Situational leadership deals with the idea that no one is the absolute leader, rather depending on the situation a particular person can demonstrate the leadership qualities that are necessary to deal with it. Situational leadership teaches about flexible leadership.
The theory of situational leadership was popularized by Paul Hersey, author of Situational Leader, and Ken Blanchard, author of The One Minute Manage; in their book Management of Organizational Behavior. The theory states that there is no absolute method of leadership; rather, it is flexible to the situation.
Situational leadership propagates the idea that leadership policy should be sensitive and flexible to the situation. Effective leadership would be based on task and target. The strategy of the leader would also depend upon the team he is leading. It states that ‘nothing is more unequal than equal treatment to unequals’.
The theory of situational leadership, however, isn’t novel, rather Sun Tzu Art of WarSun Tzu, or Master Sun as he was also known as, had conceptualized the concept of situational leadership in his book of art of war. Since then as Sun Tzu art of war has gained application in modern days corporate environment, the study of situational leadership has also become popular in leadership development program.
In his book, art of war, Sun Tzu has suggested the generals that for new and undedicated soldiers, they can be trained and disciplined to be trusted upon. But the same technique would be futile for seasoned, motivated soldiers; they should rather be awarded with responsibilities. He had suggested that leadership strategies should be altered depending on the group to promote ‘esprite de corps’.
Creating positive workplace
According to situational leadership theory the workforce individuals can be categorize with competency and commitment, analogy to productive efficiency and effectiveness.For example, Sun Tzu reckoned that the group of low competence but high commitment can be trained and guided to turn productive. But the similar policy wouldn’t be effective with people of high competence but variable commitment; rather leadership strategies of praise and support would help in bringing out the best in them.
Beyond understanding individuals competency and commitment to optimize the potential of individual staff, situational leadership also requires the dynamic of the team response under different kind of environment, and thus decide on the leadership strategies that to be used. The leadership style has to adapt to the environment.
The service of leadership consulting can be effectively used in diagnosing the competency and commitment level of each employee and devise strategies to deal with it at normal times.
The study of situational leadership has become very important in leadership development. In the study of the art of war for managers, situational leadership requires flexible approach to handling people under different situation but with strict adherence to value preposition. The leader must learn to identify the areas to influence. The study of situational leadership in Sun Tzu way has become essential for the corporate world to promote positive environment in workplaces.
Sun Tzu Art of War
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