Situational leadership model and its applications

¶ … Leadership Model

The origin and effectiveness of the situational leadership model

The modern day society is extremely challenging and dynamic, both for the average individual as well as for the professional. The dynamics of the contemporaneous world are due to a wide array of social, economic, political, technological and otherwise changes, such as the advent of technology or the opening of boundaries. And within the business community, these challenges are intense and they continually pressure the managers to develop in order to keep up.

The managerial position within today's climate is one of the most difficult positions and this is due to the countless changes and challenges which affect the business community. Examples in this sense include the transformation of the staff members from the force operating the machines into the organizations' most valuable assets, the incremental demands of the customer base, the incremental pressures from the part of the shareowners, the need to be technologically developed, the mounting pressure towards environmental stability or the growing competition within both national and international markets.

In order to cope with these tremendous challenges, organizational managers develop and implement a wide array of strategic courses of action. The question lies however in the means in which managers are able to combine their strategies and attitudes in order to respond to the differentiated requirements. One particular answer in this sense is constituted by situational leadership. In a most simplistic formulation, situational leadership theory argues that effective management implies the construction and implementation of specific approaches to solving problems. No universally available solution exists, but the solution has to be developed in such a manner that it addresses the main issues of the situation, such as the task at hand, the maturity of the group which has to be managed or the expected outcomes.

The aim of this research document then is that of assessing situational leadership and revealing its origin and effectiveness. An onion ring methodology would be used in this direction, and the results of the research process indicate an increased level of effectiveness of the situational leadership model.

2. Thesis statement

In light of the context presented throughout the introductory section, a question is being posed relative to the ability of the situational leadership model to support managers in better answering the challenges of the modern day society. In a more direct formulation, the thesis states the following:

Modern day managers are faced with incremental challenges at the level of both internal as well as external environments. The situational leadership model allows them to better respond to these challenges.

3. Background to the study

The idea for the study was raised by the realization of the multitude of elements which impact the modern day business society and the curiosity of how organizational leaders respond to the emergent challenges. The background is constituted by a series of previous works focused specifically on the dynamics and rapidity of change in the business community, understood as the totality of social, cultural, technological, economic, political and otherwise elements which impact the business community. Some relevant examples in this sense include:

Changes in the means in which the populations perceive the importance of environmental stability. Traditionally, the populations would engage in high levels of consumerism without regard to the impacts these had upon the natural environment. Today however, the customers are becoming more environmentally concerned and they as such force economic agents to pollute less, to produce items which are less environmentally damage, to dispose of their waste in a more environmentally responsible manner and so on.

Changes in the purchasing powers of individuals. Before the 2007 economic crisis unfolded, the purchasing powers of the populations were on the rise. As the crisis takes its tool however, the people are less able to make their purchases, and this subsequently impacts a multitude of industries which depend on the purchasing powers of individuals. This basically means that economic agents need to retail their products and services at lower prices, which in turn generates the necessity for internal process of change within the organizations.

The metamorphosis of the staff members from the force operating the machines into the most valuable organizational assets. This transformation forces organizational leaders to better motivate and retain the staffs who reveal the ability to support the organization reach its overall objectives.

In light of these new challenges, as well as in light of several other challenges and environmental changes which have been addressed in previous research endeavors, a question arises as to the means in which economic agents overcome the challenges.

4. Literature review

In order for the research project to be relevant, it has to commence with the explanation of the situational leadership concept. Subsequently, it would also explain the origins of the idea as well as the effectiveness as revealed in the literary sources.

4.1. The situational leadership model

The concept of situational leadership was created specifically to strengthen the importance to focus on the various challenges with which economic agents are faced. In other words, it argues that different challenges need to be addressed in different manners. This very differentiated means of managing the different challenges is understood as the one size which does not fit all (Hersey, 2004). In other words, managers need to develop specific strategic endeavors which answer to the precise requirements of each problem. And these specific strategies have to be adopted for particular situations are not only adequate within the business community, but also in the totality of domains, including fields such as medical care or education (Blachard and Johnson, 1983).

For a more adequate understanding of the concept however, it is important to reveal several explanations as they are presented in the specialized literature. In their Management of organizational behavior, authors and parents of the situational leadership concept simply argue that "it is essential to treat different subordinates differently, and to vary behavior as the situation changes" (Hershey and Blanchard, 1969).

Fred C. Lunenburg and Allan C. Ornstein (2007) state that the situational leadership identifies two specific leadership styles:

Task behavior and Relationship behavior.

In terms of the task behavior leadership style, the two authors argue that this is revealed by a technical approach in which the manager identifies and delegates the responsibilities, as well as communicates the means, deadlines and other criteria according to which the tasks are to be developed and completed. Secondly, in terms of the relationship behavior of situational leadership, this is characterized by the emotional stimulation of the employee in the meaning that the employee-employer relationship is a dual one in which the manager listens to the employee and integrates his opinion in the organizational processes.

