Situational Lcadenhif

I t99

the-otherhand, the.group is at a row.lev_el readiness, of ----'-'""' considerable -leadershipintervention may be reluired.what readership action shourd be taken? The next step is deciding whrrh of the four leadership styles (see Tabie g-1) would be appropriate for the teay. suppose the manager has determined that the. grou-p's _readinessrevel, ln t"r*. of acclomprirrriig alr of these tasks, is high-that is,.the sroup i, Using Table 8-1,the manager wourd know fit"t "bi";";;iiil;"dil): *tett;";k;;";iiltrri. group, a dehgoting (S4) style (low task-low relatio"rhil ts"i;or) should be used.some membersof the group may be ro*".-i" i""Ciness than the group as a whole_yilh- respect to specific tasks. roi-"r.-pre, a team member may be R3 (able Lut insec,r,:e) with toi".porraing to serviceproblemsor line of equipt"""l. rgg"id T1'";;;r wourduse 1l"y an S3 (high relation_ship-low task) ieadershipstyle to build the mem_ ber's confidenceand self-esteem. what was the resurt of the readershipintervention? This step requires assessment determine if resuftr to -"t.r, will bediscussed chapter inai"ii;;il"d;il;fi"*""*p"ctations. As in ro, a rittre

suc.es.iue approximationsas the individuar or ggrp approaches the desired level of performance. Therefot", rrt", a -readership intervention, the manager must assessthe result througJr rechecking the objectives, ffiui:#U:t"g readiness, ."."J"irrirrg if iu"1h"-,Ieadership and is
What follow-up, if u!y: il required? If there is a gap between present performance and de.sirgdperformance of the iidividual or soup, then follow-upis required i'tte ro"o, oi"ddili;; leadership interventions,and the cycte rtr*r In a dynamic environment such as the leadership enviro"-l"t,"i"Iow--up "gri.". ;; ;H;"; certainty. Leadership under *o-d"r., conditions ;;il moving targets' Tasks, readiness,and results "";;;;it;e i, must. Paul Hersev summarizesthis reality "t"..rr..rr."giig;'rliio*-rrp bt;#;;;sl':t " i" a full-time job that must be p"r.ii"J ""airrg every hour of every day.,, Componentsof Readiness It has been argued that the _\ey to effective leadership is to identify the rea'd'iness reuerof the individuai ot gto,rp you -"pp"opii"t" are attempting to influence and then bring to ue"" irrl r""a""sirip style. If that is true, how -.ir"g""r g"i iltter handle on what readiness "rt, actually means? " 118

bit at a time.Development invorvllpo"iti""iyi"i'i*tng

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several comments In examining the components-of readiness' research'lz should be made.First, accordingto Oa.'iJb.-Mc|ielta"d's certain characteristics in comachievement-motivalteJpeopfeiave ;"t.high.uut obtainable-goals' the mon, including tl,J?ip;;t#; than the rewards of success' concernfor personal aciievement rathei fee{uact< (how well am I doing?) and the desire f*';;k-;;i""."t Of ft* *"ff do vou like me?)' rather than for "tti;;iJi""aU"ttt thesecharacteristic,*"""emostinterested,intermsoftask.relevant attainable goals' readiness,in the ."pttiW to set high,but experience'we are contendin Second, teriiis of education and/or One can diff"t"nce bltween l!:-::" ing that there is no.l;;toul education or experienceor some sain task-relevant i""ai""r. through b"t*""n the two is that when iombination of boti. The only diffeierr." referring to formal classroom we are talking aUouteducation' we are what is learned on one'sown or involves and experiences, ";";;;; tnirlllJ, education and/or "" in our recent work, we have argued that motivation affects tr'"t achieiement experience affects ;lii;y conceptof readi' ""d a result, we are rvillinsness.As "ogs"rli"s lrru.tll" andwillingness' auititv t*"-ai"iensions: ;;J:"#il;t It "i (j"u ,".ai""r.iis related to ttre ability to do something. Ability h a s t o d o w i t h k n o w l e d g e a n d d e m o n s t r a t e dthei knowledge,skill, h o sk ll.Individualsw . p"*i.ular areahave have high jot ,""iilr"".li t"rxs without directionfrom others' and experie""" to p"li*.JJ.i" in might sav:-"Mv talent reallv lies A person r,igr, i,'llf';;;i;; inthat areawithout much ffi;;; orrnv:i[]r^;ff;;; that aspect boss'" help from mY readiness)is related to the willingwillingness iisychologicalh"t to do with confidenceand ness,or moti,ratio'i, io do "o'-"tf i"g- i; readinessin a *t travJtrigh psychologicar commitment.I"i;iil"r, is impor' " o, ,"rpo"riuility _thinl tirat responsibility particular themselvesin feelingsLbout "ruu iant and t".rr" r"tf-";"ffi;;;"..#a-gooa to They do noineed extensiveencouragement that aspector tir"ir:ou. from a person high in get them to ao tr,i"!Ji" ittit ut"a.' A comment job' *igftt u"' "l i""t1y enjoythat aspectof mv t""iii"tt psychologicur for g"i.ft", me or providl .ny "tr.ootagement h;;;; My bossdoesn,t ----" to do work in that area'" To recapthe previous discussion:
/

