Taking a few steps back to when leadership was first defined, “Stogdill(1974, p.7) pointed out in a review of leadership research, there are almost as many different definitions of leadership as there are people who have tried to define it” (Northouse, p.2). Leadership itself is not as straightforward as people think, and neither is the situational approach, which is a small piece of the puzzle that goes into leadership. As cited in the text, “to be an effective leader requires that a person adapt his or her style to the demands of different situations” (Northouse, p.93).
Instructing more than one person leads to various ways of going about the situation. Individuals vary in their commitment as well as their competence of doing something (Northouse, p.94). Due to the differences that exist amongst individuals, different leadership styles are needed. The first leadership style is high-directive-low supportive. This specific style is used for individuals who already are high in commitment but lack the ability of understanding the specific task (Northouse, p.94-97). This particular level of development may seem frustrating at first. After reading this I cannot help but think back to high school and the photography teacher I had. My instructor in photography was always viewed as intimidating and rude, and once taking the class I knew exactly why. My instructor would not be very supportive of us as students, instead she would instruct us to complete certain task and that was that. She was very to the point and demanding on what we were to complete. Looking back now I have much more respect for this specific instructor. She taught me that being more directive and less supportive would lead me to challenge myself more and want to prove her wrong. Though I do not know if she did this on purpose, I can definitely relate this to the text.
Being high-directive-low supportive is not fitting to all situations and all people of course. Say an individual is not as committed to a certain task, and also lacks the competence in fully understanding and completing the task. This individual would most likely not benefit in my last example, instead this individual would likely benefit in the context of both high-directive and high-supportive (Northouse, p.97). I feel this is more relatable to my work experience in a restaurant. I remember last week we hired a new server, and being a new server is many times challenging at first. This specific employee began to make mistake after mistake in remembering the menu, and became very frustrated. Due to the frustration this employee decided to walk out. This of course is a more extreme example, and giving up many times is not the end result per se. I think this may have been due to the manager who was training this employee and how unsupportive he was. Though he succeeded within being high in directive he did not succeed in being patient and supporting which could be the reason this employee walked out.
Next are those categorized in the D3 category, otherwise known as those who are moderate to highly competent but still question their ability in completing the task (Northouse, p.96). I myself am definitely guilty of this and have been throughout my entire life. For example, I know I have the ability to complete certain tasks at work and how to go about doing it considering I have been at this specific job for three years, yet I still find myself asking questions every now and then. Being in this situation personally made me realize that I sometimes am in need of support more but other times I am more so in need of direction more so.
Saving the best for last, those who are high in both competence in commitment (Northouse, p.96). Those in this specific category are not necessarily in need of support or direction. Therefore the style found most appropriate for these individuals is not giving as much support or direction (Northouse, p.96). These individuals are more self-motivated and already have the ability in doing the task so they are not in need of others pushing them. This of course could change, as for many people flip flop between the different developmental levels, especially on different task.
Due to the fact that not one human being is exactly alike to another makes identifying and handling these leadership styles at times difficult. People may not exactly fit in one specific category or tend to travel between a few more than others. The ability to identify and appropriately tend to the individual leads to a better outcome for both the leader and follower. The importance of the follower needs be taken into account, because without followers there would be no need for leaders.
References
Northouse, Peter, G. (2016) Leadership, Theory, and Practive, 7th ed., SagePublications.