It Depends...

Different situations call for different leadership styles. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard proposed the Situational Leadership Theory in 1969, suggesting that those in leadership roles must assess, adapt, and adjust themselves to fit the situation. The theory features four categories of leadership behaviors: telling/directing (high directive, low support), selling/coaching (high directive, high supporting), participating/supporting (low directive, high supportive), and delegating (low directive, low supportive). To be effective, leaders have to tailor themselves to each subordinate’s maturity and development level.

Even though the theory does not have as extensive research attention as other theories, it is quite compelling. At work, I’ve observed this theory in action first hand by one of, if not the best manager I’ve ever worked with. For now, we’ll call him Tony to maintain confidentiality. Tony adapts himself exceptionally to each situation he deals with. He treats each situation individually, no matter how similar or different the situation is from ones he has dealt with in the past. By doing so, the results that Tony produces are authentic and genuine. The outcomes are never “cookie-cutter” answers and they are always sincere. Tony applies this strategy to his employees as well. At first glance, you may think that this approach is unfair and that every employee should be treated exactly the same. However, what produces the most effective results is quite the contrary. Tony treats each of his employees uniquely. After all, we are all different people with distinctive skills, personalities, strengths, weaknesses, and attitudes. Tony coaches those who needs coaching, directs those who needs directing, supports those who needs supporting, and delegates those who needs delegating. He adapts and "matches" himself to each employee to maximize everyone’s potential, producing extraordinary results.