Situational leadership refers to an adaptive form of leadership.  Situational leadership is based on the strategy of encouraging the leaders to weigh various variables within the workplace as well as choosing leadership styles which fits the circumstances and goals of the organization.  Situational leadership is based on Ken Blanchard, a theorist who argues “In the past, a leader was a boss. Today’s leaders can no longer lead solely based on positional power.”  Therefore, situation leadership goes beyond leaders becoming bosses to organizational choice models which influence the development of workgroups and people (Silva, 2014). Thus, this form of leadership enhances adaptability to the existing working environment as well as understanding organizational needs. Situational leadership is based on modifications in the management styles rather than the specific skills of the leader thus suiting organizational requirements.

According to Goleman theory, situational leadership is based on emotional intelligence which is further defined by various styles.  The first style regards to democratic leaders who give their followers vote when making crucial decisions in the organization. This style enhances building optimal conditions as well as creating responsibility and flexibility within groups.  Secondly, situational leadership is defined by coaching leaders who focus on working on individual personal developments to enhance understanding of limits among people making them open to changes within the organization.

According to Blanchard’s theory, situational leadership is based on matching the follower’s maturity and the leader’s styles of leadership. Based on Blanchard theory, ther exist several approaches to situational leadership.  Telling approach involves a leader making decisions which directing employees to what they need to do. Another approach regards participating in the leader through creating teams that supports decision making in an organization (Meier, 2016). In a broad context, situational leadership combines different managerial styles which are tailored to adapt to dynamic changes in the organization. However, some leaders may be flexible than others therefore, situational leadership involves integrating different models that can help leaders to employ tactics that are effective to achieve the desired outcomes of the organization.  According to Fieldler’s theory,  behaviors of leaders tend to be dependent on the favorability of the situation.    In abroad context, situational leadership is determined by factors which determine how a situation can be favorable to a leader.

The leader-member relations is an essential factor as it helps in determining the degree to which a leader can be trusted and liked by followers as well as the willingness of working groups to adhere to the guidance from the leader.  Another critical factor includes position power which determines a leader power by virtue of the position of the organization as well as a degree at which a leader can exert authority on his followers.  The situational leadership can thus be exercised based on the socio-emotional support which the managers provide to his followers. For the success of situational leadership, the managers need to adjust to the dynamic changes in the organization as well as understanding the needs of the employees (Meier, 2016).  Also,  a leader needs to demonstrate core, critical and common competencies which include the ability to diagnose performance readiness of an employee in the completion of specific tasks and ability to communicate and influence followers.  In a nutshell,  situational leadership involves leaders applying different approaches of leadership depending on the readiness levels of groups in an organization. Therefore, situational leadership focuses more on adaptability  in management and leadership approaches as the follower’s readiness directly correlates to the style of leadership for each organization.

References

Silva, A. (2014). What do we really know about leadership?. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 5(4), 1.

Meier, D. (2016). Situational Leadership Theory as a Foundation for a Blended Learning Framework. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(10), 25-30.