...CRITICAL REVIEW OF SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP THEORY Situational Leadership Theory is arguably the most widely known and practiced theory of leadership and managerial effectiveness. In this essay, the origins and fundamentals of the theory are considered, as well as the available evidence that supports or contradicts the its validity. Background Situational Leadership Theory as presented by Hersey and Blanchard developed from the work of J. W. Reddin’s 3-Dimensional Management Style Theory. That theory hypothesizes the importance of a manager’s relationship orientation and task orientation in conjunction with effectiveness (Reddin 1967, 8). From the interplay of these dimensions, Reddin proposes a variety of management styles and theorizes that effectiveness as a manager can be explained as a function of matching a leader’s style to a specific situation. However, his theory does not specify whether certain situational characteristics could be unequivocally incorporated into a predictive model (Vecchio 1987, 444). From Reddin’s suggestion that a leader’s effectiveness varies according to style, Hersey and Blanchard proposed a life-cycle theory of leadership. According to this theory, degrees of task orientation and relationship orientation are to be examined in conjunction with the maturity of a follower or group of followers in order to account for leader effectiveness (Hersey and Blanchard 1969, 29). The main principle of the life-cycle theory is that as the...
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...Situational Leadership Theory and Its Contributions to Effective Organizational Change In like manner to humans, organizations change and grow. For instance, the Management Team consulting business identified seven stages of change: New Venture, Expansion, Professionalization, Consolidation, Diversification, Institutionalization, and Decline (“Stages of,” n.d.). Successful transition happens only with appropriate infrastructure; this includes leadership. How does an organization ensure that it can move forward proactively and positively in the face of these organizational changes? In other words, what type of leadership will help an organization most effectively navigate these changes in whichever stage they find themselves? Two theories of leadership provide possibilities: Trait and Situational. However, situational leadership theory (SLT) is the better one for addressing changes and challenges in an organization, due to its focus on the relationship between leaders and employees. Ironically, trait leadership studies can provide valuable insight into the leader component in SLT. This paper begins with an exploration of the basic tenets of the two theories. From this foundation, it explores the importance of the leadership-employee relationship, advantages of SLT, limits/challenges of SLT, and recommendations on how best to utilize SLT for organizational change. Basic Tenets of the Two Theories Trait and Situational theories of leadership provide two different views into...
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...exception Correct • 2 A contingency theory that contains mediating variables is o leadership substitutes theory o situational leadership theory o cognitive resource theory XXX multiple-linkage model Correct • 3 Which of the following is a characteristic of a positive charismatic? o Dependency on the leader o Centralized decision making by the leader XXX Devotion to ideology not personal identification o Information is restricted Correct • 4 One unique characteristic of followers in leadership theory is o skills and expertise o traits XXX task commitment and effort o confidence and optimism Correct • 5 Ideological leaders will develop when the leader o makes a rational appeal to followers XXX appeals to shared values o appeals to emotion o has particular expertise Correct • 6 Effective transformational leaders o select subordinates who will be loyal and uncritical o delegate most decisions to individuals or self-managed teams XXX use a combination of transformational and transactional behaviors o challenge strongly held values of followers to get their attention Correct • 7 Which statement about transformational and charismatic leadership is most accurate? o Charismatic leaders are more effective in business organizations o Both types of leadership are effective in any situation XXX Charisma is a necessary ingredient in transformational leadership o Both types of leadership involve the same underlying processes ...
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...Leadership Approach Paper LDR/531 February 25, 2013 Leadership Approach A leader has the ability to lead and influence a group of people to follow in his or her direction to achieve organizational goals or in other words, getting people to want to do what you want them to do rather than just getting them to do what you want them to. The purpose of this paper is to explore the situational leadership theory as an approach to studying leadership and discuss the strength and weaknesses of this approach and how the theory relates to real-world scenarios. The situational leadership theory is an approach to studying leadership and suggests that there is not a one size fit all when leading a group of people. Hersey and Blanchard (1977) proposed a contingency theory that specifies the appropriate type of leadership behavior for different levels of subordinate “maturity” in relation to the work. A high-maturity subordinate has both the ability and confidence to do a task, whereas a low-maturity subordinate lacks ability and self-confidence (Yukl, p. 233, 2010). The theory identifies the appropriate leadership behaviors when confronted with subordinates who are at different levels of maturity in relation to the task at hand. The level of subordinates’ maturity is divided into four quadrants, M1 to M4. (M1)– This leadership approach is when the followers have low desire and ability to complete the task at hand. The followers avoid doing...
