Situational Leadership Style

Introduction Leadership is described as the ability to motivate and make possible for others to realize shared goals. In the last century, several leadership styles and theories were formulated and analyzed (Bass Riggio, 2006). Currently, there is no single theory that is perfectly suited for all circumstances.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Situational Leadership Style specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Notably, the basic principles of leadership such as inspiring and directing others to realize shared goals underwent through little changes in the past decades. However, leadership context, complexity, and diversity in institutions progressed immensely in the last century (Bass Riggio, 2006). For situational leadership theory, leaders are required to exhibit unique leadership styles in different circumstances. Owing to its inherent flexibility, the advantages associated with this leadership theory overshadow its disadvantages. As such, this leadership theory is valid for both micro and macro economies and flexible to supporters at different expansion stages. This paper focuses on situational leadership style. In the paper, a brief overview, strengths, and weakness of the theory are highlighted. A brief overview of the theory Hersey and Blanchard formulated this type of leadership style in the year 1969 (Bass Riggio, 2006). This type of leadership was formulated with the help of Reddin’s 3-D management style theory. According to the two experts, the major responsibility of any situational leader is to become accustomed to their individual leadership style and satisfy the followers’ needs. To achieve the above, a situational leader should identify precisely the abilities and enthusiasms levels of his or her followers and lay down tasks, which are suitable with followers’ enthusiasms and abilities. With this leadership model, managers can choose from four leadership appr oaches. These approaches are characterised by combinations of task and relationship behaviour. The situational leadership approach model categorizes a mixture of task and relationship behaviors into four quadrants. A dissimilar leadership method is required in each quadrant. In the first quadrant, high task and low relationship, the telling style is very commanding since the manager creates many contributions and least amount of relationship behavior. Therefore, an autocratic leader would best depict this quadrant. In the second quadrant, high task and high relationship, the selling approach is also very commanding, however in a more influential behavior. Through this approach, the leader can offer substantial contributions towards task success and give emphasis to human relations.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In the third quadrant, high relationship and low task, less co mmands and more collaboration between the managers and the supporters’ styles are eminent. The advice-giving and agreement subtypes of participative leaders are best depicted in this quadrant. In the fourth quadrant, low relationship and low task, the manager hands over accountability for a chore to a supporter and he or she is just kept informed of the advancement. As such, task behaviour entails employing one way of communication, delegating duties, and informing followers what is expected from them. Effective managers should know when to employ a high degree of task behaviour and when to employ a moderate degree of task behaviour depending on the circumstances (Bass Riggio, 2006). On the other hand, relationship behaviour requires a manager to employ two-way communication, listen, encourage, and involve supporters in decision-making processes. Just like in the task behaviour, effective managers should know when to employ a high degree of relationship behaviour and when to employ a moderate degree of relationship behaviour depending on the prevailing circumstances (Bass Riggio, 2006). As noted above, situational leadership style can be illustrated using four-squared matrix with distinctive phases. Based on this type of leadership style, an effective manager should be able to equalize the amount of direction given to building relationships, for the reason that individuals’ abilities and inspirations vary with time. For instance, a situational leader ought to equalize high technology and high touch to match with vibrant times. As such, they should be passionate, honest, effective communicators, and possess appropriate judgment capabilities. Equally, situational Leadership style requires leaders to be flexible and be able to become accustomed to different situations and characters. Strengths of situational leadership The basic strengths of this type of leadership style are that it is authoritative and flexible in nature (Srivastava, 2003). This implies that situational leadership style can indicate to the manager what to do under different circumstances and characters. For leaders, knowing who will perform a particular task and when it will be performed is very crucial for smooth operations. Given that leadership involves changes, this type of leadership style is suitable to varying situations. Usually, external and internal forces lead individuals, teams, and objectives vary.