Situational approach has received much criticism about this theory since only a few research studies have been done to justify the assumption and proposition of the approach (Northouse, 2016). Most of the studies about situational approach are not published and are questioned by the strength of the basis of this approach. Lacking the study about this approach, people raise their concern about the validity and reliability of the theory. Since the author does not explain the ambiguous conceptualization and “how commitment is combined with competence to form the four distinct levels of development” (Northouse, 2016). After all the criticism and lack of recognition like that, is situational approach useful in real-life?
Despite the lack of research studies, situational approach is still widely used in real-life. Situation approach indicates that based on different situations, leaders need to change their leading styles to fit with the situations. The strength of the situational approach is that “it has the history of usefulness in the marketplace” (Northouse, 2016). Hersey and Blanchard (1993) “reported that it has been a factor in training programs of more than 400 of the Fortune 500 companies. This sounds really true when considering real-life applications. It is true not only to leadership style but to anything in life. If there is a problem, we need to find the way to solve it by being flexible and adaptive to the situation. Life is spontaneous so we could not know what will happen in the future. The situational approach points out that leaders need to be ready for any situation that happens in the future.
In addition, the situational approach is practical and easy to use. The situational approach is straightforward. It emphasizes the flexibility of the leadership to based on the situations. The leaders cannot be based on one single leading style but they need to combine and adjust it in different situations to get the best out of it. “Effective leaders are those who can change their own style based on the goal requirements and the followers’need, even in the middle of the project” (Northouse, 2016). The goal of the situational approach is to find out different and unique needs of the followers and all deserve our needs to help them improve better.
Indeed, the situational approach might not have a lot of scientific studies for it but it is practical and necessary in real-life. I would recommend a situational approach since it is flexible and adaptive which is necessary in leadership styles. Situational approach would help the leader to better prepare for any situations and problems that happen in the future.
Reference
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. ISBN 9781483317533
It would be interesting to know if you can think of any times where the Situational Leadership Approach has applied to you. I’ll share one example from my experience to add some context. I work for one of the Fortune 500 companies who incorporates the Situational Leadership approach leadership training. While the research does not justify the assumptions about the Situational Leadership approach, understanding it has been extremely helpful to me as a supervisor and manager.
You mention Northouse’s point that the approach does not explain the weight of competence and commitment throughout the four development levels (Northhouse, 2016, p. 100). In my experience following the best practice of regularly reassessing developmental levels of individuals on a team is the key to understanding which approach to take in leadership.
As a supervisory, I worked with an employee who was extremely knowledgeable in her role. Based on her knowledge, she was accountable to for putting best practices in place for her peers and training them. I deferred to her when questions came up about her responsibilities because she did the work for over 15 years. I never worked in her role. When it came to her regularly assigned tasks, she was steadily in the developmental level four (D4), both willing and able/competent and committed. (PSU WC L5). As a result, I maintained a delegating approach with her.
When one of her peers was out of the office for an extended period needed to add new tasks to her workload. This needed to be done for continuation of the task and efficiency in handling. Instead of having one peer back up another as needed, we implemented a rotational task list for everyone in the role so there was efficiency and familiarity in handling instead of having to re-learn the task every time a back-up was needed. The change shifted the super star employee into developmental level three (D3) (PSU WC L5). She was unwilling to commit to the task rotation. She was competent at all tasks, but struggled to re-prioritize throughout the day as needed. This change shifted me into coaching mode to help her find a balance of flow for handling her tasks.
Based on my experience, the Situational Leadership approach is effective and spelling out the exact level of commitment and competence to shift approaches is not required. What is required is being in tune with employee developmental levels and avoiding assumptions that they do not change. They do, and sometimes more often then one would expect.
References:
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications
Pennsylvania State University (2020). Leadership in work. Module 9: Team Leadership. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2075467/modules/items/30110430
.