There Is Always a Need for Situational Leadership

Situational leadership has to be one of the most practical parts of leadership. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard helped develop this theory. They explained how all leadership styles can be categorized in four behavior types such as directing, coaching, supporting, and delegating. Each type is good because a leader must simply understand them to be able to handle each situation better.

Directing

When someone flows more in the directing area of leadership they will tend to be more structured. These type of leaders will use roles as a way of explaining how a task will be accomplished. This usually happens when the leader explains all of what, how, why, when, and where to do the tasks.

Coaching

Coaching takes a lot of love and time. If we do not care about the people we coach, then why will we help them? Sometimes people need a good pep talk. We have to be there for people, and use our time wisely to plant spiritual seeds in their lives.

Supporting

Supporting occurs many times through shared decision making. The leader is building the relationship through a situation that pops up. In the book, “The Leadership Challenge,” James Kouzes and Barry Posner explain how, “Leaders foster collaboration by building trust and facilitating relationships.” (p. 21)[1]. Sometimes we will need to have built a strong trust in our team to build the group. Situational leadership will cause your group to have trust in the leader, when a situation arises and he/she handles it well.

Delegating

Delegating is a huge part of leadership. Those who are good at discernment should be used to help in this process. Personal skills assessments can also be a great tool to be able to use in this process. Many times when a leader feels overburdened, they need to step back and delegate more.

We are all called to direct, coach, support, and delegate. There is always a place for situational leadership because in life, we may not always have time to prepare a whole message.  That is why the Bible tells us, “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” (2 Timothy 4:2). Whether it is Sunday. Monday, or Friday, we must always be ready to lead.

[1] Kouzes, James M., and Barry Z. Posner. The Leadership Challenge. 3rd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002.