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Situational Leadership Style specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In this regard, effective situational leaders should be able to tackle and respond to any kind of change. This implies that unlike other leadership styles, situational leadership style is distinct, applicable, and rational. For example, a new team member might exhibit great interest towards the project; however, he may not be perfectly skilled for the project. Such a member will require appropriate guidelines during his earlier days in the project. With time, the individual will master the project requirements hence little or no direction will be required. As time progresses, more motivation will be helpful when the individual develops some boredom towards the project as the task becomes monotonous and unchallenging. During this time, situational leaders should be able to re-evaluate task and relationship balances and implement appropriate direction and support. Another advantage of situational leadership style is that it is prescriptive (Srivastava, 2003). However, it should be noted that it is flexible enough to allow individuals to equalize the amount of direction with the support followers require based on their abilities and enthusiasms. As such, this type of leadership style acknowledges the uniqueness that exists among team members. In addition, situational leadership does not only values supporter’s strengths but also fosters and strives to improve o n his or her weakness. Currently, diversity in our institutions and societies requires leaders to adopt the 21st century’s methods of situational leadership approaches. Equally, the diversity has augmented and reinforced the groups. Additionally, situational leadership necessitates the leaders to be involved and understand the production and workers facets of the process for them to become accustomed to their individual behaviours. If a leader adopts situational leadership, he or she will be in touch with both the goal and the supporters seeking this goal. In this regard, it can be argued that situational leadership enhances connections. In addition, this type of leadership style has tolerated reasonable test of time. For instance, over the last five decades the model has been applied in several sectors such as military, businesses organisations, and educational setups. In most of these contexts, the model has been accepted and is currently being utilized to address several c hallenges (Bass Riggio, 2006). The incidental nature of situational leadership style is that it mandates leaders to adapt their own conduct whenever the circumstances vary. Every time the relation between the supporters and the tasks vary, this type of leadership style enables the leaders to readjust their behaviours and acts to satisfy the new state of affairs. Therefore, if a leader applies the approach in consecutive estimates, he or she will be able to re-examine the extent of supervision and help the supporters require all through the continuum.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The shortcomings of situational leadership One major disadvantage of this type of leadership style is that it necessitates sound judgments with regard to task’s acquaintance and human evaluation (Srivastava, 2003). In this regard, it should be noted that not all individuals possess the visualization, spirit, insight, power, persistence, or luck to lead in every circumstance regardless of their characters, abilities, or style. Therefore, wrong detection of the supporters’ abilities and enthusiasms to complete a specific chore may interrupt the team’s development and demoralize the followers’ sense of worth. Equally, undervaluing or overvaluing of the team’s enthusiasms or abilities is unfavourable to goal realization of the goal. On the other hand, if a leader misdiagnoses the readiness and loyalty of several team associates if could result in project breakdown. This implies that an effective situational leader should be educated appropriately in co gnitive and psychosocial expansion hypothesis and be vigilant to dissimilarities that exist among follower because of pressures from sex, age, educational and ethnic uniqueness. Similarly, situational leadership style necessitates the managers to have comprehensive knowledge of intellectual and developmental level of their supporters. In addition, the leadership style does not tackle crucial details such as the multifaceted factors affecting motivation. The model lacks appropriate tools for the managers to identify a group’s task skill or communal enthusiasms. In this context, It is not possible for a manager to be acquainted with all the members of bigger the groups and subsequently analyse the followers’ recommendations since the supporters’ behaviours are based on fewer personal information. In this regard, situational leadership is appropriately appropriate for small groups rather than big groups in a large institution. Since its development, situational lea dership style has been adopted by various organizations, numerous supporters, and by a variety of managers, with varying achievements. Despite this success, it should be noted that s few official researches have been carried out to ascertain the effectiveness of this leadership model compared to other leadership models (Bass Riggio, 2006). A last shortcoming associated with this style of leadership relates