THEORY Chapter 3 Situational Leadership 2 The Contingency - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP THEORY

Chapter 3

Situational Leadership

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 The Contingency Approach –Situational Leadership -

recognizes:

 Different situations and followers require different

leadership styles

 No one leadership style is appropriate for all situations

and effective leaders need to adjust their style to match the situation

Situational Leadership

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 There are four leader styles (S)  Directing, Coaching, Supporting, Delegating  There are two contingencies  Follower readiness (R) based on competence and

commitment

 Strategies for success relate to the ability to select the

right leader style

 Performance goals  concern production efficiency and follower satisfaction and

development

Situational Leadership

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Low Readiness Level (R1)

 Followers are at a low level because of:

 Poor ability and skills, little experience  Insecurity, unwillingness to take responsibility  Considered unable and insecure/unwilling

 Leader uses a directive or telling style being very

specific telling followers:

 Exactly what to do, how to do it, and when

Moderate Readiness Level (R2)

 Followers are at a moderate level when:

 May lack some education and experience, but  Demonstrate high confidence, ability, interest, and

willingness to learn

 Considered somewhat unable but willing

 Leaders uses a selling or persuading style giving

some direction, but also seeks input from others and clarifies tasks for followers rather than directing

High Readiness Level (R3)

 Followers are at a high level when they:

 Have the necessary skills and experience, but  May be insecure in their abilities and need some

guidance from the leader

 Considered able but insecure or unwilling

 Leader uses a participating style followers’

development and acts as a resource for advice and assistance

Very High Readiness Level (R4)

 Followers have:

 Very high levels of education, experience, and  Readiness to accept responsibility for their own task

behavior

 Considered able and willing

 The leader delegates responsibility for decisions

and implementation to followers

Situational Leadership Model

R1 Unable Unwilling R2 Unable Willing R3 Able Unwilling R4 Able Willing Degree of follower’s readiness to assume personal responsibility: S1 Telling: Instructing and supervising S2 Selling: Explaining and clarifying S3 Participating: Sharing and facilitating S4 Delegating: Coaching and assisting Leadership behavior appropriate to the situation:

Situational Leadership Causal Chain Leadership Styles Directing Coaching Supporting Delegating Performance Goal Production efficiency. Follower satisfaction and development Ideal Conditions for each style determined by subordinate factors Follower competence Follower commitment Strategies for Success Ability to select the correct style

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Situational Leadership

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 Some aspects of the model have changed

 Now have a combined contingency variable called

Follower Maturity (M) consisting of job maturity and psychological maturity

 Job maturity consists of experience, education and capacity  Psychological maturity consists of willingness based on

motivation and confidence.

 This model uses the term follower readiness (R)  Other models use the term follower maturity (M)

Application

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 The Situational Leadership Model

 Can be used to determine the situation (Follower Readiness)

and then choose the corresponding leadership style

 Competence increases over time  Willingness varies over time

 Initially has to be directed – then gains confidence through

coaching, then lowers as the realities of the job set in and needs support – finally a high level as fully competent

Situational Leadership

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 Strengths

 The model has intuitive appeal  Highly prescriptive  Useful for training – principles are easy to master  Emphasis on style range and adaptability

Situational Leadership

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 Weaknesses

 Basis for determining style is very narrow – only

considers subordinate competence and commitment

 Excludes factors such as task, organizational or leader

factors

 Psychological maturity theory explanations vary  The level of empirical support is low