Ability is a function of:

t Knowledge-knowledge of the task' task' t Experience-experience with or related to the skill and/or performance in suc' r SAjtl or performa"i'-a""'ottstrated completing similar tasks' ."ttf"ffi

I19

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Willingness is a function of:

Situational lzdenhipa

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t Confidence-the person's feelingthat, 'I can do it." t Commitmcnf-the person's feelingthat, "I will do it." t Motivatipn-theperson's feelingof, "I want to do it."

tI

The high probability leadership style is onethat is appropriateto person'sreadiness level regarding that s-pecifictask. Very few the peopleare likely to be at the extremesof a readinesscontinuum;most in individuals fall somewhere between. Writing EffectiveTask Statements A well-formulated task statement contributes greatly toward the as' In of sessment individual readiness. contrast,the leaderwill find that formulated task statements make it diflicult to vague and weakly friction and can lead to unnecessary task readiness, accuratelyassess and conflict. president of P-E Corporate Services,a manGustav Pansegrouw, agementconsultingfirm, has found the following techniquefor writ' ing task statements very useful, particularly from the follower's perspective.l3 A key task for a customerorder clerk may be stated as follows: "To answer the phone promPtly." Using this task statement as a guide, the manager may assess the clerk's task readinesslevel as R2, willing but unable. Using the sametask statement as a guide, the clerk may assess level as R4, willing and able. the task readiness This difference in task readiness assessmentbetween manager and clerk is usually the result of different meanings attached to the word'!romptly." Eachpersonmight have a different interpretation of what "promptly" means. If the task is formulated in the following way: 'To answer the phone on the first ring." both personswould have a much clearer understanding of the task. With sucha specificstatement of the task as a guide, it becomes much task-relevant readiness.The probability of agreement easierto assess also increases. betweenboth parties' assessments The major difference between the two task statementsjust presented is that the secondone contains a cleorly dcfined and measur-

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perfortnancestondard for the task. The expectedperformanceis o_ble thus an integral port of the task. of all the aspectsof accomplishingtasks, individual readinessis the most critical. At any given time, each person is at a variety of task'specific readiness levels, depending on the task that musi be performed.It is not that an individual is high or low in readiness,but that. each person tends to be approximately ready according to a specifictask. It should be remembered that although readiness is a useful concept for making diagnostic judgments] other situational variables-the supervisor's style (if close by), a crisis or time bind, the nature of the work-can be of equal or greater importance. yet, the readinessconceptis a solid bench mark for choosingthe appropriate style with an individual or group at a particular time. Direction of Readiness Change Recent research at the Centet tor Leadership Studies has indicated that it is useful to measrue not only a follower's general level of readiness, such as Rl or R2, but the direction of this readiness.The primary reason is that there are important differences in leader tehavior if the follower's readinessis increasing' decreasing,or static. For example, place yourself in the role of leader in each of three situations. Recall that one aspectofyour role as leader is to diagnose the follower's ability and willingness to respond to your efforts to implement a speeifrc goal. In other words, how receptive is the fol' Iower in each if tttesJ situations to your leadership efforts?
\

Situation1 The follower's confidence,commitment, and motivation are low and are continuing to decline. Knowledge, experience,and skill remain marginal. Situation 2 The follower's knowledge, skill, and experience are increasing from commitment, and motivation remain an entry level while confrdence, Iow. 3 Situation Ability and willingness remain low; the follower is unable and insecure. After reading the three situations, you ca.ndiagnoseth9 appro; priate readinesslivel by looking for the key elements of ability and

121

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willingness.Rememberthatabilityhasthethreecomponentsof the three experience, and skill, while willingness has_ k;;;ia;;, motivation. one conveofionfidence, commitment, and ;;il;G;s is these components to use a scalefrom *** way of assessing ;i";i --for a low level of readiness. rrrgit -$;p"selevel of ."iditt"s to i", '-' " you have madethe correctdiagnosisthat the follower is now nr-"""bi", u-nwilling, and insecure regarding the..goal' You readiness. Based on the"'directinnof the fouower's ;;";;;i;g";J irrformalion in each situation, do any of the elements seemto be tfre or increasing,decreasing, remaining-static? in In Situation t th-e'followeris declining in readine-ss; Situation in situation 3 the 2 the follower is increasing in readiness;while follower remains static or unchangedin readiness' What is the implication of tliis analysis to your- leadership efforts? Although in eich situation the follower's general level of readinessis Rl, dis this mean that your leadershipinterventions should be the same?Probably not. situation 1 suggestsaction to correct i"gtu.ri"" behavior; Situation 2 suggestscontinuing developmental behavior' initiating developm-ental fli""i"t; and Situation 3 suggests be discussed interventions will Each of these potential lead-ership in chaPters10 and 11' further Instruments to MeasureReadiness To help managersand their followers make valid judgments about foffo*":r readiiess, the Center for Leadership Studies has developed two different ReadinessScaleinstruments: the Manager Rating Scale Both leadership instruments measure and the Self-Rating ScaIe.La (abi[ty) and PsychologicalReadiness(willingness) on iot neadiness five behavioral dimensions. In the Manager Rating scale, for example, the manager selects one to five of the staff member's major objectives or responsibilities and writes them on the form. Then, with respect tn eoch majol ob1e9Uu" ot r"tponsibility, the manager rates the staff member on five Job Readinessdimensions and five Psychological Readinessdimensions, basing the rating on observationsof the staJfmember'sbehavior. TVo of the-five itemsirom the Job ReadinessDimension and two of the five items from the PsychologicalReadinessDimension are illustrated in Figure 8-5. The ten items used on the complete form.were selected of both J;;; tilot rtody from a pool of more than thirty indicators The ieader wiil note that behavioral indicators, e.g. "Has dimensions. experiencerelevant to the job" and "Does not have experience rele,r"rrt to the job," were also developed and are opposite ends of the eight-point rating scale.