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...Outcomes – Leadership • Discuss the trait theories of leadership • Explain the behavioral theories for understanding leadership • Describe Fiedler’s contingency model for leading • Outline the Hersey and Blanchard situational leadership theory • Describe the characteristics of the charismatic leader • Contrast the differences between transactional and transformational leaders • Gain a greater understanding of one’s own leadership style through self-assessment Leadership is the art and science of getting the job done through the willing efforts of others. The essence of leadership is to influence behavior. Overview We will be looking at the leadership phenomenon from four areas of theory and research. • Trait theory of leadership • Behavioral theories of leadership • Contingency model of leadership • Contemporary models of leadership Leadership can be explained by exploring these four different approaches. Trait Theory – Trait theory is based on an individual’s personal attributes as a leader. Trait theories seek to identify such traits such as personality, social, physical or intellectual traits that will identify leaders. Six traits have been identified as a requirement for leadership. They are: • energy, ambition, and drive • the desire to lead • honesty and integrity • self-confidence • intelligence – cognitive ability • job related knowledge Behavioral Theories – Behavioral...
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...career plan (refer the Appendix 2), there are two leadership theories will be identified, situational leadership and transformational leadership; which can help Jiamin improve the lack skills of working as a employee and to obtain the personal and career goals. In 1969, Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard published the first edition situational leadership, named “life Cycle Theory of Leadership; and during the mid-1970s, it was renamed “situational leadership theory” (Graeff 1997). According to the task behavior and the relationship behavior that between leaders and followers, Hersey and Blanchard defined four styles in the situational leadership theory (Hersey & Blanchard, 1977). The first one is Telling; means the leaders has a high directive to underling, but offer a low support. The second one is Selling, which instead of the leader is high directive and high supportive. If leaders are low directive and high supportive, it is named “Participating”. “Delegating” means leaders are low directive and low supportive, thus employees can use their inventive powers. Meanwhile, in term of the ability and willing of employees, they also put forward the corresponding Maturity levels include four stages to the four leadership styles (Avery & Ryan, 2002). For instance, if employee who belong “able to do, and willing to do the task”, it will refer the “Delegating” leadership style. Applying the situational leadership to the facts, this theory will help Jiamin to fix the weakness that refers...
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...Situational Leadership Approach in Organizations Trina J. Hill LDR 531 - Week 2 January 22, 2013 Dr. Devona Smith-Fink Situational Leadership Approach in Organizations Management theorists Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard developed the situational leadership approach. This methodology supports the notion that there is not one leadership style more important or ideal than another. Rather, the leader must apply an adaptive manner by judging the impact of contextual information along the path of leadership processes. Military organizations have recognized the importance of the contextual factors involved in the situational leadership approach. The Situational Life Cycle Theory of Leadership The theory requires the leader to examine the maturity level of their subordinates and fuse the task-oriented and relations-oriented behavior. Leadership style is also emphasized; and a delicate balance with maturity and style materializes to successfully lead based on the situation. Hersey and Blanchard modeled four leadership styles: telling, selling, participating and delegating with four maturity levels: low, medium (low skills), medium (high skills), and high maturity. “Four degrees of maturity (quadrants M1-M4) are distinguished… segments of a continuum ranging from immature to mature” (Yukl, 2010 p 233). The cycle is progressive as relationships and behaviors are directed, coached, delegated and supported from leader to subordinate, as exhibited in the figure. A high-maturity...
