How to Apply the Situational Leadership Model in the Workplace

The situational leadership model is a leadership approach developed by Ken Blanchard, a business consultant best known for his book The One Minute Manager, and Paul Hersey, a behavioral scientist and entrepreneur. Blanchard and Hersey first described situational leadership qualities in 1969 and then included the concept in their 1970 text Management of Organizational Behavior. The Hersey-Blanchard situational leadership model rests on two fundamental concepts.

1. 1. Leadership style: Hersey and Blanchard break leadership styles (or management styles) into task behavior (tactics used to complete a task) and relationship behavior (tactics used to manage relationships). For both task behavior and relationship behavior, they identify four different leadership styles, which they label S1 through S4.
2. 2. Maturity level: Also called a readiness level or development level, this metric refers to the person being led. A person with high competence and high commitment to their job may respond to a different type of leadership than someone with low competence and a low commitment to their job. Blanchard and Hersey rank these maturity levels on a scale of M1 to M4.

As described by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard, there are four potential leadership styles of situational leadership. Each of these styles, ranked from S1 to S4 (where S stands for “style”), can apply to task behavior or to relationship behavior.

1. 1. S1 leadership style: Hersey and Blanchard call this “telling” leadership. Leaders simply tell their direct reports what to do and how to do it. This is directive behavior on the part of the leader.
2. 2. S2 leadership style: Hersey and Blanchard call this “selling” leadership. Leaders still directly tell team members what to do, but they also try to “sell” the idea and win some buy-in from the team. This approach is less autocratic than the S1 approach, but it offers little room for employee input.
3. 3. S3 leadership style: This is known as “participating” leadership. Participative leadership invites team members into the decision-making process. While team leaders may still assign specific tasks, they mostly focus on facilitating on behalf of their direct reports. This is arguably the best leadership style for promoting teamwork between management and employees.
4. 4. S4 leadership style: The S4 leadership style is also known as “delegating” leadership. In this model, leaders do not practice close supervision over team members. They describe the goals and obstacles of a given situation, and then they delegate operational duties to their team. Delegative leaders are available to assist in problem-solving, but they also try to unlock the leadership skills of other people.

Blanchard and Hersey rank maturity levels on a scale of M1 to M4, where M stands for “maturity.” These levels sometimes appear as D1 to D4, where D stands for “development.”

1. 1. M1 maturity: An employee rated M1 has low maturity. They are not self-motivating and they lack knowledge of the task at hand. They need close supervision and perhaps support from a human resources department.
2. 2. M2 maturity: This is a person with medium maturity but minimal skills. They might be categorized as an enthusiastic beginner who will need a lot of initial guidance.
3. 3. M3 maturity: This level describes a person who does possess skills but lacks the confidence needed to truly work on their own. They thrive under the type of leader who actively supports team members without micromanaging them.
4. 4. M4 maturity: This level describes self-reliant achievers. They are both highly competent and highly confident. Under a situational approach, such workers may need very little supportive behavior from leaders.

Effective leaders use the situational leadership model to directly meet the needs of the employees and scenarios they face in a given moment. They embrace the fact that the appropriate leadership style for one set of circumstances may not be right for a related, yet different, matter involving different stakeholders.

Sports coaches see advantages in situational leadership because their rosters frequently turn over, yielding different groups of players with different core competencies. Great leaders in coaching use situational leadership to their advantage, nimbly pivoting to new leadership approaches without losing their competitive edge. A similar benefit can apply to any leader dealing with an ever-changing industry.

Perhaps the greatest disadvantage of situational leadership is that many leaders lack the flexibility, emotional intelligence, and honest self-assessment needed to execute this leadership model. Some leaders thrive in a one-size-fits-all approach, and they struggle to shift their tactics to meet new situations and new personnel groupings.

A business can only embrace situational leadership if it has a strong, flexible, insightful leader in place. Forcing a situational leadership approach on a manager who lacks these qualities can lead to difficulties for both the manager and their direct reports.

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