. Successful examination of an issue requires that leaders employ higher level critical thinking skills. Determining the best leadership style for a particular situation requires that you dig a little deeper into the problem to understand all sides of the issue. After a decision on how to approach a problem has been made, the next step is to evaluate the results and make any further adjustments asnecessary.o Sponsored LinksProperty Mgmt SoftwareSoftware requiring no installation. Save time and boost profitability!Coaching Skillso The art of situational leadership involves being able to coach and encourage subordinates to follow a specified course of action. The main job of a leader is to influence people to accomplish a task the way that it must be done, regardless of everybody's opinion. Since every person responds differently to authoritativeinstruction, situational leaders learn how to adjust their approach to the different personality traits of the people they are leading.Perspectiveo Every person views a situation from their own philosophical point of view. A situation that seems like a serious problem to one person may not even beconsidered a problem to another. Leaders must be careful that they do notoverreact to the everyday problems in their organization, but at the same time they must be ready to respond to emergency situations effectively and objectively.Each situation requires a different response from those in leadership positions.Significanceo Effective leadership is an important part of making an organization productive.Leadership that is unresponsive to the needs of employees and the needs ofcustomers will cause an organization to lose the confidence of the people they are supposed to be serving. Situational leadership programs are designed to help you learn how to be responsive to the needs of the people who work for you and how to be responsive to the people you are serving.Read more : /about_6721035_definition-situational-leadership.htmlThe Concept of Situational LeadershipBy Je' Czaja, eHow ContributorAdopting leadership styles to the situation.Situational Leadership Theory, as developed by author Paul Hershey in the book "The Situational Leader" and Ken Blanchard in his book, "The One-Minute Manager,"maintains that there is no single best style of leadership. The authors suggest that effective leadership depends on the task to be completed and the maturity level of the group they are trying to influence. Thus, the leader must match his style to the characteristics of the group.Other People Are Reading∙Principles of Situational Leadership Theory∙How to Introduce Situational Leadership1.Leadership Styleso Situational Leadership breaks management styles down into four types; telling subordinates what to do, selling subordinates on the task, participating with subordinates in task completion and delegating tasks. None of these styles fits all situations. Thus, an effective leader employs whichever style fits the maturity level of the followers.Maturity Levelso According to this theory, the maturity level of followers can also be broken down into four categories. An individual or group may be unable and unwilling tocomplete the task, unable but willing to complete the task, able but lackingconfidence or comfortable, able and willing to take responsibility for taskcompletion.oContingency Theoryo Situational Leadership Theory is a development of the Contingency Leadership Theory. Contingency Theory postulates that there is no single best leader orleadership style. Rather, a leader is effective in proportion to how well heresponds to the workplace contingencies he encountersRead more : /facts_6805417_concept-situational-leadership.html。