113 Architecture questions - What does "situational leadership" mean?
What does "situational leadership" mean?
Managing employees properly is not easy. In addition to motivation, criticism must also be given, but this must not lead to frustration. Overchallenging is just as damaging as underchallenging. So how do you approach this task correctly?
The methodology of "situational leadership" was developed back in the 1979s by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard. It assumes that it is not just the usual behaviour and personality of the manager that leads to success, but individual leadership depending on the complexity of the task and the experience of the employee. The leadership style must therefore be "situational".
The simplified model describes four phases:
1. low experience: a detailed task-orientated leadership style is important - the manager must "instruct and direct".
2. low to medium experience: a task- and relationship-orientated management style is correct - it can be described as "support and train".
3. medium to high level of experience: the management style should be strongly supportive but less task-orientated - "coaching" is a good description.
4. high level of experience: the employee is given responsibility - the task can be "delegated" in a positive sense.
It should be noted that the selection of the right leadership behaviour depends not only on the personality of the employee, but also on the task at hand. An employee who can be assigned a certain task, including responsibility, may need specialist support for another task. If an experienced employee is underestimated for a task that they can do independently and is managed like a beginner, they will not feel properly valued. However, if the same employee receives too little support with another task that they are not good at, stress will arise.
So two things are important: know your employees and the task! Then lead them to success according to the situation.
If you are aware of these factors, you can continuously adapt your management style. Sometimes you only realise afterwards why one task worked well and another less well. But you can learn from this realisation!
