Situational Leadership Theories: Relevance, Strengths, and Weaknesses

Situational Leadership Theory and Organizational Leadership
Name
Institution
Course
Professor
Date
Situational Leadership Theory and Organizational Leadership             Situational leadership provides an avenue for leaders to engage with their employees effectively based on their needs and capabilities at different times. Notably, different employees have different competencies and skills that set them apart. As a result, a leader must appreciate such differences and look at the organizational objectives before deciding on the right path to take (Bierman et al., 2018). As a result, situational leadership provides multiple perspectives through which leaders can enhance their approaches to maximize the possibility of success. Consequently, the ever-changing business environments in today’s globalized world pose challenges that require the situational leadership approach that can adapt to employee development behavior. Importance of Situational Leadership Theories             Situational leadership is important for enhancing the capabilities and achievements of management, employees, and the organization. Firstly, the leader can use different leadership styles on different employees based on their readiness and ability to take instructions (Thompson & Glasø, 2018). This means that a leader can establish working relationships with employees by understanding their experience and expertise in their organization. Apart from that, the leader can further foster collaboration by developing appropriate teams that can successfully achieve organizational objectives (Bierman et al., 2018). This is possible because such a leader can influence individuals and innovate appropriately to achieve optimum productivity levels across the board.             Apart from that, the human capital in organizations can benefit from situational leadership theories by gaining the leader’s support to improve their performance. The experience levels of each employee are majorly different based on the number of years worked or the proficiencies achieved over a specific time (Bierman et al., 2018). Since employees are perceived to be at different levels of professional development, a situational leader can set the right amount of coaching or guidance required for each. This ultimately ensures that consistent guidance and direction are provided to each individual, thus preparing and improving their capabilities as they work daily. Different Theories of Situational Leadership Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory             Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard developed the most common situational leadership theory in 1969. The theory was based on the presumption that employee skills and dedication were foremost in determining a leader’s style. These styles include directing, supporting, coaching, and delegating, each to be applied in different situations based on the assessment of the employee (Bierman et al., 2018). For instance, a leader may delegate tasks to employees with high exper...