The success of the situational leadership style however depends greatly on the maturity of the followers. Specifically, the model is constructed around a highly sensitive variable of followers' maturity. The maturity of the individuals is assessed through the lenses of experience and maturity on the job, as well as the personal psychological maturity of the employees. The final strategic effort is to be developed and implemented in accordance to the maturity of the followers. For instance, if the maturity of the employees is low, the strategic effort would integrate clearly defined tasks and a reduced level of relationship among employees and between employees and their leader. In the opposite situation however, when the levels of employee maturity are increased, the strategy can be characterized by lower levels of structure and emotional support (Marriner-Tomey, 2004).

4.2. The origins of the situational leadership model

The situational leadership model was developed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard, each detailing their theories in their own literary works. Paul Hersey is for instance a professor and he detailed the situational leadership theory in his book entitled Situational leader. Ken Blanchart is a recognized leadership professional who detailed the situational leadership model in his book entitled the one minute manager. The idea first came to the authors when they were working together to write the book Management of organizational behavior. At that time, the model was introduced as "the life cycle theory of leadership," which was eventually renamed into "the situational leadership theory" (Hersey and Blanchard, 1969).

As the parents of the theory have been identified, it is important to also identify the theoretical origins of the concept. This purpose is well served by Fred C. Lunenburg and Allan C. Ornstein (2007), who explain that the theory "is an extension of Tannenbaum and Schmidt's leadership styles continuum, Blake and Mouton's managerial grid and Reddin's three dimensional leadership styles [,] following the lead of the earlier Ohio State leadership studies."

4.3. The effectiveness of the situational leadership model

Bernard L. Erven at the Ohio State University argues that the implementation of the situational leadership style is a highly efficient means of increasing a leader's ability to manage a firm or a group of people. From his standpoint, managers are either autocratic either democratic. Each of the two approaches to leadership has advantages and disadvantages. But when they are integrated with situational leadership, the advantages are maximized while the disadvantages are minimized. Specifically, situational leadership allows managers to be autocratic when the situation requires it, while it also supports them in being democratic, when the situation requires it. This materializes in high levels of effectiveness. Erven argues: "An alternative to being an autocratic or democratic leader is to be a situational leader. Situational leaders are able to adapt their leadership style to fit their followers and situations in which they are working. […] Managers using situational leadership will make conscious choices between their use of directive behavior and supportive behavior. In directive behavior, they are relying on providing structure, control and close supervision for the people with whom they are working. In supportive behavior, they are relying on praise, two-way communication, and facilitating the work of their employees and co-workers."

5. Methodology

In testing the validity of the initially stated thesis, the onion ring methodology would be used. This methodology is constructed on layers and the analogy to the vegetable reveals that it is necessary to complete one level in the research process in order to move on to the following level.

The onion ring methodology is constructed around six distinctive elements, as follows -- the research philosophies, the research approaches, the research strategies, the research choices, the time horizons and the research techniques and procedures. The research philosophies represent the first external layer, whereas the techniques and procedures sit at the core of the research onion. The structure of the research methodology is best revealed in the diagram below:

Source: Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2009

A specific element which has to be mentioned about the onion ring methodology is that it is extremely flexible as it allows the researcher to redefine the terms of his research at each step. The selection of the research philosophy or other research elements is not strict and pegged to given models, but it is flexible and given by the features of the research endeavor. In the case of the research philosophies for instance, this research uses the positivism philosophy as this best represents the needs of the current research endeavor. This very flexibility and adaptability of the research methodology constitutes a real life application of the situational model by which the research choices are adapted to the research requirements. This feature of the research methodology has constituted the main reason as to why the onion ring was selected to test the validity of situational leadership's effectiveness within the modern day business community. At a specific level, the following decisions have been made regarding the methodological process:

The adoption of a positivist research philosophy which approaches the research topic with objectivism and assesses it through unbiased lenses to form conclusions and theses

The selection of the deductive research approach as this commences at a given theory -- the thesis mentioned in the initial sections of the paper -- and strives to test its validity

The choice of using a survey as the main research strategy due to ease of usage, the fact that it constitutes a great source of information, and also the fact that it allows comparison between various responses and respondents

The research choice of using a dual research method, formed from the research of the specialized literature and the survey

From the standpoint of the time horizons, the study would be a cross sectional one in which several dimensions of the research topic are assessed within a restricted time frame

Finally, from the angle of the research techniques and procedures, these fall under the incidence of both qualitative and well as quantitative approaches. The combination of qualitative and quantitative methods is called triangulation and it reveals the benefits of maximizing the advantages of the two methods and minimizing the disadvantages

