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Situational leadership style, orange background, notepad, black glasses, green calculator, pencil, Stage Academy magazine article
22.04.2024
Magazine category

When is a situational management style worthwhile?

Every management style has its strengths and weaknesses. The major challenge when choosing a leadership style is to respond to each employee's individuality and needs. A situational management style should make this possible. Each employee is managed according to their abilities and level of maturity. Read this article to find out exactly how such a situational management style is implemented and what advantages and disadvantages it has.

What is a situational leadership style?

The model of a situational leadership style was developed back in the 1970s by Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey. They already differentiated between a person-oriented and a task-oriented leadership approach. The two behavioral researchers also considered the respective "maturity level" of employees for the first time.

In this approach, management is divided into two general areas of responsibility: Task orientation and people orientation. On the one hand, clear goals must be kept in view, such as meeting deadlines and the quality of results. On the other hand, the focus is also on the employees themselves, who need appreciation and constructive feedback.

The situational management style focuses on the individual

The search for a universal leadership style that works equally for everyone in every situation leads nowhere. It is precisely this realization that forms the basis of the situational leadership style. Different people and different situations require different reactions and approaches.

Situational leadership is characterized by the following features:

  • Individual support for individual employees
  • Flexible adaptation to different situations
  • High appreciation of the individual
  • Increase in productivity

Situational leadership means adapting your leadership style to the current situation. You adapt your leadership methods flexibly to the person you are dealing with.

Most other leadership styles are based on the assumption that there is a perfect leadership style that can be used universally. This is the decisive difference to the situational leadership style.

Tasks and people are two independent parameters in the situational leadership style

In the first theory on situational leadership styles, a clear distinction is made between a "task-oriented" and a "person-oriented" leadership style. A task-oriented management style is highly restrictive - superiors give clear work instructions and deadlines and there is little freedom in the organization of tasks. A people-oriented management style is when employee management is based on personal relationships. There is individual support, feedback and motivation.

Situational leadership is successful when managers can adapt both parameters individually to the respective situation and the maturity level of the person.

What does "maturity level" of employees mean?

Good leadership is characterized by the fact that the potential of employees can be recognized and fully utilized for the company. The respective maturity level of employees relates to two factors:

  • The ability to complete a specific task
  • The willingness to take responsibility for this task

The maturity level of the individual provides managers with important guidance on the type of leadership they need to apply. Employees with a lower level of ability or willingness require more guidance, while the focus for "more mature" people is on promoting personal responsibility.

These are the four stages of the situational leadership style

The big challenge in management is generally deciding when which behavior is appropriate. New employees need different instructions and feedback than someone who has been with the company for ten years.

In order to decide which manager's behavior needs to be focused on and when, a situational leadership style is divided into four levels, which are based on the maturity level of the employees and are intended to provide managers with guidance.

Low level of maturity: clear instructions are required

Employees with a low level of maturity need clear tasks and work instructions. For example, it is important to assign specific deadlines and to regularly check the work in between. When employees have a low level of maturity, management resembles an authoritarian management style that initially focuses on tasks and not on people. By establishing fixed structures and sharing knowledge, employees expand their own skills and thus also achieve a higher level of maturity.

One example:

A young graduate starts her first job in a company after graduation. She still lacks important practical experience. In this situation, she therefore benefits from the clear work instructions.

Medium maturity level: employees benefit from training

If employees have already reached a higher level of maturity, the manager pays more attention to people orientation in addition to task orientation. Although instructions are still given by the manager, more support and the opportunity to work together are offered.

One example:

An employee would like to develop further and take on new tasks. However, he still lacks the technical expertise to do so. In the situational approach, the manager supports his motivation, but helps with clear instructions and monitoring the results.

Higher level of maturity: encouragement and strengthening of self-confidence

Employees who have reached a higher level of maturity already have very good skills, but are not yet able to use them independently. Despite their existing skills, they make mistakes that can be avoided. At this point, the manager supports the employee in an advisory capacity and encourages independent behavior. The focus is on encouragement and motivation.

One example:

An employee has already managed two large projects in the past with a high level of personal responsibility and is now to take on full responsibility for a new project. Despite the good results, she still doubts her ability. The manager encourages her in this case, reminds her once again of her successes and offers to be there at all times if problems arise.

