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Situational Leadership 2 of Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey
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Situational Leadership 2 of Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey

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The situational management theory was developed by Paul Hershey and Kenneth Blanchard. It focuses on leadership styles and the individual needs of employees.

Development of Situational Management Theory

  • In 1969, the theory was introduced as the life cycle theory of leadership.
  • In the mid-1970s, it was renamed situational leadership theory.
  • Paul Hershey and Kenneth Blanchard developed their own versions of the theory in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
  • In 1985, Kenneth Blanchard introduced situational leadership 2 (SL2) in his book "A Situational Approach to Managing People."

Purpose of Situational Management Theory

  • The theory aims to help leaders choose the right leadership style based on individual employee needs.
  • Effective leadership involves matching the appropriate style to an employee's need for guidance and support in achieving goals or solving tasks.

Leadership Styles and Development Levels

Leadership Styles

  • The model consists of a matrix with four leadership styles:
  • Directive behavior: Telling, showing, providing feedback
  • Supportive behavior: Facilitating decision-making, active listening

Development Levels

  • The model also includes four development levels:
  • Developing: Low competence, low commitment
  • Beginning: Low competence, high commitment
  • Competent: High competence, variable commitment
  • Proficient: High competence, high commitment

Matching Leadership Styles to Development Levels

  • The leader's choice of leadership style should be based on the employee's level of development.
  • Different styles may be appropriate at different times depending on an employee's need for guidance and support.

New Section

This section focuses on the matrix with four leadership styles and their corresponding behaviors.

Matrix with Leadership Styles

  • The matrix consists of four leadership styles:
  • Style 1: Directing (high directive behavior, low supportive behavior)
  • Style 2: Coaching (high directive behavior, high supportive behavior)
  • Style 3: Supporting (low directive behavior, high supportive behavior)
  • Style 4: Delegating (low directive behavior, low supportive behavior)

Directive Behavior

  • In this style, the leader tells and shows the employee what to do, when to do it, how to do it.
  • Provides frequent feedback on results.
  • Communication is mostly one-way from the leader to the employee.

Supportive Behavior

  • In this style, the leader takes on a different role.
  • Supports and facilitates the employee in decision-making.
  • Actively listens and provides constructive feedback.
  • Communication is two-way between the leader and the employee.

New Section

This section focuses on the four development levels in situational management theory.

Development Levels

  • The model includes four development levels:
  • Developing: Low competence, low commitment
  • Beginning: Low competence, high commitment
  • Competent: High competence, variable commitment
  • Proficient: High competence, high commitment

Determining Development Level

  • The development level of an individual employee is determined by their experience with a task and their motivation to solve it.
  • It is not an overall rating of skills or attitude but specific to a goal or task.

Importance of Development Level

  • The optimal use of leadership styles depends on an employee's level of development.
  • Leaders should consider an employee's competence and commitment when choosing a leadership style.

Development Levels and Employee Competence

This section discusses the different development levels of employees based on their competence and commitment.

Development Level 1: Enthusiastic but Inexperienced

  • Employees are new to the goal or task and lack experience.
  • They have low competence but high commitment.
  • They are eager to learn and confident that learning won't be difficult.

Development Level 2: Disillusioned Learner

  • Employees have some knowledge and skills but are not yet competent.
  • They have low to middling competence and low commitment.
  • Their performance is inconsistent, and they may feel discouraged or frustrated.

Development Level 3: Capable but Cautious Contributor

  • Employees demonstrate moderate to high competence.
  • They make productive contributions but may hesitate at times.
  • Their commitment varies, and they may lack confidence or become bored.

Development Level 4: Self-reliant Achiever

  • Employees have high competence and consistent performance.
  • They are recognized as experts by others.
  • They have high commitment, autonomy, and inspire others.

Connection between Development Levels and Leadership Styles

This section explores the relationship between employee development levels and leadership styles.

Ideal Matches between Development Levels and Leadership Styles

  1. Development Level D1: Low Competence, High Commitment
  • Leadership Style S1: High directive behavior, low supportive behavior
  • The leader helps the employee achieve competencies without needing to motivate them.
  1. Development Level D2: Low to Some Competence, Low Commitment
  • Leadership Style S2: High directive behavior, high supportive behavior
  • The leader trains the employee's professional ability and motivates them to solve tasks.
  1. Development Level D3: Moderate to High Competence, Variable Commitment
  • Leadership Style S3: Low directive behavior, high supportive behavior
  • The leader supports the employee in building confidence to solve tasks.
  1. Development Level D4: High Competence, High Commitment
  • Leadership Style S4: Low directive behavior, low supportive behavior
  • The leader delegates tasks to the employee and gives them autonomy.

Mismatch Situations

  • Over-supervision occurs when the leader exhibits more directive or supportive behavior than needed for an employee's development level.
  • Mismatched leadership styles include S1, S2, and S3 for employees at D4 development level.
  • Employees may feel underestimated or unmotivated due to excessive support or direction from the leader.