122

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In more recent work, the Center for Leadership Studies developed a ReadinessStyle Match rating form that measuresreadiness using only one scale for each dimension-one measuring obility and the other measuring willingness-rs In this instrument, a person's ability (knowledge,skill, and experience)is thought of as a matter of degree.That is, an individual's ability does not change drastically from one momentto the next. At any given moment,an individual has a little, some,quite a bit, or a gteat deal of ability. commitment,and motivation),however, Willingness(confidence, A person's motivation can, and often does,fluctuate from is different. one moment to another. Therefore,a person is seldom,on occasion, often, or usually willing to take responsibility in a particular area. The use of both a Manager's Rating Form and a Staff Member Style Match is necessaryto initiate a program Form of the Readiness combining Situ.ationalLeadership with Contracting for Leadership Style.r6We will discussthat processin some detail in chapter 12. of Style Components Leadership Oncemanagershave identilied the readinesslevel of the individual or group they are attempting to influence,the key to effectiveleadership then is to bring to bear the appropriateleadershipstyle.If that is true, how can managersget a better handle on the behaviorsthat comprise each of the four leadershipstyles? Instruments to measure leader behavior. To help managers and their staff members make better judgments about leadership style, the Center for LeadershipStudies has developed two different Leadership Scaleinstruments: Leadership Scale:Perceptionby Manager and,Leadership Scale: Perception by Staff Member.rT Both leadership instruments measure task and relationship behavlo-ffi-ffi'e

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imensions.The in Table Ve?lfmensions were establi behaviors, behavioralindicatorsof the extremesof eachof thesedimensions were identified to help managers and their staff members differentiate between high and low amounts of each leader behavior. For example,with the task-behaviordimension"organizing" on the Stalf Member Form, the end points of a rating seale were chosento be "organizesthe work situation for me" and "lets me organize the work situation." For the relationship-behaviordimension'lroviding feedback," the end points of the rating scalewere chosento be Yrequently provides feedbackon my accomplishments"and "leaves it up to me to evaluate accomplishments."

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TABLE &2

Task Behavlor and RelatlonshlpBehavlorDlmenslonsand Thelr Behavlor Indlcators INDICATOR BEHAVIORAL The extentto which a leader. .

TASK.BEHAVIOR DIMENSIONS

Goal setting Organizing Settingtime lines Direcling Controlling IP.BEHAVIOR RETATIONSH DIMENSIONS

Speciliesthe goals people are to accomplish. Organizesthe work situationfor people. Sels time lines for people. Provides speciticdirections. on and requiresregularreporting progress. Specifies BEHAVIORAL INDICATOR The extent to which a leadet .

Givingsupport Communicating interactions Facilitating Activelistening Providing feedback

Provides supportand encouragement. peoplein "give-and-lake" about Involves discussions work activities. people's Facilitates interactions with others. Seeksout and listensto people'sopinionsand concerns. Provides leedbackon people's accomplishments.

earlier, each Style Match instrument discussed In the Readiness of the four basic leadership styles are described,rather than the that make up eachstyle. The descripseparatebehavioral dimensions tions of the four leader behaviorsfollow:
Telling (Sl)-Provide specific instructions and closely supervise performance decisions and provide opportunity for Selling (S2)-Explain clarification Participating (S3)-Share ideas and facilitate in making decisions over responsibility for decisions and Delegating (S4)-Turn implementation.

a t

The advantage of using the readiness StyJe Match is that it permits managers and their staff members to rate leadership style and readinesson the same instrument. Figure 8-6 showsthat integration. This figure provides a good summary of the key components involved in Situational Leadership.

L25

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1 responsihilrty for decisrons and implementation

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This person as ABLE (has rhe necessary k n o w l e d g ea n d s k i l l r .

WILLINGNESS

FOLLOWER(S) EADINESS F

T h r sp e r s o n i s W I L L I N G( h a s the necessary confrdence and commitmentl.

FTGURE 8'6 Defining readinessand the four basic readershipstytes

AND VARIOOS .oRGANIZATIoNAL sETTit.iad.. we have found that srtuationar Leadershiphas apprication in every kind of organizatio".r r"tii"e, ;ilil", it'u" industry, education,government,.milit"arry;-;;;.,r"r, f"Jll;;

SITOATIONAL LEADERSHIP

r"!"il;;; ii 1i"1,,i,,g workingspouses' ,o,whenwe :.dii#; talkei task andier.ti""lrrrp behav_ ror' that did not ring any u"rri "iow roiii"m. we ,oor, ""riired that in

The only problem we have found in working in various organiza_ tronal settings is that some of thJ;ng.uage t-,a"s b;;"d;ted to specinc to fit vocaburariT:_1.

