Occasionally, a book is written that sums up something so obvious it clarifies much of what we know and already do well. At the same time, it inspires us to strive to perfect those very same things.
Ken Blanchard’s classic The One-Minute Manager developed some ideas about differing management styles that continue to inform me in a variety of circumstances, not just at work. Read the following excerpt from an article addressing Blanchard's ideas and think through its implications on the entire recruitment, hiring, and training process of a new agent hire.
"Situational leadership is a term developed by Ken Blanchard. As a situational leader you are able to adapt your leadership style to fit the situation of your team member or employee. This means you can deploy four different leadership styles depending on the situation.
As you assess which style is needed, you need to make a conscious choice about which of your own behaviors is needed. With directive behavior, you provide structure, control and close supervision for the people who need it. With supportive behavior, you use praise and two-way communication to facilitate the work of your team.
Blanchard sees four leadership styles growing out of combinations of supportive and directive behavior: directing style, coaching style, supporting style and delegating style.
In 'directing' style, the emphasis is on control and close supervision of the worker. In 'coaching' style, the leader provides more explanation of what the job entails and solicits suggestions while still staying in control of the situation. With 'supporting' style, there is a team approach between the leader and follower with the leader emphasizing support of the follower rather than control. Finally, in 'delegating' style, the leader turns over responsibility to the worker.
When I coach people on how to use Situational Leadership I usually talk to them about their own evolution in their current organization. I usually say, 'During your first week, how did you feel? You were likely excited and a little anxious. You also wanted to know what you were expected to do and shown how to do it.' You needed your supervisor to be using a ‘Directing’ leadership style.
Most of us evolve in our careers from needing Directing leadership at the beginning and then Coaching, then Supporting, and finally Delegating leadership when we become experienced and reliable.
Of course people develop at different rates and the Situational Leader needs to know where each person is in their evolution in order to determine what type of leadership they need. As Blanchard describes in his work, the level of a person’s development is measured by assessing their ‘competence and commitment’.
Competence is the level of a person’s knowledge and skills as they relate to doing their job. Commitment, on the other hand, is the level of the person’s confidence and motivation. Most leaders find Commitment to be the most difficult to assess.
Success in leadership comes when the leadership style is matched with the characteristics of the follower. Problems with leadership come when the leadership style does not fit the follower."
What struck me about the relevance of situational leadership to the recruitment process is the evolution from the very first contact. The recruiting professionals who are skilled at switching from one style to another and back again quickly are most successful. Why? The savviest recruits may need each style.
Also when the recruiting process is shared across multiple roles in an organization, it is also important to pass this leadership information on to others in chain of contact. This allows each new phone calll /interview to begin in the right framework rather than backtracking and repeating what others have already done.
Question: What styles do you find yourself naturally using the most? What relevance is it to be aware of these variations?
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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.
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