Agile or situational leadership? How to achieve good leadership

Agile or situational leadership? How good leadership succeeds

"There is no such thing as the ideal leadership style." This was the central message of Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey, the developers of the situational leadership approach, back in 1968. They postulated that managers must demonstrate different leadership behavior depending on the situation and the person they are dealing with. Sometimes they have to praise employees, sometimes reprimand them. Sometimes they should actively support them in fulfilling a task, sometimes they should consciously take a step back. Unfortunately, however, the idea of development associated with situational leadership is often forgotten in everyday working life. And this starts a vicious circle. Because managers do not encourage their employees, they are unable to assign them more and more complex tasks over time. As a result, the burden on managers gradually increases - also because companies are constantly facing new challenges in the age of digitalization.

Competent employees take the pressure off managers

To overcome this problem, more and more companies are currently striving to manage their businesses according to agile principles. And they are increasingly demanding that their managers lead their employees in an agile manner. Agile means reacting flexibly and dynamically to conditions that are constantly in flux. Unfortunately, it is often overlooked that such a management style, which largely relies on the self-organization and personal responsibility of employees, requires an agile mindset on the part of both employees and managers. This new, agile understanding of leadership requires a comprehensive set of characteristics. Managers must therefore have a higher level of diagnostic and change expertise than the generations before them in order to provide their teams with appropriate support in the face of constant change. How can this be achieved?

Situational leadership: the four stages of employee development

According to the situational leadership approach, four stages can be distinguished in the development of employees, depending on their competence and commitment:

When employees take on a new task, they generally have very little experience with it. Their competence is therefore low. Nevertheless, they approach the task with enthusiasm and great (learning) zeal(development stage 1).

However, a certain disillusionment usually sets in soon, for example because the new task proves to be more difficult than expected. The resulting disillusionment often leads to a decline in commitment(development stage 2).

Nevertheless, the employees continue to work and gradually develop a feeling for how they can master the task. However, they are still unsure and ask themselves: "Can I really do this on my own?". Their commitment is then as volatile as their feelings(development stage 3).

However, the more often the employees have successfully completed the task, the more confident they become. This means that they gradually develop into professionals who solve the task routinely and do not panic if a slightly different approach has to be used to solve it(development stage 4).

It is important to note the four development stages: They always relate to one task only. This means that the competence and commitment of each employee varies from task to task. This means that different management behavior is also required.

Adapting management behavior to developments

According to the situational leadership approach, there are two basic categories of leadership behavior: directing and supportive behavior.

The directing behavior focuses on how a task is to be performed. The leader tells and shows their employee when and how something needs to be done and gives them feedback on the result. The aim of directing behavior is to develop the competence of other people.
Supportive behavior, on the other hand, aims to encourage people's initiative and influence their attitude towards a task. Examples of supportive behavior are praising, listening and encouraging; also involving employees in solving a problem.

Four leadership styles can be derived from the two basic categories, depending on their characteristics and combination.

Leadership style 1 -
Guiding

This management style is characterized by stronglydirective and less supportive behaviour. The supervisor gives the employee detailed instructions on how and with what objectives a task is to be completed and closely monitors the procedure and performance.

Leadership style 2 -
Coaching

This management style is characterized by a strongly directing and supportive behaviour. The manager explains decisions, asks for suggestions, praises procedures (even if they are only partially correct) and gives precise instructions. Suggestions from employees on how to proceed are welcome, but the leader still makes the decisions.

Leadership style 3 -
Support

This management style is characterized by strongly supportive and less directive behaviour. It is primarily aimed at strengthening or maintaining the employee's commitment. Managers who practice this style train, listen and encourage employees to make their own decisions and develop solutions to problems.

Leadership style 4 -
Delegating

This management style is characterized by a less supportive and directing behaviour. The line manager allows the employee to act independently and provides the necessary resources. The line manager also determines (ideally, in dialog with the employee) what results are desired and ensures that there is clarity of purpose. He also observes and monitors performance.

Agile leadership requires a suitable environment

Agile leadership makes sense in complex projects/environments with rapidly changing conditions and unpredictable twists and turns. Other situations require a different management style. The employees involved must be able and willing to make decisions. The working atmosphere must be based on a high level of trust and requires open and successful communication(giving and receiving feedback).

If managers know the four leadership styles and the development level of their employees, they can decide which leadership behavior is appropriate for a task. If the task is new for the employee, i.e. their commitment is high, but their competence is still low, then guidance is called for. If, on the other hand, an employee has already gained some experience but their commitment has waned due to setbacks, coaching is the right approach. If an employee has already developed a certain level of competence but is reluctant to apply it, then mental support is primarily required. And if an employee already has quite a routine and is committed enough, the leader can delegate the task to the employee.

And for which employees is agile leadership, which largely relies on employees organizing themselves, possible? Agility is successful with employees who...

Manage leadership styles flexibly and in a goal-oriented manner

It follows from this: Managers must constantly adapt their leadership behavior in day-to-day operations to the development of the respective employee and the respective situation in a lexible and agile manner. Accordingly, managers must be highly sensitive to the current situation and flexible in their behavior. And they need to be trained to do this - just as they themselves should do in relation to their employees.

WE BRING YOUR STRATEGY TO LIFE

Leadership rethought - agile and situational at the same time. More and more companies are recognizing that there is no "one right" management style, but that successful managers must adapt their behaviour flexibly to employees and situations. While the classic approach of situational leadership focuses on development and promotion, the digital transformation also requires an agile mindset: allowing teams to work independently and dynamically supporting change. With our decades of expertise, we support companies in effectively anchoring modern leadership approaches and qualifying managers for change. If you are considering how you can strengthen your company with innovative leadership concepts, please contact us - together we will develop solutions that make an impact.

You can find out what this can look like here: Case studies & experience reports