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This section discusses the S4 leadership style and its application to employees at different development levels.

S4 Leadership Style

  • The S4 leadership style is used for employees placed in the D1, D2, or D3 development levels.
  • At the D1 level, the S4 leadership style lacks directive behavior.
  • At the D3 level, the S4 leadership style lacks supportive behavior.
  • At the D2 level, the S4 leadership style lacks both directive and supportive behavior.

Impact of Directive and Supportive Behavior

  • Without directive behavior from a leader, an employee lacks knowledge of what to do to fulfill a task.
  • Without supportive behavior from a leader, an employee may lack motivation.

Matching Leadership Style with Employee Needs

  • The model presents 16 combinations between leadership styles and development levels.
  • Only four combinations are considered correct matches, while 12 are mismatches.
  • Leaders can use this model to match their leadership style with each employee's needs for effective guidance.

Continuous Development Level Changes

  • Employees continuously move within the model based on tasks or goals set by leaders.
  • There is no single best leadership style; it depends on the situation.

New Section

This section provides an example of how to apply SL2 theory in practice.

Example Scenario: Developing a New Employee

  • As a leader, you hire a new employee who has just finished their education.
  • Your responsibility is to develop this employee into a valuable asset in the long run.

Development Level D1 - Directive Leadership (S1)

  • Initially, the employee is motivated and believes acquiring necessary skills won't be difficult.
  • You judge them to be at development level D1 and choose directive leadership (S1).
  • Provide direction about what, how, and when to do tasks.
  • Frequent check-ins on task progress.

Development Level D2 - Coaching Leadership (S2)

  • After a while, the employee becomes frustrated with the complexity of systems and tasks.
  • You re-evaluate their development level to D2.
  • Choose coaching leadership (S2):
  • Explain why and involve the employee in problem-solving.
  • Redirect and re-teach as needed.

Development Level D3 - Supportive Leadership (S3)

  • The employee understands more but lacks confidence.
  • Re-evaluate their development level to D3.
  • Choose supportive leadership (S3):
  • Be responsive and supportive of the employee's choices.
  • Ask for input and help build confidence.

Development Level D4 - Delegating Leadership (S4)

  • The employee gains confidence, makes impressive choices, and no longer consults you frequently.
  • Evaluate them at development level D4.
  • Choose delegating leadership (S4):
  • Delegate more competence and responsibility to challenge the employee.

Adapting Leadership Style

  • As a leader, you may need to change your leadership style based on changing circumstances or tasks assigned to employees.

New Section

This section discusses criticisms of the SL2 theory.

Criticisms of SL2 Theory

  1. Difficulty in Placing Employees
  • It may be challenging to always place employees into one of the four levels of development if organizational conditions or surroundings change rapidly.
  1. Multiple Tasks and Goals
  • The theory does not consider that employees work with multiple tasks and goals simultaneously, potentially being at different levels of development for each task or goal.
  1. Individual Differences
  • The theory does not account for individual differences in how employees express their lack of competence or commitment.

Benefits of SL2 Theory

  • Despite criticisms, the SL2 theory is an excellent tool for leaders practicing situational leadership.
  • It provides a quick overview of an employee's level of development and allows leaders to continuously adapt their leadership style to individual needs.
Video description

Situational management theory was developed over several stages. In its basic form, it was created in a collaboration between two Americans: behavioural researcher Paul Hersey and PhD in leadership Kenneth Blanchard. They developed the Theory while working on the ”Management of Organizational Behavior” book. The Theory was introduced in 1969 as the ”life cycle theory of leadership”. During the mid-1970s, the theory was renamed ”Situational Leadership Theory”. In the late 1970s/early 1980s, Hersey and Blanchard developed slightly divergent versions of the Situational Leadership Theory. In 1985, Kenneth Blanchard introduced situational leadership II, also called the SL II theory, in the book ”A Situational Approach to Managing People”. The starting point for the review is this edition. The theory is about leadership, not management. Therefore, the person in charge of this theory is called a leader, not a manager. The purpose of the theory is to help the leader choose the right leadership style for each individual employee. Effective leadership lies in matching the appropriate style to the individual employee's need for guidance and support to achieve a specific goal or solve a task. 0:00 Introduction of authors and the purpose of the model 2:09 The theory consists of two main approaches 2:45 The four leadership styles in the upper part of the model 4:10 The four leadership styles reviewed individually 6:17 The four development levels at the bottom of the model 7:51 The four development levels were reviewed individually from right to left 11:05 The connection between the two approaches 11:46 The four ideal matches between leadership styles and the development levels 14:38 Mismatch between leadership styles and development levels 17:32 Use of the model 17:59 An example - New employee 20:55 An example - New software 21:25 Criticism of the model Download the model (PowerPoint) from our website: https://flixabout.com/situational-leadership-2-kenneth-blanchard-and-paul-hersey Our Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/flixaboutcom Our homepage www.flixabout.com

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