Situational Leadership: Who Do You Think You are Talking Too?!
Dr. David Rafeedie
Jenny was the CEO of a medium size organization that manufactured parts for the aerospace industry. Under her leadership resources expanded and they became very good at taking advantage of product-market opportunities. She had a good executive team which became even better under her leadership. She could inspire and move her team and organization to accomplish their goals with excellence. She enjoyed a reputation in her industry as an effective executive. It didn’t take long for Jenny to be hired away from her organization to become the COO of a large corporation.
In her place, the board hired Mary as the new CEO. Mary was not as effective as Jenny. Perhaps a better way of saying it is, her replacement was hit and miss. Some people responded well to her leadership and others on her executive team were not on the same page. They wanted to be. They were team players, but somehow there was a disconnect. Those who responded well to her continued to do an excellent job. But with team members who did not connect well with her, morale became an issue. The effectiveness of the team and the organization were negatively impacted.
Of course, there was a concern on the board. The board knew they had the right person as CEO and wanted to help her be successful. At the board meeting, they suggested Mary hire an executive coach. After some research, she hired a coach, and after their initial conversation, both agreed it was a good match, and they began working together.
By their third session together Mary had discovered why some team members responded well to her and why some didn’t. She treated everyone the same. But not everyone was the same. To get the most out of her team, she needed to practice situational leadership. Working with her coach, by the fifth session, she put together some action steps to make her more effective leading her diverse team members.
Here are a few of the things Mary discovered that made her a more effective leader:
You have to know yourself
First, and foremost, if you want to be a good practitioner of situational leadership you must know yourself. That principle is sometimes forgotten in the situational leadership discussion. Being self-aware is foundational to many successes in life, both in leading people and in one’s personal life. Face it, if you don’t know yourself, what hope have you to know someone else well enough to lead them well.
I like the unique perspective of Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter, who say in their excellent book, The Mind of the Leader, “Self-awareness helps us answer one of life’s big questions, one that is foundational for leading our people: What makes us truly happy? This question should be front and center for any leader. Being self-aware of what constitutes true happiness helps in better leading people and tapping into what really drives them. True happiness bolsters feelings of fulfillment, engagement, and commitment.”
As a coach and Harrison Solutions Consultant, I can help you get a fuller understanding of you are, and who your team members are.
Situational leadership style:
The literature tells us there are four basic leadership styles. All leaders have one. We all have a primary style, but we must learn to be flexible in our leadership style if we are going to be effective with all the people that we lead. A strong leader can flex their style depending on the situation or the person we happen to be talking to. That was the difference between Jenny and Mary above. Jenny was a practitioner of situational leadership. She had options in dealing with her team and organization. Mary was limited in her options because she only practiced her primary leadership style, which was effective with some people but not others.
Here is a link to a simple, concise, and very good article to check out.
https://www.toolshero.com/leadership/situational-leadership-hersey-blanchard/
Situational Communication
Part of situational leadership is how we communicate with individuals. Strong communication is clear, concise, and uses language that is understood by the recipient. Knowing who you are communicating with is important. Your team members are different. For your communication to be effective you need to know who the individual team members are and how they respond to different ways of communication. For example:
Some team members may need to know why to be most effective.
Others may want direct communication.
Still others on your team may want more diplomatic communication and less direct.
You get the idea. Having the capacity to communicate flexibly depending on who you are talking to will make you a more effective leader.
Situational carrots and sticks
Incentivizing and motivating people is important to strong leadership. If you know who your team members are, and you are flexible in your leadership style, you will be effective at influencing and moving your team to perform. Not everyone responds to the same carrot in the same way. That goes for the sticks too.
You must know yourself, and you must know your team members to be an effective leader. When you know yourself and your team members you will able to effectively shift your leadership style to get the most out of your team members. Not to manipulate them for your ends, but to help them grow and be more effective in their roles. The team, and ultimately, your organization benefit.
What do you think? Please feel free to comment.
Everything changes with a coach. I can help you expand your capacity as a leader and help you and your team get to where you want to be faster than you thought possible. If you are reading this on social media, check out my website at www.davidthecoach.com. Click on the “contact me” button and let’s discuss a possible coaching relationship. You will also find more blogs on leadership, team development, and other success factors there.