The situational approach emphasizes the situation and how a leader must change their style to fit the demands of different leadership (PSU, WC, L. 5, p. 7, 2020). There are three main competencies of a situational leader: diagnosing, flexibility and partnering. If a leader would like to have a high level of leadership is desired, flexibility is 100% necessary (Kaifi, Noor, Nguyen, Aslami, & Khanfar, 2013). The situational approach is prescriptive not descriptive (PSU, WC, L. 5, p. 7, 2020). There are two types of behavior that are necessary for the situational approach which are directive and supportive. Directive behavior is the extent of which a leader spells out the responsibilities of an individual or group. Supportive behavior is listening, encouraging, facilitating, clarifying and giving emotional support (PSU, WC, L. 5, p. 9, 2020).
The situational approach breaks down leadership styles into four categories: directing, coaching, supporting and delegating. Style 1 (S1) is directing which is a high directive and low supportive style. Coaching (S2) is a high directive and high supportive style. Supporting (S3) is a low directive and high supportive style. Delegating (S4) is a low directive and low supportive style (PSU, WC, L. 5, p. 9, 2020). There are also four developmental levels in the situational approach. Developmental level 1 (D1) is having low competence and a high commitment. D2 is low to some competence and low commitment. D3 is moderate to high competence and variable commitment. D4 is high competence and high commitment (Book).
At the restaurant that I work at, there is a very intense training program for new servers. There are four training servers, or leaders, that run the training program. The training servers have to use directive behaviors to go over the rules and regulations of the restaurant, the responsibilities of being a server at Redstone American Grill, the knowledge of the food menu, the knowledge of the drink menu and training the new servers how to use the Aloha system for placing orders. The training servers also use the supportive behavior by listening to the concerns and questions of the new servers, encouraging them throughout their training shifts, clarifying the menu, the systems used to place orders and any other concerns they are having, and lastly giving the new servers emotional support.
The new servers come to training at different developmental levels, but most come in at D1, throughout the training the new servers will gain the skills and knowledge needed to advance to D3, where they have moderate to high competence but variable commitment levels. It is not until the new server begins to serve on their own where they get to D4 level, high competence and high commitment. The new servers’ commitment is high because it is their serving skills that will influence how much money they will make and their competence is high because of everything they have learned throughout their training.
The training servers at first take on a directive leadership style because they need to address the rules and regulations as well as menus and ordering system. Then they take on the coaching leadership style because they become highly directive and highly supportive such as showing the new servers how to greet tables or how to give a spiel about the specials and the menu. The training server then allows the new server to try and do their own and then giving them constructive criticism and give them support on how to make it better. Then the training servers step into the supporting leadership style, where they show little direction and just support the new server such as allowing them to take a table start to finish, greeting the table, taking the order, putting the order in and closing the check, while the training server just supports them if they have any questions or concerns that they need clarified. Last would be the delegating leadership style which would be little direction and little support. This would take place when the new server is finished training and doing everything on their own with no security blanket.
To conclude, the situational approach is one of the most popular approaches to leadership (PSU, WC, L. 5, p. 7, 2020). It emphasizes directive and supportive behaviors. I have seen first-hand that these behaviors are necessary to train in a restaurant environment. The directive behaviors are important in stating the rules and regulations along with menu knowledge. The supportive behaviors are important to clarify any questions or concerns as well as encouraging the new servers to be the best that they can be.
References:
Kaifi, B. A., Noor, A. O., Nguyen, N.-L., Aslami, W., & Khanfar, N. M. (2013). The Importance of Situational Leadership in the Workforce: A Study Based on Gender, Place of Birth, and Generational Affiliation. Journal of Contemporary Management, 29–40. doi: 10.1107/s0108768107031758/bs5044sup1.cif
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2020). PSYCH 281 Lesson 5: Style and Situational Approaches. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2040131/modules
I think you make a great point regarding the importance of situational leadership being prescriptive and not descriptive. This was a unique characteristic as the situational approach looks more into analyzing the context of a problem in order to determine the type of support or direction needed. It also takes into consideration the influence that leaders, followers and the situation have on determining behavior (PSUWC, 2020). For instance, if there is a problem in a company where a worker is feeling excluded or not valued enough, a leader may have to evaluate the situation, look at what the problem is and then utilize a high supportive style (Northouse, 2016). This way, a leader could listen to the employee’s problems and work one-on-one with them to resolve the issue. As you mention, supportive behavior is all about giving emotional support to followers and encouraging them to voice their opinions and further the discussion in order to find a solution.
I think your example of training at the restaurant you work at is interesting because it accurately depicts the levels of development in the situational approach. When the employees are new, they need to learn the basics of how the restaurant is run, what their responsibilities will be and goals they will need to accomplish. At this point in the training process, if would be important for leaders at the restaurant to establish who is in charge and the type of leader they will be. In addition, this phase is mostly instructional and directional. However, as employees begin to feel more comfortable with memorizing the menu and understand the rules of the restaurants, leaders do not need to be as directional, and can instead focus on forming better interpersonal relationships. After, workers become more comfortable at their new job, and can work effectively and up to the standards set by their boss.
This process of training servers can proceed smoothly if leaders in the restaurant are able to accurately use the situational approach to leadership. In an article from Oregon Business, successful leaders who use this approach are able understand the needs of their employees and do what they can to help them (Gunter, 2019). In addition, leaders need to build trust and give their employees autonomy to make their own decisions. Through this, employees may feel most confident in their abilities and boost productivity. Another important component of this approach is to be flexible in different situations (Gunter, 2019). Some employees, like the ones at the restaurant you work at, may need more direction than others. If this happens, leaders need to be better aware of these needs and make sure they receive the appropriate guidance. This ties into the idea of being an effective coach to employees because leaders must evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each employee and create a strategy that everyone can benefit from. In the case of working at a restaurant, a leader may devise a plan that balances directive behavior and supportive behavior in order to create an environment that promotes a more efficient workplace. Great post!
References
Gunter, A. (2019). Situational Leadership. Retrieved from Oregon Business: https://www.oregonbusiness.com/article/sponsored/item/18801-situational-leadership
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, Inc.
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2020). PSYCH 484: Lesson 5: Style and Situational Approaches. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2045005/modules/items/28166589
I have personally never worked in the restaurant business but it always seems like such a hard job to me. The amount of training you explained that the new servers go through seemed so hard to me. This confirms my thoughts of thinking it was a touch job. I will say though, that your company seems to be doing it right using the situational approach while training. It is also nice to hear that they do a lot of hands on training. I cannot stand the jobs that you start on your first day and they just sit you down in front of a computer and leave you there all day. I truly believe that the best training comes from someone guiding you and teaching you along the way which you described in the levels of training you need to go through especially along side the leaders training the new servers. I think you did an excellent job explaining how the situational approach relates to your job and how it can be used in based on what the new hire needs.