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...1.0 Introduction A problem of leadership is clearly identified in the case study concerning the company OJuice. According to Bennis and Nanus (1985) a cited in Silverthorne and Wang (2001), in most of the case, a lack of leadership or an inefficient leadership model leads to high risks of failure for an organisation. The management problem relevant to OJuice is based on a leadership problem, which conducts to incomprehension between leader and employees, but also to an absence of creativity, which makes the company uncompetitive and outdated compare to the competitors. McLaurin (2006) defined the notion of leadership as the action of interact with minimum two people in a group to organise and fix a situation related to the wants and visions of the members. Daft and Noe (2001) as cited in McLaurin (2006) explained that this notion involves influence and guidance on members to reach objectives but only if the decision-making reflects the leader’s and members’ desire. If not, Anderson (1992) as cited in Silverthorne and Wang (2001) claimed that the leaders who do not understand their employees are called “non-adaptive leaders” and are less efficient in fast moving and growing structures than “highly adaptive leaders” (p.400). Hersey and Blanchard (1982) as cited in Blank, Weitzel and Green (1990) argued that “less adaptive leaders” don’t help to create an ambiance where members respect them and are able to work together, which, reported by Terry (1960) as cited in Hambleton and...
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...of American college basketball. They share a number of records that remained unbeatable for a long time and even now it is considered as a huge achievement. Following is a brief account of their leadership styles and how effective they were so that one can understand the list achievements they share for a period of 30 years. Discussion Coach Knight began his career in the Army as coach to west point team. Later on his career took him to Indiana where at Indiana University; he coached his way to stardom. His recorf of 31-1 wins-losses was a straight record for the 1975 and in 1976, his team won every game of the season. What made him such a successful coach were his principles on discipline and hard work. He had a reputation of cursing and shouting at his players and even man-handle them at few occasions which landed him into trouble as well. In February 2003, he earned his 800th victory and that placed him in the hall of fame for best coaches of all times. If we look at his leadership style, his ability to handle stress as well as to instil it in his players was a factor that put him on the top. He was task oriented according to the fielder’s contingency model and derived success out of players by putting them under high- stress conditions. If we talk about situational leadership model II, he has S1 Telling style that is described as communication via one-way and there is no emotional support of any kind. At the same time, he tell that what to perform, how to perform, when...
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...Learning theories Constance Lee Ashford University 625 June 29, 2013 Learning theories Effective leadership is one of the essential features of any organization. If the right leadership is not present, then the organization will suffer much. This is a true statement because in order for any organization to be successful and effectively compete against their competitors, the employees have to know what direction to go and what to do which is exactly what leadership is. According to Kendrick (2011), “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Any individual within a group or an organization who wields the most influence over others, a leader is a person who sways a group of people towards the achievement of a goal. It has been said that a leadership is effective when the individuals and the employees of the company trust their leader and thus are eager to achieve the predetermined goals and objectives. Leadership is a complex process but a good leader can influences others to accomplish a mission, task, or objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. There are many characteristics of good leaderships and here are a few: Ambition and energy, the desire to lead, honesty and integrity, self-confidence intelligence, and knowledge of the job. Trait Theory, which focuses on the quantifiable measurement of personality traits, or distinguishable characteristics that define a person. Trait theory assumes that people...
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...Situational Leadership John Barry Organizational Leadership Situational Leadership The purpose of this paper is to identify the applications and effectiveness of the Situational Approach in Leadership. Leadership is a method by which one individual impacts others toward the achievement of group or organizational goals ("Leadership is a process," 2013, para. 1). A leader’s capability to affect others based on a diversity of factors other than his or her proper authority or position. Paul Hersey, a professor, developed situational Leadership in 1977 and Ken Blanchard, a leadership specialist who wrote "The One Minute Manager" focuses on more than the leader. Instead, a leader's actions depend on the condition and the subordinates. The model, which is considerably flexible to every condition or culture, provides a structure that leaders can use to evaluate an individual’s Performance Readiness Level to execute a specific task. The understanding behaviors are behaviors “to which a leader is likely to maintain personal relationships between himself and the members of his group by opening up channels of communication, delegating responsibility and giving subordinates an opportunity to use their potential” (Hersey & Blanchard, 1981, p. 35). In this approach, the leader should determine the circumstances and get used to his or her leadership approach to suit the specified task, accepting that the method may not essentially function in a dissimilar situation. Hersey...