6. Data collection and analysis

The survey would be issued onto a sample formed from 50 managers in front line and middle management. All these professionals activate in the local community and serve purposes in various industries, including manufacturing, retailing or other services. The questionnaire was offered to the managers. Some of them answered it on the spot, while others answered it at a later date. All 50 questionnaires were collected within one week. The managers answered the following questions:

Question 1: Please state your line of occupation:

a) Middle manager

b) Front line manager

c) Executive manager

Question 2: Please state the age category to which you belong:

a) Between 20 and 30

b) Between 30 and 40

c) Between 40 and 50

d) Over 50 years

Question 3: Please state the number of years you have spent within the current position / the managerial field:

a) Less than 2 years

b) Between 2 and 5 years

c) Between 5 and 10 years

d) Over 10 years

Question 4: How would you describe your managerial style?

a) Authoritarian

b) Democratic

c) Laissez-faire

d) Participative

e) Transformational

Question 5: Do you always implement the same managerial style to deal with organizational situations?

a) Yes

b) No

Question 6: When you implement a different managerial style than the dominant one, what helps you make that decision?

a) the lack of success with the dominant managerial style

b) the particularities of each situation which needs to be managed

c) the need / desire to introduce change for purposes of diversity and efficiency

Question 7: When you implemented a different managerial style -- other than the dominant one -- based on the particularities of the given situation, what was the outcome?

a) Positive outcomes

b) Negative outcome

c) the same outcome as would have been retrieved with the usage of the dominant managerial style

Question 8: Will you be using again different managerial style based on the features of a given situation?

a) Sometimes

b) Always

c) Never

Question 9: When you adapt your managerial style to a situation, what elements do you consider? Assign points of importance from 1 to 5, 1 being the most important and 5 being the least important.

a) the level of urgency in resolving the situation

b) the maturity and reliability of the subalterns

c) the internal organizational capacity to deal with the situation

d) the influence of external factors

e) the role the situation plays in attaining organizational goals

Question 10: Would you say that situational leadership was effective in managing different organizational situations?

a) Yes

b) No

Question 11: Would you recommend situational leadership to other managers?

a) Yes

b) No.

Based on the answers retrieved, the following conclusions were formed:

a) Age and adoption of situational leadership

The age of the manager does not indicate his individual approach and acceptance of situational leadership. In some cases, younger managers implement situational leadership due to their flexibility and ability to adapt to new requirements, but they, in other cases, fail to implement it due to lack of expertise. In the case of the older managers, some of them implement situational leadership as a result of years of expertise, whereas others deny it due to lack of flexibility.

b) Individual managerial styles

For most of the managers, it was difficult to select a single managerial style of leadership. The large majority however indicated either participative or democratic dominant styles. The incidence of self declared authoritarian or laissez-faire managers was reduced. The large majority of the managers indicated that they often combined several managerial styles and the main reason in this decision was constituted by the particularities of each different situation they had to manage within the organizational climate.

According to Fred C. Lunenburg and Allan C. Ornstein (2007), there are four particular styles which result as the combination of the situation and the traditional managerial styles. These four styles refer to the following: directing style, coaching style, supporting style and delegative style. each of these styles is appropriate in specific situations and characterized by specific features. The directing leadership style for once is applicable in situations when the subalterns are limitedly skilled and motivated and it is characterized by a low relationship and a high task orientation. Secondly, the coaching style is appropriate when the employees reveal high levels of morale and motivation, but limited skills. This type of leadership style is characterized by high levels of both relationship as well as task.

Third, the supporting style is appropriate in situations in which the employees are highly skilled and able to complete their tasks, but they lack the adequate motivation. Managers will as such focus on the relationship, while the emphasis on task would be limited. Finally, the delegating style is appropriate only when the employees are both highly skilled as well as highly motivated; it implies reduced levels of both relationship as well as task management (Lunenburg and Ornstein, 2007).

c) Perceived efficiency of situational leadership

In most cases, the adaptation of the managerial style to the particularities of each situation has led to positive results. The feedback interviews with the managers retrieved information according to which the failures were generally due to the inability to adequately adapt the managerial style to the specific particularities of each situation. In other words, the inability to truly comprehend the situational complexities led to failure, rather than the actual situational leadership model.

Regarding the effectiveness of the situational leadership model, George J. Demetropolis (2003) argues that this is a rather complex notion and the final success of the manager depends not only on his ability to understand the situation, but also on his ability to understand and adapt to his personal features, as well as to the features of his subalterns. He believes that the model can be attributed a series of benefits, including the following: its proven success within the market (including the evidence collected from the 50 managers), it is practical and it reminds the leader to integrate differentiation in his management of the employees. On the other hand however, the author also identifies several limitations of the model. He for instance argues that situational leadership is based on little research, inadequate rationale and no evidence of real managerial superiority with the use of the model (Demetropolis, 2003).