Situational Leadership

From the book

LEADERSHIP AND THE ONE MINUTE MANAGER:
Increasing Effectiveness Through Situational Leadership
By Kenneth Blanchard, Patricia Zigarmi, and Drea Zigarmi
TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP PARADIGM
• Top down- the person below works for the person above in a pyramid
• Management is responsible.
• The leader’s job is to plan, lead, organize, and control. People are
supposed to be responsive to the directives of management.
• “Sit back and catch them doing something wrong.”
• “Seagull” management
• Fly in, make a lot of noise, dump on everyone, and fly out.
ALTERNATIVE LEADERSHIP PARADIGM
• Inverted pyramid
• The people are responsible.
• The leader’s job is to work really hard to provide his people with the
resources, training, working conditions they need to accomplish the
goals agreed upon.
• ”Roll up your sleeves and help them win. Because if they win, you
win.”
4 BASIC LEADERSHIP STYLES
• Style 1- DIRECTING
• Leader provides specific instructions and closely supervises task
accomplishment.
• Key words: structure, control, supervise.
• Style 2- COACHING
• Leader continues to direct and closely supervise task accomplishment…
• …BUT also explains decisions, solicits suggestions, and supports progress.
• But the leader makes the final decision
4 BASIC LEADERSHIP STYLES
• Style 3- SUPPORTING
• Leader facilitates and supports subordinate’s efforts toward task
accomplishment and shares responsibility for decision-making with them
• Key words: praise, listen, facilitate
• Style 4- DELEGATING
• Leader turns over responsibility for decision-making and problem solving to
the subordinate
WHAT IS MY PREDOMINANT STYLE?

(dyads; census)
STYLE CENSUS
• STYLE 1- DIRECTING
• johna
• STYLE 2- COACHING
• Eka, Raymond, sitti , niko
• STYLE 3- SUPPORTING
• Johna, kim, harlene, Raymond, nejie, abbie, gaille, airam, ronan
• STYLE 4- DELEGATING
• KIM
DIFFERENT STROKES
FOR
DIFFERENT FOLKS.

(It’s like parenting.)

DEVELOPMENT LEVEL OF THE SUBORDINATE
• COMPETENCE
• Knowledge and skills from education, training, experience
• COMMITMENT
• CONFIDENCE-
• measure of a person’s self-assuredenss- a feeling of being able to do a task well without
much supervision
• MOTIVATION
• A person’s interest in and enthusiasm for doing a task well
What ”folks” are each style good for?
• D1- LOW COMPETENCE, HIGH COMMITMENT
• The subordinate is new and/or with little experience but has real potential to
become self-directed
• The subordinate has skills and experience but doesn’t know the organization

• D2- SOME COMPETENCE, LOW COMMITMENT

• The subordinate’s commitment has waned because disillusionment has set in:
• They find the task harder to master than they thought it was going to be.
• They don’t think the rewards are going to be worth all the effort.
• They aren’t getting the direction they need.
• They are continually getting reprimanded.
• Progress is so slow that they lose confidence in their ability to learn to do the task well.
What ”folks” are each style good for?
• D3- HIGH COMPETENCE, VARIABLE COMMITMENT
• The subordinate has skills and experience and competence…
• …BUT is a reluctant contributor due to confidence issues.

• D4- HIGH COMPETENCE, HIGH COMMITMENT

• The subordinate is already a peak performer—competent AND committed to
his work—and therefore doesn’t need much direction. They can provide their
own support.
What ”folks” are each style good for?
• Style 1- DIRECTING for D1 (low competence, high commitment)
• A decision has to be made quickly and the stakes are high
• The subordinate is new and/or with little experience but has real potential to
become self-directed
• The subordinate has skills and experience but doesn’t know the organization
• Style 2- COACHING for D2 (some competence, low commitment)
• The subordinate’s commitment has waned because disillusionment has set in:
• They find the task harder to master than they thought it was going to be.
• They don’t think the rewards are going to be worth all the effort.
• They aren’t getting the direction they need.
• They are continually getting reprimanded.
• Progress is so slow that they lose confidence in their ability to learn to do the task well.
What ”folks” are each style good for?
• Style 3- SUPPORTING- for D3 (high competence, variable commitment)
• The subordinate has skills and experience and competence…
• …BUT is a reluctant contributor due to confidence issues

• Style 4- DELEGATING- for D4 (high competence, high commitment)

• The subordinate is already a peak performer—competent AND committed to his
work—and therefore doesn’t need much direction. They can provide their own
support.
Assess
by task or goal
 What are the development levels
of our R1s (choose 1 task)?

What leadership style is appropriate for each one?

CENSUS OF R1s
• D1
• D2
• D3
• D4
Different strokes for the same folks.
(used when the subordinate
has different capabilities
for different goals)
Your goal as a manager should be to gradually
increase the competence and confidence of
your people so that you can use less time-
consuming styles (supporting and delegating)
and still get high quality results.
Experiences
 Where do
one minute praises
and
one minute redirects/reprimands
fit in?
One Minute Goals

Tell them what to do.

SHOW them what to do
OMG summary
• Agree on your goals.
• Plan the goals together and describe them briefly and clearly.
• See what good behavior looks like.
• SHOW people what good performance looks like.
• Write out each of your goals on a single sheet of paper using less than
250 words.
• Have people write out each of their goals with due dates on a single
page.
 Then let them try.

BUT

INSPECT and give feedback.

“You can expect more if you inspect more.”

“The subordinate respects what the boss

inspects.”
One Minute Praising
• Tell people up front that you are going to let them know how they are
doing.
• Praise people immediately.
• Tell people what they did right—be specific.
• Tell people how good you feel about what they did right, and how it
helps the organization and the other people who work there.
One Minute Praising
• Stop for a moment of silence to let them feel how good you feel.
• Encourage them to do more of the same.
• Make it clear you have confidence in them and support their success.
One Minute Re-Direct
• Tell people beforehand that you are going to let them know how they are
doing and in no uncertain terms.
• Make sure that your goal was clear. If not, clarify.
• First half:
• Re-direct people as soon as possible
• Confirm the facts first, and review the mistake together—be specific
For D2,3,4
• Express how you feel about the mistake and its impact on results.
• Be quiet for a moment to allow people to feel concerned about what they
have done
One Minute Re-Direct
• Second half:
• Remind them how much you value them.
• Reaffirm that you think well of them but not of their performance in
this situation.
• Remember to let them know that they’re better than their mistake,
and that you think well of them as a person
• Remind them that you have confidence and trust in them, and
support their success.
• Realize that when the re-direct is over, it’s over.
One Minute Reprimand
• First half of the reprimand:
• Reprimand people immediately.
• Tell people what they did wrong—be specific.
• Tell people how you feel about what they did wrong—and in no uncertain terms.
• Stop for a few seconds of uncomfortable silence to let them feel how you feel
• Second half of the reprimand:
• Shake hands, or touch them in a way that lets them know you are honestly on
their side.
• Remind them how much you value them.
• Reaffirm that you think well of them but not of their performance in this
situation.
• Realize that when the reprimand is over, it’s over.
Comment on Redirects
• FOR D1s, redirects and reprimands will often lose motivation and stop
trying. So focus on TEACHING
• Reserve them for the D4s and D3s and occasionally D2s
• For people who are competent and committed but whose performance lately
has not been up to par
• Due process. If there are extenuating circumstances, don’t
reprimand; provide support, encouragement, and (if necessary)
direction
• You may need to go back to a more directive leadership stye for a while