Situational leadership theory

Developed by Dr. Paul Hersey and Dr. Ken Blanchard in 1969, the Situational Leadership^® Model is a framework that enables leaders to adapt their leadership approach by matching their behaviors to the needs of those they’re attempting to influence within a given situation.

The Situational Leadership^® Model

The fundamental principle of the Situational Leadership^® Model is that there is no single "best" style of leadership. Situational Leadership^® claims that effective leadership varies, as it is dependent upon the person or group that is being influenced as well as the task, job, or function that needs to be accomplished.^[1]

History

As explained by Dr. Paul Hersey, the co-creator of the Situational Leadership^® framework, "Situational Leadership^® is not really a theory; it’s a Model. For me there is an important difference between a theory and a model. A theory is something that you construct to analyze or understand a given event, whereas a model is something that you can take out and replicate and use in a variety of different settings. The Situational Leadership^® Model is something practical and applicable, and it is used all over the world..."^[2]

The Situational Leadership^® Model was created by Dr. Paul Hersey and Dr. Ken Blanchard while working on the text book, Management of Organizational Behavior.^[1] It was first introduced in 1969 as the "Life Cycle Theory of Leadership". During the mid-1970s, Life Cycle Theory of Leadership was renamed "Situational Leadership."^[1]

Hersey and Blanchard continued to iterate on the original theory until 1977, when they mutually agreed to run their respective companies.

In the late 1970s/early 1980s, Hersey and Blanchard both developed their own slightly divergent versions of the Situational Leadership^® Framework: The Situational Leadership^® Model (Hersey) and the SLII^® model (Blanchard et al.).^[3]

In 1979, Ken Blanchard founded Blanchard Training & Development, Inc. (later The Ken Blanchard Companies, updated to Blanchard in 2023), together with his wife, Margie Blanchard, and a board of founding associates. Over time, this group made changes to the concepts of the original Situational Leadership^® Model.^[3]

In 1985, Blanchard introduced SLII^® in the book Leadership and the One Minute Manager: A Situational Approach to Managing People. Blanchard and his colleagues continued to iterate and revise the book.^[3]

In 1969, Dr. Paul Hersey founded The Center for Leadership Studies, which has since held the trademark Situational Leadership^®.

In 2018, it was agreed that the Blanchard version of the model be trademarked as SLII^® and the Hersey version of the model was to remain trademarked as Situational Leadership^®.[4]

Theory

Situational Leadership^® Theory, renamed in the late 1970s the Situational Leadership^® Model, is one of a related group of two-factor theories of leadership, many of which originated in research done at Ohio State University in the 1960s. These two-factor theories hold that possibilities in leadership style are composed of combinations of two main variables: task behavior and relationship behavior. Various terms are used to describe these two concepts, such as initiating structure or direction for task behavior and consideration or socioemotional support for relationship behavior. Related leadership theories include Blake and Mouton's Managerial Grid and Reddin's 3D Theory.

The foundational studies that contributed to the Situational Leadership^® Model include:^[5]

• Abraham Maslow and Hierarchy of Needs
• Frederick Herzberg and Motivation Hygiene Theory
• Chris Argyris and Immaturity-Maturity Theory
• Douglas McGregor and Theory X and Theory Y
• Elton Mayo and Human Relations Theory
• Fredrick Winslow Taylor and Scientific Management
• Ralph Stogdill and Ohio State Studies

Leadership Styles

The Situational Leadership^® Model uses two dimensions on which leaders can adapt their approach:

• Task Behavior: The extent to which a leader engages in defining roles and structuring activities
• Relationship Behavior: The extent to which a leader engages in two-way communication and actively listens

Task and relationship behavior form a two-by-two matrix that represents the four leadership styles. These styles are categorized by the various combinations of either high or low task and relationship behavior, named S1 to S4

S4	S3	S2	S1
Delegating	Participating (Supporting)	Selling (Coaching)	Telling (Directing)
Leaders delegate most of the responsibility to the group. They monitor progress but are less involved in decision-making.	Leaders focus on relationships and less on providing direction. They work with the team and share decision-making responsibilities.	Leaders provide direction. But they attempt to sell their ideas to get people on board.	Leaders tell people what to do and how to do it.
Low task behavior. Low relationship behavior.	Low task behavior. High relationship behavior.	High task behavior. High relationship behavior.	High task behavior. Low relationship behavior.

Of these, no one style is considered optimal for all leaders to use all the time. Situational Leadership holds that effective leaders need to be flexible and must adapt themselves according to the situation.

Performance Readiness levels

The Situational Leadership^® Model explains that the most effective leadership style will depend on the person or group being led and their level of Performance Readiness^®.

Performance Readiness^® is the existing combination of an individual’s ability and willingness to perform a specific task.

The model identifies four levels of Performance Readiness^® named R1-R4:

High	Medium		Low
R4	R3	R2	R1
Able and Confident and Willing	Able but Insecure or Unwilling	Unable but Confident or Willing	Unable and Insecure or Unwilling

Performance Readiness^® levels are task-specific. The model suggests that while a person might be generally skilled, confident, and motivated in their job, they would still have a Performance Readiness^® level R1 when asked to perform a task requiring skills they don't possess.

In later editions of Management of Organizational Behavior, the follower's development continuum was changed from its original name, “Maturity levels,” to “Follower Readiness” to indicate an individual’s task-specific readiness rather than a personal characteristic.^[6] In the ninth edition, it was further refined and relabeled Performance Readiness^® levels.^[7]

See also

• Two-factor theory
• Managerial grid model
• 3D Theory
• Contingency theory
• Three levels of leadership model
• Trait leadership