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working in such family settings, it was much easier for parents and children to identify with "directive" behavior than with task behavior and to identify with "supportive" behavior than with relationship behavior. On the other hand, when working with trainers and facilitators who have had a lot of personal growth experienceand, therefore, are high on human relation quotients, even directive behavior will often tend to be a negative stimulus. Therefore, in working with these people we have found the word guidance is a good substitute for directiue behauior.We want to emphasizethat in utilizing various labels for the two basicleaderbehaviors-task behavior and relationship behavior-we are not changing the definitions at all. Task behavior is essentially the extent to which a leader engages in one-way communication explaining what eachstaff member is to do as well by Relationship as when, where, and how tasks are to be accomplished. behavior,evenwhen we call it supportivebehavior, is still the extent to which a leader engagesin two-way communication by providing socioemotional support, "psychological strokes," and facilitating behaviors. The reason it is important to modify the use of various words is that a key conceptin all behavioral sciencesis communication.If you have to learn to put you're going to help peoplegtow and develop, and researchresults into terminology that is frameworks, concepts, acceptable the groupsyou are attempting to influence. This has to to if you want to have the highest probability of gaining accepbe done tance and, therefore,affecting their growth. Parent-Child Relationships We have found tremendousapplication of Situational Leadershipto the family and the parent-childrelationship.The book A Situational Approach to Parentingls is devotedcompletelyto applying Situational Leadershipto the family setting. We suggest that when working with children (while they will need "different strokes even for the same folks"), there is a general pattern and movement in leadership style over their developmental years. Thus, when working with children who are low in readinesson a particular task, a directive parent style has the highest probability of success. This is especially true during the first few years of children's lives when they are unable to control much of their own environment. This whole developmentalprocesswill be discussedin more depth in chapter 10.

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IneffectiveParent Styles one of the useful aspects of situational Leadership is that one can begrn to predict not only the leadership styles with the highest probability of effectiveness,but also which styles tend to be ineffective in what circumstances.For instance, we can take four examples of parents who tend to use a single leadership style during the child's entire developmentalperiod. First, let us look at the parent who uses a high directive-low supportive style (S1)with their children throughout the developmental years; that is, "As long as you're living in this house, you,ll be home at ten o'clockand abide by the rules I've set." TWopredictions might be made. The first one is that the children might pack their b-ags and leave home atthe earliest opportunity. If this does,rot occur, they may succumb_to their parents'authority and becomevery passive, dependentindividuals throughout their lives, alway. .r""di.rg someone tell them what to do and when to do it. to A high probabllity result of a parent using exclusivelya style of high directive-high supportive behavior (S2) might be'called the "mama's boy" or "daddy'slittle girl" syndrome.EvLn when the children get older, they may chronologicallybe adults, but they are still psychologicallydependenton their parent(s)to make decisionsfor them. since most of the direction for their behavior and socioemotional support has been p_rovidedby their parent(s), these young peopleare unable to provide it for themselves. what happenswhen parents are unfailingly supportiveand never structure or direct any of their children's activitiei? Ttre responseto this -high supportive-low directive style (sB) may be called a'..spoiled brat" syndrome, for the children develop into individuals who have little regard for rules and little considerationfor the rights ofothers. As we mentioned in chapter s, somepeoplemighiquestion why it-is inappropriate to use the sameleadership style all the time-"after all, we've been told that consistencyis good."This advice *ight h"rn" been-given in the past, but, as we argue, according to situational Leadership, consistency is not using the same styL ar the time. Instead, consistencyis using the same style for all similar situations, but varying the-style appropriately as the situation changes.parents are consistent if they tend to -discipli?etheir childr"r, ,uli"r, they are behaving inappropriately and reward the_m_when thev are u"rri"i"t appropriately. Parents are inconsistent if they smile-and engage ii other supportive behavior when their childret a.e bad as well as when they are good.

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210 I Situational Leadenhif

This discussion of consistencyurges parents to remember that children are often at different levels ofreadiness in various aspectsof their lives. Thus, parental style must vary as children's activities change. Managementof Research and DevelopmentPersonnel In working with highly trained and emotionally stable people, an effectiveleader behavior style in many casesis low relationship-low task behavior.le This was dramatically demonstratedin a military setting. Normally, in basically crisis-orientedorganizationssuch as the military or the frre department, the most appropriate style tends to be high task (S1), since under combat or fire conditions success often dependson immediate responseto orders. Time demanclsdo not permit talking things over or explaining ilecisions. For success, behavior must be almost automatic. Although a high task style may be effective for a combat officer, it is often ineffeciive in working with research and devellpment personnel within the military. This was pointed out when line offrcers trained at West point were sent to command outposts in the American advanced-warning system. The scientific and technical personnelinvolved, living in closequarters in an Arctic region, did not respondfavorably to the high levlls of task behavior of the combat-trainedoflicers. The levels 6f education,researchexperience, and readinessofthese peoplewere such that they did not need their commanding officer to initiate a great deal of structure in their aotk. In fact, they tended to resent it. bther experienceswith scientific and research-oriented personnel indicate ihat many of thesepeoplealsodesireor needa limited amount of socioemotional support. Educational Setting Educational settings provide us with numerous examples of situational Leadershipin operation.2o Teacher-studentrelationship. In an educationalsetting, situational Leadership is being used in studying the teacher-student relationship. PaIl Herse_y two colleaguesin Brazil, Arrigo L. and . lor.examp_le, Angelini and sofia-caracusha-nsky,2r condricteda study situational Leadership to teaching. In the study, "pptlyirrg was made to compare the learning effectivenessscores"r, "it"*pt(1) stubetween dents who attended a coursein which a conventional teacher-student

