Situational Leadership Model ®

Jessica Fields
MBA 634: Quality Management – Winter 2007
Dr. Tom Foster
Brigham Young University
 Agenda – Topics Covered
• Situational Leadership Model defined
• Brainstorming Exercise
• Explanation of Model (Nuts & Bolts)
• How Situation Leadership Model Works
• Real World Example
• Situational Leadership Exercise
• Summary
• Readings List
Situational Leadership Model (SLM)
®

• Developed by Hersey and Blanchard

• A model, not a theory
• Different situations and followers require
different leadership styles
• No one leadership style is appropriate for all
situations and effective leaders adjust their style
to match the situation
• Use the model to determine the situation and
then choose the corresponding leadership style
 Brainstorming Exercise
• Could this tool be used in your firm?
• Think of the many different situations there are
in your job and at your firm.
• List the different classifications of employees.
What different types of management or
leadership do they require?
• When have you notice managers applying
different managerial styles?
 SLM - Nuts & Bolts
• SLM focuses on the relationship between
leaders and followers, as well as potential
leaders and potential followers
• Maturity = the ability and willingness of people
to take responsibility for directing their own
behavior, in relation to the tasks performed
• No perfect leadership style for all situations;
style must be adjusted to meet the development
level of followers
 SLM – Nuts & Bolts cont.
4 Leadership styles 4 Levels of Maturity
– S1: Telling – M1: Low, Immature
– S2: Selling – M2: Low to Moderate
– S3: Participating – M3: Moderate to High
– S4: Delegating – M4: High, Mature

Low Moderate High

4 Levels of Maturity of Followers
M1 M2 M3 M4
Telling Selling Participating Delegating
 SLM – Nuts & Bolts cont.
4 Development Levels
– D1: Low competence, High commitment
– D2: Some competence, Low commitment
– D3: High competence, Variable commitment
– D4: High competence, High commitment

Low Moderate High

Development Levels of Followers
D1 D2 D3 D4
S1: Tell S2:Sell S3: Participate S4: Delegate
 SLM – Nuts & Bolts cont.
Directive Behavior

Participating Q3 Selling Q2
S3: High Relationship S2: High Relationship
Low Task High Task
D3: Able but unwilling D2: Unable but willing
Supportive Behavior

or insecure or confident

Delegating Q4 Telling Q1
S4: Low Relationship S1: Low Relationship
Low Task High Task
D4: Able/competent & D1: Unable & unwilling
willing/confident or insecure
Mature Immature
 How SLM Works
• Steps in SLM Process
– Overview of employee’s tasks
– Assess employee on each task
– Decided on style for each task
– Discuss with employee
– Make a joint plan
– Follow-up, check and adjust
 How SLM Works
• Determine Your Leadership Style
– LASI = Leadership Adaptability and Style
Inventory
– Look at 12 situations and identify responses
– Calculate score and apply to quadrant matrix
– Dominant leadership style
– Supportive leadership style
 SLM in the Real World
• Tool to train managers and leaders
• Has applications in business as well as in
– Education
– Nursing
– Parenting
– Military
– Martial Arts Instruction
 SLM in the Real World - Military
• All branches use SLM as basis for
leadership
– Army: used for training staff officers
– Air Force: uses for training officers and
noncommissioned officers
• Military has clear distinctions between
superiors and subordinates
• Followers will become leaders
SLM in the Real World - Military
• Transactional Leadership
– Long-term leadership style in Army units
– S4-D4 match
• Directive or Delegation Leadership
• Crisis Leadership
• Empowerment of subordinates
• Developing subordinates
Exercise: Style Self-Assessment
• Write down your leadership style
• As a large group or class, make a list of situations
• Make a list of responses for each situation, making sure
to assign one response for each leadership style
• Individually, determine responses for each person in
each situation
• As a group, decide if you agree with each individual’s
self-assessment
• Compare original self-assessment with results of
exercise
– Are there differences?
– Were you surprised by the results?
 Summary
• Effective leaders are flexible and adjust their
style to meet situations and followers’ needs
• Responding to follower’s needs is the surest
way to achieve effectiveness and success
• SLM applies not only to business situations but
also to all interpersonal relationships
• As followers become more self-reliant and
competent, leaders become more hands-off and
delegate more decision-making responsibility
 Summary
• Remember that leadership style is defined by the
perceptions of others
• Leaders can perform self-assessments for determine
not only the needs of their followers but also to
determine their dominate leadership styles
• Base assessment of ability upon proven performance
results; not on what think followers know or should know
• Inflexible leaders only use one leadership style and are
ineffective in situations that require using any of the
other three styles
• SLM has applications beyond managerial leadership
training
 Readings List
• Hersey, Paul and Blanchard, Kenneth. Management of Organizational Behavior:
Utilizing Human Resources (Englewood Cliff, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1982).
• www.12manage.com/methods_blanchard_situational_leadership.html
• Blanchard, Kenneth. “Recognition and Situational Leadership II” Emergency
Librarian. March/April 1997, Vol. 24 Issue 4, p.38.
• Situational Leadership®: Conversations with Paul Hersey. Schermerhorn, John R
Jr. © 2001 Center for Leadership Studies, Inc
• Center for Leadership Studies: www.situational.com
• Ken Blanchard Companies: www.kenblanchard.com
• Situational Leadership. Yeakey, George W.. Military Review, Jan/Feb2002, Vol.
82 Issue 1, p72
• Great Ideas Revisited. Blanchard, Kenneth H.; Hersey, Paul. Training &
Development, Jan96, Vol. 50 Issue 1, p42
• So You Want to Know Your Leadership Style? Henry, Paul; Blanchard, Kenneth
H.. Training & Development Journal, Feb74, Vol. 28 Issue 2, p22