(Photo source: Gallup Business Journal, 2013)
Situational leadership hit home for me. One thing I have always valued in leadership is someone who knows when to support, direct, coach, and delegate. Being inexperienced in the middle of a chaotic situation beyond your purview, nothing is worse than a boss going “well, what do you think we should do?”. I want to know my leadership can react under pressure and take control of a situation if needed. It’s reassuring, builds trust, and teaches skills. On the other hand, a leader should know when to step into a supportive or coaching role to further your development and then ask the question “what do you think we should do?”. Lastly, the art form of delegating is vital to furthering professional development and providing a rewarding work experience for employees. There is a time for all of it and different situations call for different approaches; this is the essence of situational leadership. However, the text didn’t really hit on techniques to calibrate your radar and know when to do what (Northouse, 2013). I’ve had the privilege of working with great people that seamlessly demonstrated this type of leadership. This topic reminded me of one of my mentors, a 45-year veteran of our company who’s wisdom and skill continue to impact my life and leadership journey.
The challenge with situational leadership is constantly reading (or diagnosing) employee status and development. My mentor had a knack for knowing when to do what. Such as give me challenges and support me, even when I didn’t think I was ready. This level of understanding requires a leader to build rapport with subordinates and maintain the health of that relationship throughout their tenure. You must understand what your employees are capable of and how they are developing not only in their positions, but also professionally. Leading from behind a computer screen will not facilitate situational leadership (or any leadership for that matter). My mentor used a tactic he called “management on patrol”, it sounds negative, but it was in fact very positive and contributed the success of our organization and personnel. At some point in the day, he would leave his desk and visit each department, or go on patrol. He would chitchat with employees – sometimes about nothing in particular and other times discussing ideas or concerns within the organization. If talking weren’t possible, he would simply sit in the room and watch people work. I wouldn’t realize until later in my career the utility and value of this and I never really had a name for it until reading through the chapter on situational leadership. The patrol was his technique for keeping in tune with the varying situations in the organization, and maintaining rapport with his subordinates. This is how he knew when employees were ready for challenges or needed a bit of direction. Without his “management on patrol” he probably wouldn’t have heard about half the problems employees faced, learned in-depth personal characteristics, or stages of development. He would hear of issues that he either shook his head in supportive agreement with the employees approach, or directed them in how to fix it. Others he would lead along the path to the correct resolution. His technique was brilliantly simple and effective. This is just one example of the many ways he enriched our work environment using the situational approach. (PSU WC, Lesson 5, p.15)
To conclude, the key to successfully utilizing the concepts of the situational leadership approach is to find your own technique for staying in tune with situations and personnel at your organization. Whether it’s “management on patrol” or not don’t do it from behind your desk… this is something that requires human interaction.
References:
Gallup Business Journal. (2013). Photo, team interaction from manufacturing stream. Retrieved 17 February 2013 from http://businessjournal.gallup.com/tag/manufacturing.aspx
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. ISBN 9781452203409
Pennsylvania State University World Campus. (2013). PSYCH 485 Lesson 5: Style and Situational Approaches. Retrieved 17 February 2013 from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/sp13/psych485/001/content/01_lesson/01_page.html
CHRISTOPHER STEVEN LANNEN says
I can agree with you that it can be disconcerting when a supervisor asks a subordinate what he/she should do. However, I think I would be remiss if I didn’t interject the supposition that sometimes it is both necessary and completely appropriate. Let’s face it: very often there is “new blood” brought into organizations and these individuals are put into positions of power and authority. Outside hiring is extremely common today.
These “young gun’ leaders are often charged with managing a group of far more seasoned and experienced workers than they are. This is particularly the case if said leader has come from not just another division of the same company, but fresh from school or from a different company or different industry entirely. That being said, one must have the wisdom to recognize what he doesn’t know, but also realize he has the resources (in this case, his subordinates) to learn what he doesn’t know. Essentially, a leader must sometimes defer to experience. Far too often I’ve seen bosses who feel tapping the knowledge of a subordinate makes them look weak or incompetent.
Quite the contrary. Being having the wherewithal to concede your pride for the sake of organizational goals makes you a good leader, an frequently evokes respect from those you lead.