Situational leadership is based on situational leadership theory. Developed by authors Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard in the late 1960s, the theory’s fundamental belief is that there is no single leadership style that is best for every situation. Situational leadership is based on the belief that no single leadership style is best. In other words, the best style depends on the situation at hand.
Understanding situational leadership
Instead, situational leaders must adapt their management style to each unique situation or task to meet the needs of individuals and the organization.
To that end, leaders must consider the background, personality, learning style, experience, motivators, and ego of individuals in the teams they manage.
The above variables influence employee competence and commitment, which themselves vary according to the complexity of the task, different performance areas, and the level of required support or direction from the leader themselves.
These variables (and how they interact) are explained in more detail in the next section.
The four situational leadership styles
Hersey and Blanchard developed a matrix with four distinct behavioral leadership styles. Before we delve into the styles, it is worth explaining that each is based on two factors:
Task behavior – the extent to which leaders tell subordinates what to do, how to do it, when it needs to be completed, and where it needs to be performed, and
Relationship behavior – the extent to which leaders engage in open dialogue with their followers, actively listen, and offer reinforcement, reward, or recognition for task-related progress.
Various degrees of task and relationship behavior yield the following leadership styles:
1- Telling (S1)
This style is characterized by moderate to high task behavior and low to moderate relationship behavior. Leaders tell subordinates what to do and how to do it and use their experience to make decisions related to the timely completion of tasks.
S1 is seen as more of a short-term approach designed to create movement. It is well suited to employees that are inexperienced or otherwise unmotivated to take action.
2 – Selling (S2)
The S2 style is characterized by high amounts of both task and relationship behavior. Leaders dictate the what, how, and when of a task, but are more open to discussing why it is important and how it fits into the company’s objectives.
This increased collaboration and feedback boosts team member participation, increases their skillset, and can be used to encourage buy-in.
3 – Participating (S3)
The S3 style is useful for teams who are suitably experienced to participate in decision-making and planning. Leaders adopt a more democratic, “follower-driven” leadership style which is fundamentally different from the S1 and S2 styles. As a result, the S3 style is an approach that is low on task behavior and high on relationship behavior.
Employees under this style are capable but cautious. They may possess demonstratable task proficiency but are wary of performing it on their own. Others can perform a task effectively but have lost the motivation to do so. In either case, the leader must identify the source of the performance obstacle with open-ended questions that generate a viable solution.
4 – Delegating (S4)
The Delegating S4 style is for situations where team members have a high level of intrinsic motivation and competence. Leaders set a vision, establish the desired outcomes, and attribute clear decision-making authority and task responsibility to certain individuals.
The S4 style is characterized by low amounts of task and relationship behavior.
Key takeaways
Situational leadership is based on the belief that no single leadership style is best. In other words, the best style depends on the situation at hand.
Hersey and Blanchard developed a matrix with four distinct behavioral leadership styles. Each cell of the matrix represents four leadership styles characterized by different degrees of task and relationship behavior.
The four styles of situational leadership are telling (S1), selling (S2), participating (S3), and delegating (S4). As one moves from S1 to S4, there is an increase in employee motivation, competence, and autonomy.
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Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