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...Leadership Models Essay Abstract It is not possible to reflect every aspect of each theory, due to the complexities of the models and the wide-ranging opinions of scholars that have studied each concept over many years. However, the purpose of this paper is to discuss four leadership models that are not only interesting but will support growth to those aspiring to become scholars, practitioners and leaders in a particular field of study. These theories were selected to provide information and to offer a review of the characteristics and main points of significance of each theory. The following models will be examined: Transformational leadership, Transactional leadership, Situational leadership and Charismatic leadership. It is important to look at each model separately to understand and define the uniqueness of each of the theories. In addition, to providing definitions for each model, a brief summary will state general similarities. The summation will also indicate that each of the leadership theories is unique with a particular purpose and outcome. Leadership Models Essay Many leadership models have accumulated for as long as there have been leaders. To determine the characteristic associated with leadership styles and the relationship to the zeitgeist some theorists have defined leadership into attribute approaches and periods. “The scientific study of leadership can be roughly divided into three periods: the trait period from around...
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...Studying Leadership LDR/531 March 26, 2012 Studying Leadership Leadership is a vital part in any organization. Although there is not one set definition when it comes to leadership, words that are often associated with leadership include guidance, facilitator, and structure (Yukl, 2010). “After a comprehensive review of the leadership literature, Stogdill (1974, p. 259) concluded that ‘there are almost as many definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define the concept.’” (Yukl, 2010, p. 2). As convoluted as this concept may be, it is undeniable that such a complex behavior is not an easy task. Thus, there are several different approaches to studying leadership. Among these approaches is the situational approach. Situational Approach The situational leadership theory, developed by Dr. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard, focuses on the importance of contextual factors that manipulate leadership practices. “Major situational variables include the characteristics of followers, the nature of the work performed by the leader’s unit, the type of organization, and the nature of the external environment” (Yukl, 2010, p. 14). According to the situational leadership theory, the style of leadership that should be used is based on the maturity level of the followers. There are four types of maturity levels that range from high maturity to low maturity. Based on the maturity level of the group, there are four leadership styles that are appropriate: telling...
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...Abstract In leadership there are many methods to triumph over a task or challenge. In the first case study there is a significantly high failure rate among students. The leader is tasked by redesigning the curriculum, assessments, and participation. With this case study a situational leadership approach is done. This essay will describe the self assessment of the writer situational leadership style and the application of situational leadership theory. Situational leadership plays an important role for researchers in organizations to effectively evaluate at leader in a certain position. Jesuıno (2005) asserted that, "several definitions of leadership excess partly that in addition to the concept of leader leadership there should be understating the concept of power and authority", (as cited in Furtado, Batista, & Francisco, 2011, p.1048) In a situational leadership model there are four leadership styles that are defined; telling, selling, participating, and delegating. For the writer is important to understand what type of leader he is so that he will be able to lead effectively and provide the best leadership possible. For the writer, by understanding the different situational leadership roles the writer will be able to incorporate different skills and knowledge to any task and or challenge that is needed by the organization or company. This essay will describe the self assessment of the writer's situational leadership style and application of situational leadership theory...
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...models of leadership have a great deal to offer the modern-day manager. High levels of simplicity and ease of use help the lessons of trait and behavior based theories to be practical, even when compared against more developed modern systems. Likewise, the simple common sense of any of the situational based approaches might help a manager to re-cage their eyes on difficult problems. Being the foundation of modern theories, the traditional methods had less existing material to draw on, so their differences are often extreme—but their similarities are equally visible when considering how they differ from the modern systems. The two oldest schools of traditional leadership theory are trait based and behavior based. Outlined below, the differences between these two styles lie in their focus, either on behaviors or “the personal traits that [differentiate] leaders” (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2013, p.464). Admittedly, many of the more complex traditional frameworks “[go] beyond traits and behaviors” (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2013, p.474), but we can still see a delineation in complexity arising from the number of variables each framework takes into account. Ultimately, the newest of the traditional theories attempts to either unify or reject the conflicting elements of the previous two systems through the idea that there are no true best practices in leadership, adopting a situational orientation instead. Before going further, it’s worth elaborating on the idea that trait theory centers upon...
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