t29

I I I

Situational Ledenhif

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relationship prevailed (control subgroups);and (2) students who attended a course in which situational Leadership was applied by the same teacher (experimental subgroups).In the control g-np clisses, lectures prevailed, but group discussions,audiovisual aids, and other participative resourceswere also used. In the experimental classes, the readinesslevel of students (willingness and ability to direct their own learning and provide their own reinforcement) was developed over time !v q systematic shift in teaching style. The teacher's style started at Sl (high task-low relationship-teacher in front of the class lecturing); then moved to 52 (high task-high relationship behaviorgroup discussionsin a circular design with the teacher directing the conversation);then to s3 (high relationship-low task-group diicussions with the teacher participating as a supportive, but nondirective group member); and finally to 54 Oow relationship-low task-the grgup continuing to discuss with the teacher involved only when askedby the class). The development student readiness of wai a slow processat first, with gradual decreases teacher direction and inin creasesin teacher encouragement.As the students demonstrated t-heir ability not only to assume more and more responsibility for directing their own learning, but also to provide their own reinforcement (self-gratification), decreases teachersocioemotional in support accompanied continual decreases teacher direction. in
n two experimen

level of enthusiasm,morale, and motivaAdministrator-governing board relationship. An important area for the top administrator (college president or superintendent) in an educational institution is the relationship this p""son maintains with the governing board. since these boards have the ultimate power to remove college presidents or superintendents when they loseconfidencein their leadership, these administrators often tend tL use a high relationship style (sB),providing only a limited amount of structure for these decision-making gxoups.z2 fact, they sometimes In seemto shy away from directing the activities of their board for fear of_arousing their criticism. situational Leadership questions this behavior. Although the membersof the governing board are often responsible, well-educatedindividuals, tl"y tend to have little work experience in an educational setting. For exarnple, in a survey of coliege trustees in New York state, it was found that less than lb percent of the trustees serving on these boards had any teaching or administra-

130

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tive experience in an educational institution.zs In fact, the large majority of the 1,269 trustees sampled were employed primarily in industry, insurance and banking, merchandising and transportation, and medicine and law. Virtually half acted as cor?oration oflicials with the rank of treasurer, director, or above. In addition to their involvement in other than educational institutions, these trustees tendedto be overcommittedand were probably unable to give the time to university problemsthey would have liked to give. In fact, the most frequent dissatisfactionexpressedby trustees was the lack of time to devoteto the board. The relative inexperienceof the trustees and the heavy commitment elsewheresuggestthat it may be appropriate for college presidentsto combinewith their high relationship behavior an increaseof task behavior in working with their trustees. In fapt, the responsibility for defining the role of trustees and organizing their work should fall on the collegepresident. Henry Wriston, former president of Brown University, said it well: It may seem strange, first thought,that this shouldbe a president's at duty.A moment's reflection makesit clearthat it canevolve noother on
person. Tlustees are unpaid; they have no method of analyzing talents and making assignments. The president is in a position to do so.za

Administrator-faculty relationship. In working with experienced faculty, the low relationship-low task style (S4) characterized by a decentralized organization structure and delegation of responsibility to individuals may be appropriate. The level of education and experience of these people is often such that they do not need their department chairperson to initiate much structure. Sometimes they tend to resent it. In addition, some faculty desire or need only a Iimited amount of socioemotional support (relationship behavior). Often an effective leader style in working with faculty tends to be low relationship-low task, but certain deviations may be necessary. For example, during the early stages of a school year or a curriculum change, a certain amount of structure as to the specific areas to be taught, by whom, when, and where must be established. Once these requirements and limitations are understood by the faculty, the administrator may move rapidly back to low relationshiplow task style appropriate for working with experienced, responsible, self-motivated faculty. Other deviations may be necessary. For example, a new, inexperienced teacher might need more direction and socioemotional support until gaining experience in the classroom.

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EARLIERRESEARCH ONDERSTANDING Determiningthe Effectivenessof Participation An analysis of studies in participationzs in terms of situational LeadLirUip Jl* r.rgg"sts somL interesting things about the appropriate ;;;;i participllion. Situational Leadership suggeststhat the higher tfr" i"i"f of iask-relevant readiness of an individual or group, the higher the probability that participation will be an effective manager"!ii t".frnology. The lesJ task-ielevant readiness, the lower the

nraclicl pi"U"Uiiiiy ihaTparticipationwill be a useful manageme.lt

Invoivemeni and plrticipatron in decisignmak

iffi6mi

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continuuit ("*tt"*"ly the readiriess