Very high degree of maturity: freedom and delegation of responsibility

Once this state has been reached, employees have all the skills they need to act independently and use them correctly. The manager hardly needs to intervene and instead creates new freedom. Responsibility is gradually handed over to this employee.

One example:

An employee works independently on their projects and reliably delivers correct results. Feedback meetings are held with the manager at fixed intervals.

Managers should have these qualities for situational leadership

If you want to apply the situational leadership style correctly, you need to master different leadership styles and be able to apply them correctly. Managers must be able to lead authoritatively as well as cooperatively and person-oriented. They should have important qualities:

  • Flexibility: One of the most important qualities is the ability to be flexible and to adapt management methods to the needs and requirements of the situation.

  • Empathy: Empathy is a basic prerequisite for the situational leadership style in order to understand and correctly assess the skills, needs, motivations and challenges of employees. Managers must be able to put themselves in the shoes of their team members and take their perspectives into account in order to provide them with appropriate support and guidance.

  • Communication skills: Clear communication is essential for situational leadership style. Managers must be able to communicate expectations clearly, give feedback and support employees through open and transparent feedback.

  • Decision-making ability: Managers must be able to make informed decisions, especially when it comes to choosing the appropriate management method based on the maturity level of the employees. This requires good judgment.

  • Coaching skills: An important aspect of situational leadership style is the ability to coach and support employees to develop their skills and potential. Managers should be able to encourage, inspire and motivate their employees so that they can give their best.

  • Self-reflection & critical faculties: Self-reflection and critical faculties are also necessary at management level in order to recognize one's own strengths and weaknesses and to continuously work on one's own leadership skills. This enables managers to develop themselves further and continuously improve their leadership skills.

The situational management style has these advantages

The situational management style has a number of advantages. One of its most important strengths lies in its adaptability to different situations and the individual needs of employees. By taking into account the maturity level of the individual team members, the situational leadership style enables effective leadership and thus the individual development of employees.

Situational leadership motivates. Employees recognize that someone is taking time for their personal strengths and weaknesses and that they have the potential to develop quickly within this framework. This results in intrinsic motivation, increased employee satisfaction and, as a result, greater loyalty and identification with the company.

In addition, the situational leadership style helps to manage conflict constructively and improve overall team performance. By responding flexibly to change and adapting their leadership techniques accordingly, managers can create a positive and supportive working environment in which employees can develop their full potential.

The challenges of situational leadership  

However, a situational management style also demands a great deal from the manager. They must keep a close eye on each individual employee and have the skills to correctly assess certain situations.

Clear classifications are not always possible. Sometimes an employee has a high level of maturity in the creation of presentations, but a lower level in other areas of responsibility. Here too, a high degree of flexibility is required in order to set the right focus on personal or task-related management.

These aspects should always be considered in situational leadership:

  • Inconsistencies in leadership
    If managers react differently in the same situations because the maturity level of the other person requires it, this can be perceived by employees as a lack of fairness. Open communication is particularly important at this point.

  • High complexity of management tasks
    In addition to the tasks to be performed, managers in the situational management style must also take many interpersonal aspects into account. This makes management tasks very complex.

  • Attention to long-term goals
    The situational management style shows its advantages primarily in its ability to react spontaneously. However, it is easier to lose sight of long-term goals. Another challenge is that different leadership styles are often used along the way when pursuing longer-term goals, which can quickly become confusing.

Managers often have a favorite leadership style that they apply intuitively. They therefore require a high degree of self-reflection in order to remain flexible and open on a professional and interpersonal level.

Conclusion: The situational leadership style fully exploits the potential of the individual

If every employee is assessed and promoted according to their abilities and performance, the motivation and performance level of the individual also increases. This is precisely the aim of situational leadership. Taking into account the maturity level of individual team members, both in terms of skills and willingness, promotes individual development, increases employee motivation and leads to a constructive approach to conflicts within the team.

However, managers also face a number of challenges when it comes to situational leadership. They must create consistency, act very flexibly and not lose sight of long-term goals. Successful application of the situational leadership style therefore requires a high degree of flexibility, empathy, communication skills, decision-making ability, coaching skills as well as self-reflection and the ability to take criticism on the part of managers.

With our special coaching offers , we are happy to support you in expanding your leadership qualities and developing the skills that are important for situational leadership.

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