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What is Situational Leadership?
You may be wondering, what is situational leadership? It is a leadership style that focuses on encouraging and nurturing employees. When employees are nurtured and well-coached, they are more likely to perform better.
An excellent situational leader also empowers team members by letting them make decisions. This management style promotes independence and trust and makes team members feel important.
Situational Leadership
Situational leadership is a way to lead by ensuring the best outcome for your subordinates. This style is most appropriate when developing team members who lack a specific skill set but have a strong level of commitment.
It is different from a directive style, where you tell your employees exactly what to do and how to do it. By connecting these individuals with more experienced peers, you can accelerate their development.
Situational leaders are flexible and adaptable and can assess their team’s needs anytime. They also encourage the team to be independent, allowing members to take the initiative and make their own decisions.
Situational leaders also coach and facilitate team development to achieve their goals. In addition to assessing the needs of their team, these leaders can adjust their management style quickly to suit the situation.
Situational leadership is different from traditional leadership in many ways. It focuses on relationship-building rather than on a rigid leadership style.
Situational leaders focus on assessing team members’ readiness to learn and execute directives. Because of this, they can quickly shift between supportive and directive leadership styles based on their assessment.
This leadership type can benefit you and your team when you need the team to take the initiative and make decisions. It ensures the team is driven by high-commitment, highly motivated people. The situational approach will reduce your time explaining your ideas to others.
Situational leadership will come in handy when your team member demonstrates low confidence or ability. Employee is likely to be more motivated if they are confident in their abilities. A manager who implements this leadership style is more likely to be able to motivate and support their team member.
Disadvantages of Situational Leadership
Situational leadership is a valuable management style that can make you more flexible in the workplace. Adapting your approach to the situation gives your team a competitive edge. However, situational leaders must possess emotional intelligence and empathy. Besides, they must also keep a long-term strategy in mind.
Situational leaders must also have a good grasp of people management. They must develop and maintain strong relationships with their staff members. However, it takes time to develop such relationships. Ultimately, they can lead to high company retention rates and long-term employee growth.
Another disadvantage of situational leadership is that it focuses on the team’s immediate needs. This method often fails to consider the long-term needs of employees. Consequently, situational managers may end up putting out fires to save their team’s morale.
In this case, their personal development may be compromised. Therefore, it is essential to consider the long-term objectives of your team before implementing situational leadership.
Situational leadership requires the leader to be flexible and adaptable. They must also be willing to delegate tasks to team members capable of completing them independently. Delegation becomes more critical as the team matures under the leader’s guidance. Situational leaders must also be patient and have practical listening skills.
Another disadvantage of situational leadership is that it is ineffective in a task-oriented environment. Depending on the situation, situational leadership may not be the best option for a manager. However, it is effective when employees’ abilities and desires vary. Situational leadership can be an effective leadership style when staff turnover is significant.
Characteristics of a Situational Leader
Situational leadership is a style of leadership that is flexible and responsive to the specific needs of a group. An excellent situational leader can identify and adapt their style to meet the needs of different groups at varying stages in their development. Depending on the needs of a group, situational leaders may take on a more directive or supportive role.
Situational leaders have many traits in common, including a willingness to coach their team and foster trust. Situational leaders are often regarded as natural coaches skilled at building trust and making their team feel important. The ability to develop others and delegate effectively is essential for success in this style of leadership.
Situational leaders can assess situations quickly and give specific direction. They empower their team to make decisions and meet goals. They know when to direct and when to delegate. They can also quickly adjust their leadership style depending on the needs of their team. In this way, situational leaders can gain the trust of their followers and remain flexible in their management style.
Several studies and theories have examined the relationship between situational leadership and employee productivity. It is critical to understand the relationship between leadership style and employee productivity.
For example, one study has found that managers’ use of situational leadership significantly influences hospital employees. It also concluded that situational leadership improves employee morale and work satisfaction.
Leadership style is a crucial factor in motivating employees. A study in Lebanon revealed that situational leadership increases employees’ motivation. Hence, it is crucial to implement this leadership style in the workplace. Furthermore, managers in North Lebanon must emphasize their employees’ individual needs to increase their productivity.
Another situational leadership style is delegating. In this leadership style, the leader assumes the role of a parent and shields the team from external threats. The leader’s role is to create good working conditions for the team. The leader also protects the team from judgment. In addition, delegating behavior promotes freedom and builds trust among team members.
Tools Needed to Become a Situational Leader
Situational leaders must be able to adapt their leadership style according to the circumstances. This includes focusing on four different contextual factors: the relationship between the leader and their subordinates, the task at hand, the level of authority, and the level of readiness for the situation. Moreover, situational leaders must learn about their subordinates’ backgrounds and passions to better understand their team’s needs.
The best situational leaders can adapt their management style of leading to the needs of their team. They know how to leverage their active listening skills to understand the needs of their team. This enables them to make timely decisions and gain the trust of their followers. However, the situational approach is not without its disadvantages.
In the first place, you need to identify what the situational leadership style is. The concept is similar to the theories by Blanchard and Hersey, which stress emotional intelligence and the readiness of subordinates. Situational leaders are also expected to know when to apply oversight. They can also use the Situational Leadership model to assess the performance of their employees.
The next step is to develop your skills. Various tools are at your disposal to promote participatory leadership and encourage co-creation. You’ll never be perfect, so it’s crucial to hone these skills constantly. For example, there are platforms like HowSpace that support a hybrid workplace. These tools can help you become a better situational leader in the long run.
Another essential tool to become a situational leader is to know how to read people. The best situational leaders know people and their dynamics. By recognizing the situations in which people behave differently, they can adapt their leadership style to match their environment. In addition, situational leaders are proactive and adaptable.
This flexible approach is highly beneficial for managers who want to adapt to different situations at work. Situational leaders consider employees’ level of competence and commitment, as well as the complexity of the task. In addition, the Situational Leadership model requires a strong relationship with the team members.