@eindividualwiththehishestlevelot.exnertlseln an area to maKean" rding to Situational LeadershiP, techniquehas a higher probability of iarticipation al " management and as success one movesfrom low to moderate levels of readiness, as plateau in potential effectiveness one'sfollowers if,"" L"gi"s to ltigfi itr task-relevant readiness'as illustrated in Figure 8-7' become One iurther point about participation. Although participation tends to satisfy affiliation and esteemneedsby giving peoplea chance to feel in on ihings and be recognizedas important in the decision' may it making process, should be rememberedthat self-actualization The highJevel need satisfaction most not reJuit from participation. often occursin a work environment where peopleare given a job that

i""J, ""-" "r th"." r"t l t".itt gq"gi"g il..ryouptlrinY' the highest level-g@ Thev would orefer thelndivitlualwith

@eleadAt the other end of @ess. high levelsof task'relevantread'

FIGURE8.7 Particlpationas an etfective managementtechnique

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214 I Situational Lead,enhiatr-

a\\s\s $ern a\ opDorNru\f !.or ac\\e.vement, grow.\h and ileve\op_ ment, and challenge. The Influence of Cultural Change26 The scientifrc and technical advancementsin united States society since the turn of the century almost stagger the imagination. As a result, we have becomea dynamic, industrial society with a higher level ofeducation and standard ofliving then ever tlought possibl". This phenomenonis beginning to have a pronouncedeffect on-muchof the work force utilized by organizations. _Today, many employeesenjoy a higher standard of living and tend to be better educatedand more sophisticatedthan ever befoie. As a result, these workers have increasedpotential for self-direction and self-control.consistent with these changesin readiness, a large majority of our population, in Maslow's terms, now have theii basic physiological and safety-security needsfairly well satisfied. Management can no longer dependon the satisfaction of these needs-through pay, incentive plans, hospitalization, and so on-3gjl! vating factors that influence i there is that and ve to worry a
w are want to

low more susceptibleto motiv as "som

needs:

Haney has said: The.managerialpractice,therefore,should be geared to the subordinate's current leuelof [readiness]with the overall goal of helping him to develop,to require progressiuelylessexternal mnlrol and.to giin more and moreself-controL And why would a man want this? Beca-use under theseconditions achieves he satisfaction thejob at the levels,primaron ily the ego and self-fulfillment levels, at which he is th-e most motivatable.2T t
l

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l i

:l,:i':::i:t:::'#1,:Hlt5l

This concept is illustrated in Figure 8-8. This shift in the readiness level and need disposition of our general population helps us to understand why the findings of many

styles ?_g!q 3, but not at the extremes (1 and 4).

iH#;

133

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I I

5 EL F . C O N I R O T

FIGURE8.8 Extemal control versus self-Gontrol

INDIVIDUAL GROWTH

T I I I I I I I I I

exnn-ffiinr-or-

DOES SITOATIONALLEADERSHIPWORK? of The widespreadacceptance Situational Leadershipfor more than Pracas two decades a conceptwith face validity is well documented' and administrators throughout ticing managers,pat"ttts, teachers, approach-for iii" .i"rra r"! it iras gi'trenthem a practical, easy-to-use do-in challenging situations. It has thly should a;L;;*"g'what b""r, majlr factor in training and development programs for more a00 or tn" Fortune 500 companies, such as Bank of America, ihan " drt"rpiff.r, BM, Mobil Oil, Union 76, and Xerox.It has beenwidely in all of the military servjces and numerous fast-growing ".*pi"a entrlpreneurial companies'More tho' ^to -illiot't leaders receive ile research studies Sit""ii"""l L""d LeadershiPfrom various direcal tions, the real question that managers, teachers,parents, and administrators ask is: DoesSituational Leadership work? We would like to present just two of the many studies that attempt to answer this question. So*" years ago, the Information Systems Group OSG)of Xerox, responsibli for copier/duplicator products, made a major commitment to Situational Leadership as a training concept. Situational Leadership now is a cornerstone of ISG's building-block training strategy

t
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216 / Situotional l*od,enhif

andistaughttomiddle.levelaswellasnewfirst.levelmanagers.As C"tnp"* and Hambleton indicate: -"""o*t"t'tequired' Despitethemodel'sintuitiveappealandquickaccePtancebyourman. ISG management of asers,because lft" training who use At"ititicar qu""tioit' hi;;";;ia TiT:rs effective development more with employees int"r-"ctions the model.o"r""itiiiln"ii there t o mo"" effective, trr"r rhan those*t o"i? #il-h;;-;ii^ii "r" Leadership.2s i"'sil""ti-o"al wouldu" r,o poirrliti?riii"i administration' and staff Sixty-frve managers in sales' service' three
to provide demo-oi ' A rnonoger questiannaire' which was constructed attd so on' The **it"' graphlc datJ' such 1s ?g-e''"*' f"t:"t of th" -"tt"gers' job perfor' ouesrlonnarrealso askedfor p"t""iiioi". of Situational LeadershiP' ;;;;;;;tuse which was used't'odetermine a [fol' s.cqle' ional [reod'iness/ r A profess objectives'Each lower'sl Ievel of lreadiness]ro" """T^oi;;;;bb one to four employees' manager assessed their managersto assess . A monoger rotingforra thic\ allowed the jot p"-"ro1lance for each fi"ri"*"iti own leadership Jtyles an-d-1hei.r rating scale'iden' The followin;f;;J#'ance job ouSective' major used: tical to XuiiJt appraisal scale' was
RATING 5 ; 3 DESCRIPTION PERFORMANCE ExcePtional -;nsistently exceeds expectedlevel ExPectedlevel