to the inherent prejudice in the leadership surveys that support the model (Srivastava, 2003). The queries in the survey hinder the interviewee from selecting an appropriate answer that supports the leadership style. However, despite these weaknesses it should be acknowledged that the situational leadership model is a helpful tool when adopted correctly. Conclusion In conclusion, there are four distinct types of situational leadership styles. These are directing, coaching, supporting, and delegating. Similarly, situational leadership can be generalized into three steps. These ste ps are identifying the crucial tasks, diagnosing members’ readiness level, and settling on matching leadership style. As illustrated above, the situational leadership model symbolizes an agreement of thinking about leadership behavior relative to group members. This leadership theory is valid for both micro and macro economies and flexible to supporters at different stages (Bass Riggio, 2006). Similarly, As such, skilled individuals require less specific direction compared to less skilled individuals. The model is helpful since it bases its principles on other details of leadership that give emphasis to the role of task and relationship behaviors. Because of this, it has demonstrated to be an effective basis of leadership training. Equally, the situational leadership approach supports common sense. Because of this, it is instinctively attractive. Leaders can gain from this model if they try to assess the willingness of their supporters before deciding on the appropriate lead ership style. In general, the model allows leaders to become accustomed to their individual leadership style and satisfy the followers’ needs. In spite of its impressive advantages, it should be noted that this leadership style has its shortcomings (Bass Riggio, 2006). For instance, situational leadership style necessitates sound judgments with regard to task’s knowledge and human evaluation. In this regard, it should be noted that not all individuals possess the visualization, spirit, insight, power, persistence, or luck to lead in every circumstance regardless of their characters, abilities, or style. Therefore, wrong detection of the supporters’ abilities and enthusiasms to complete a specific chore may interrupt the team’s development and demoralize the followers’ sense of worth. Equally, the leadership style lacks appropriate tools for the managers to identify a group’s task skill or communal enthusiasms. In this context, It is impossi ble for a manager to be acquainted with all the members of bigger the groups and subsequently analyze the followers’ recommendations since the supporters’ behaviours are based on fewer personal information. References Bass, B. M., Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational leadership (2nd ed.). Mahwah, N.J.: L . Erlbaum Associates. Srivastava, M. K. (2003). Transformational leadership. New Delhi: Macmillan India. This essay on Situational Leadership Style was written and submitted by user Elle Wood to help you with your own studies. 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â€Å"What is going on around me; is my mind focused on reality or is it in an illusionary state?† When dealing with real situations, awareness is an important concept of life. Many times circumstances in life may have huge impacts on individuals and their lives. It could cause minds to escape reality and enter a different realm, which consists of illusions. In â€Å"Araby†, the main character displays the act of taking part in an illusion of conversing with a young lady whom he adores. He wishes to go to Araby, a bazaar in order to spend the day with her. However, as a result of his strong anticipation he fails to realize that in reality she never spoke to him. It is apparent that one should maintain a focus on reality rather than hoping for the best by getting lost in a world of illusions. Most of the time each morning, the character in â€Å"Araby† stares at the young lady across the street. He takes most of his time looking at her physical body and keeps her figure as an image in his head where ever he goes. Usually, when a person has a strong desire to meet someone, he will perhaps go out of his way and put effort. However, contrast to this idea, the character in â€Å"Araby†, does not take enough action to make that possible, instead he just wastes an enormous amount of time gazing. The character is stuck in his own little world of dreams because he has set up his mentality to focus on illusions rather than actual effort in reality. Speaking is another component needed not only to commence but also to perpetuate conversations in a relationship. Communication is the cornerstone of any relationship therefore; if a two people do not converse there is no such thing as a relationship. The character in â€Å"Araby† does not talk to the young lady whom he adores, rather, he just imagines what it would be like if he actually did speak to her and what she would say to him. 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All he knows is what time she goes to school at, and that’s only because he stares at her door from the front parlour. â€Å" I had never spoken to her, except for a few casual words, and yet her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood.† He’s never said a word to her outside the usual hi, or bye but this doesn’t mean anything. He doesn’t know anything about her except for her observable daily routine. How she walks to school everyday or how she calls out for her brother when they are playing together. He knows he’s foolish for being â€Å"in love† with her because he doesn’t know a thing about her and that she’s older than him and comes from a family of higher class than his. The only time the two really talk is when she asks him if he’s g oing to the bazaar, but he’s too caught up in her heavenly image that he doesn’t recall what he said to her except for the fact that he was going to buy her something. In the end he goes to the bazaar and he doesn’t know what to get her. This is an indication that he doesn’t really know who she is because if he did he’d have an idea of what she’... Free Essays on Araby â€Å"What is going on around me; is my mind focused on reality or is it in an illusionary state?† When dealing with real situations, awareness is an important concept of life. Many times circumstances in life may have huge impacts on individuals and their lives. It could cause minds to escape reality and enter a different realm, which consists of illusions. In â€Å"Araby†, the main character displays the act of taking part in an illusion of conversing with a young lady whom he adores. He wishes to go to Araby, a bazaar in order to spend the day with her. However, as a result of his strong anticipation he fails to realize that in reality she never spoke to him. It is apparent that one should maintain a focus on reality rather than hoping for the best by getting lost in a world of illusions. Most of the time each morning, the character in â€Å"Araby† stares at the young lady across the street. He takes most of his time looking at her physical body and keeps her figure as an image in his head where ever he goes. Usually, when a person has a strong desire to meet someone, he will perhaps go out of his way and put effort. However, contrast to this idea, the character in â€Å"Araby†, does not take enough action to make that possible, instead he just wastes an enormous amount of time gazing. The character is stuck in his own little world of dreams because he has set up his mentality to focus on illusions rather than actual effort in reality. Speaking is another component needed not only to commence but also to perpetuate conversations in a relationship. Communication is the cornerstone of any relationship therefore; if a two people do not converse there is no such thing as a relationship. The character in â€Å"Araby† does not talk to the young lady whom he adores, rather, he just imagines what it would be like if he actually did speak to her and what she would say to him. Once again, it is apparent that the character is unaware of reality a... Free Essays on Araby â€Å"What is going on around me; is my mind focused on reality or is it in an illusionary state?† When dealing with real situations, awareness is an important concept of life. Many times circumstances in life may have huge impacts on individuals and their lives. It could cause minds to escape reality and enter a different realm, which consists of illusions. In â€Å"Araby†, the main character displays the act of taking part in an illusion of conversing with a young lady whom he adores. He wishes to go to Araby, a bazaar in order to spend the day with her. However, as a result of his strong anticipation he fails to realize that in reality she never spoke to him. It is apparent that one should maintain a focus on reality rather than hoping for the best by getting lost in a world of illusions. Most of the time each morning, the character in â€Å"Araby† stares at the young lady across the street. He takes most of his time looking at her physical body and keeps her figure as an image in his head where ever he goes. Usually, when a person has a strong desire to meet someone, he will perhaps go out of his way and put effort. However, contrast to this idea, the character in â€Å"Araby†, does not take enough action to make that possible, instead he just wastes an enormous amount of time gazing. The character is stuck in his own little world of dreams because he has set up his mentality to focus on illusions rather than actual effort in reality. Speaking is another component needed not only to commence but also to perpetuate conversations in a relationship. 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They have gained more experience and, at the same time, lost a little of their innocence. That movement is demonstrated in â€Å"Araby,† written by James Joyce, with a young boy who seems to be a little naive an is going through things in his life that he does not quite understand yet. It is also shown in â€Å"A & P,† written by John Updike, through the eyes of a teenager named Sammy who seems to think using something else instead of his brain. In both of these stories certain events happen the these two characters that makes them more experience and think about life more maturely at the end. In â€Å"Araby,† the boy with no name seems to fall in love with his friend’s sister but never really tells her. When she steps outside, the boy’s â€Å"heart leaps† (Joyce 843), and he rushes so that he can follow her every morning. Maybe that is the way the boy is trying to impress her. 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