completed r" p"*i.ip"il5H i;; ;;ffi .-ch" manasers functions

types of forms.2e

m:$#:lT;'

requirements
Leadership, data were col-

To test the validity of situational Iected for two Predictions:

of will indicate more knowledge and use r Highly effective-mal'9gqTs less effective managers' than Situationat r,eaderstripmanig"Tt;e*Lvj;:l; r . Employgejou p"rro.-ance will be higher when 'Leaa"Iffi t"*""tfv tttt" *-hen they apply it ir ational The studY led to these conclusions: knowledge and use of r llighly effective managers indicate- greater -Sit"""iio""t ones' Leadership than less effective

I
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Situational Lcdenhif

I 217

rAllmanagersinthestudyl"Bg'*dusingSituationalltadershipat that training in least some of the tim". flis nnding defronstrates ;hir ;;; has had substantial on'the'job impact' ratc their I On the average,managerswho-apply the model correctly who do:rot' The managersthan [followers']job p"tforn?nce higher of the Hersev-Blanchard ffiIgrtive data in this area ;;il;[lv e{fectiveness'"' model of leadership

Gumpert and Hambleton conclude:

knew more about Situational Stated simply, highly effective managers supmanagers' Pata sun; *r" ;;;;;*"iria ,ir"i it -or" than lJss efiective managers. Qatl LeadershiP and

frffi ;;'it;;;r;.tn"1,,*s3;1l|,"^TTry"^':*l?,3T:"t'":r:,",:: onal *ii" rr'-ii- bit""ti Leadet!': ilfi *?J'H

ili'ir "? . : n,lqfl " judq:l\i9*,a?3 32 jl:9,"t"" :;;;;,'"tsi'iii":t":oup"'ro'-ancewas li sigrriricant' siatiitical
ilT"ilffifi"],ffiJ;"" ;;;i'"irv'"a

Researchwasconductedontheimpactolth."interactivevideo of programon managers a largefirm that was sit,ratio"ai Leadership "t"d jnternal rlstructuring. The sampleof maior .fr.iri"" ffi;;"t"g months tt"J?"."i""d the training:rine to eighteen ili;;;Atr.iufro bookletthat included ."*pr"1"al iuestionnaire ;iiii;ffi2;"r".r.tt (2) content; a test of of training course (1) four sections: ""-;;;ital (3) a report of a critical incident inietention; knowledge ,liif opportunity to ""a of thJ training; and (4) an open-ended ;;iil;;re
provide feedback. was hig-hly The results indicated that situational Leadership of th9 cowse; they effective. M"""g"t.-otr"r"d favorable appraisals (retention) of course demorrst ated air impressive level of mastery of successful outcomes as a consequence_ skills; and they ,";;;; to the claim that tfr" skills on titl joU.The frndings lend support performance,even un"ri"g -""""g"ri"I training cin improve managerial a"i*-"aitions of chlnge in the work place'33 CHANGINGLEADERSHIP STYLE APPROPRIATELY for the If managers are currently using a style that is approp-riate they can that level of ieadiness of theii Soup, one of the indicators *hen ."a t what degreet-heyshould shift their use in determininj group performing Jvl" i, performanie, or resu_!s.3aIIowweu is their r pg4rT.nce is increasing, it would be in their present ".iirriti"rt "pp'"p'i.t"forma,,agersto'hiftth"i'stytetotheleftalongthe

136

ZlE I Situational Ledenhif

This would curvilinear function of the situational Leadership model. performance readiness is increasing. If_ th"i t*f.-""flvant ;;ir"dit gives managersa clue-that the,ymay need on the decline, ;;il;; funcin tn"ir readei b"t."io:" to the right along the curvilinear i" "t we will disculs specifrcallythe implications ;i";. il ifr" tt"*t.ftrftet, these processes' and implementation of
b

NOTES
1'EdgarH'Schein,OrgonbotiondlPsychologx(EnglewoodCliffs,N.J.:PrenticeHau'1965)' p.6r. 2. Ibid 3.situationall.eadershipwasfirstpublisheilbyPaulHerseyandKennethH'Blanchardas .Life Cycle tt eory if Leadership" in Troining and DeuilopmentJournaL Mav 1969' the one Minute zigsrni and Drei zigarmi. Lcodcrship .ond 4. Kenneth Blanchard, i"u.l" g Co',i".."f-g'sj' For furthei information on SLIIo Monager.CN"* VorliWiiii"-fu-o*o* CA Inc" f2! Staf flage' Escondido' 92029' contact Blanchard Ttaining and Development' aid l*a<tership(Philadelphia:Institute for Research S.r,fora, Arr i,rit*i,,n*^ S. Fillmore H. in Hurnan Relations, 1950)' Hersey, Situetionel Selling (Escondido' 6. The following section ias 5!n adoptedfrom Paul Calif.:Centerforl,eadershipStudies'1985)'p'19andfollowing' 7. Ibid 8. Ibid 9. lbid, P.22. 10. ,btd, PP.25-26. 1r. Ibid, PP.28-31' Motiue and E' L' Lowell' T/reAchieuement J' 12. David C. McCleltand, W' Atkinson'R' A' Clark and The Achievingsociety (Princeton' N J': 1953); (New York: Appte-ton.century-crofts, D. Van Nostrand,1961). Services' t3. Coitributed by Gustav Pansegrouw,P-E Corporate Ronald K' developed-by 14. These two instruments, originally using t!: term'maturity,'weregrant from Xerox Corpora' P...1 Herseythrough a fi;;;ii"rd, r-tta Hambleton, Ke";il'fi. tion.We"'ug,","f'ltoXeroxCorporationnotonlyforprouidingfinancialsupportforthe instrumentdevelopmentprojectbutalsoforallowingustoinvolvemanyoftheirmanagers work. In particular, we would like to and employeesirr'o* a"r"ropment andralidstion and Ray Gumpert for their assistance' acknowledgea.rii.tt O""ft"m, Warren Rothman' criticism of our work. The instruments are available encouragement, "o*t-"tive "iJ for l'eadership Studies' Escondido'Calif' throughlhe Center by "maturity,'were developed Paul Hersey' 15. These instruments, o;girr"ttv usini the term_ theseinstruments is available Kenneth H. Blanchard, and JosephKeilty. Information on through Center for Leadership Studies' Escondido'Calif' l*a&rsh;p with contractingfor lzglar2lip styles was tirst 16. The Integration oidinitun"t X"nneth H. ilanchard, and RonaldK' Hambleton"'Contracting published as P""iii"rt V, work Relation' EfTective for l,eadershipstvr", e n""""s and Instrumentation for Building by of oD7g, qan Francisco,calif., sponsored university Associ' in rn" nliniiis" ships, through the Clnhr for Leadership Studies' i. ares/LRC. ,'fri, pr"*"i"tio' """it"Ute Escondido,Calif. 1?.TheinitialversionsoftheseleadershipscalesweredeveloPedbyPaulHersey,Kenneth.H' Blanchard,."ano"'raK.Hambleron.Informationontheseinstrumentsisavailab}e ihro,rgh the Center for t'eadership Studies' Escondido'Calii Calif': Center for i. Blanchard, T,.e Family Gcme (Escondido, 18. paul Hersey and i;;;;1h LeadershiP Studies' 19?9)'

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Situational lzdenhif

I 219

t
I I I I I I I I I I I I I

1969' lg.SeePaulHerseyandKennethH'Btanchard,.ManagingRgsrchandDevelopmentPereon. Monoscmenl ntttitf -Septcmber ii;;i;;;hilTiltv" nel: An Appticatron Adminis' ;e f-"a"itf ip ltre-ory Educational for H. Kenneth Blanc;'ari."l-i"Jff."*y, 20. See tratorE.' Edurntbn Spring1970' - - "The sofra caracu.rhar.rsky, situational Leadership 21. l$ieol. Angelini, rLii ii""r*y "nd r*"'"iie-efr;"tiv_enessi sao Paulo'Brazil' to T;;i;;i TheoryApplied Ft.t:l goatat or ft"Jiti i Needfor DirectiveLcadership'' *' '*ii"*^y 22. KennethH. stt"tl'"'i'-'iliil; 1967' Journa\ December of Monagemznt ond st""'h";J''RePort of: surye1'" in Colbse ;;J it.t z^l. F. H. stutu. R. G' M;;;' and Reprl. if o su*cv 0thaca: rviieeship: n"*^iilaotiiii rr*urr-i,li IJniuersi!1r 1966)' Leadership' on Educational ' New York StateR'd;; il;i;rvbomrrittee y_ori,Coi"-UiaUniversityhess, f959)'p' ?8' p"r*ii." fN"* Determi' 24. HenryM. Wrirtorr,,q"ii"'J;. SomcPersonalitv is viJoi }I' v"*-' n*r"[{"1 studvin tn"T"" 25. A classic Hall' 1960)' "i q"st-"*-d ctin"' N' J': Prentice Bn",t"' iilti"'ieJii of nants the on lheir Inlluence Organi' gr"ncbsri, "cJt;;t Changes: 26. seepaul Hersey."a ril""lir, ii. Journat'octo ?ra ining ind Development Behavior,' structureandManagement zational rev' ed' Tert andcases, Behavior: ond H"r,.y, communicotion organizationol ,r. *ffl"ftf. (Homewood' Irwin, f967),P' ?0: -Ill.: 'situational Lcadership: How Xerox A. 28. Raymond Gumpert'iJ R#id K. Hambleton. Maturitv andTaskNeeds'" Manag* fi;;"g"tiJbivr"" to Emplovee Fi""'T;; Managers
ment-Reubttt, December 19?9' P' 9'

29. Ibtd, 9. rL. 30. rbtd 3r. Ibid, 9.72. tijX*.n calif' studies,Escondido, from center for r.eadership avairable summary 33: Fall ra.ulty club, universityof Massachusetts, 19?4' -"a. uy rrli!-i*i, 34. suggestior, "itu" Ttaining and Deielopment' o'itt' Blanchard Fred is ,ro* .o*,tlt"it "

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l-'-