Hersey and Blanchard’s situational theory

Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard (1988) offered a situational leadership model that shows how leaders should change their styles according to the willingness and capacity of their followers [See Image 6: Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Model]. A primary assumption of situational leadership is that a “best” leadership style does not exist. Situational leadership adapts the same dimensions used by Fiedler (1964), task and relationship behaviors. The critical difference is that either dimension can be high or low, depending on the willingness and ability of the follower. The result is a grid that looks like a simplified version of Blake and Mouton’s (1964) managerial grid. Still, Hersey and Blanchard say that the difference is that the managerial grid measures concern for people and production. In contrast, the situational leadership model measures tasks and relationships.

In the situational leadership model (Hersey & Blanchard, 1988), high relationship behavior means that the follower is unwilling to do the work, requiring a high amount of support from the leader. Low relationship behavior means the follower is willing to do the work, so it requires low support from the leader. High task behavior means that a follower cannot do the work, so needs careful guidance from the leader. Low task behavior means that the follower can do the work, so it requires little guidance from the leader. From this model, four leadership styles emerge:

Delegate. The delegating leader puts decision authority into the hands of the group. Delegating is the optimum style when followers want to do the job and know how to do it.

Participate. The participating leader involves subordinates in the decision process but makes the final decision. Participating works best when followers can do the job but require support.

Sell. The selling leader decides what to do without involving followers, then persuades them that they have made the correct decision. Selling is the optimum style when subordinates lack the desire or capacity to do the job.

Tell. The telling leader decides what to do without involving followers and then directs the actions of the group. Telling is the optimum style when followers want to do the job but do not know how.

The situational leadership model has become a popular model in management texts and consulting applications. However, critics assert that the situational leadership model has limited empirical support (Blank, Weitzel, & Green, 1990). Graeff (1983) sees a “minor” contribution from the situational leadership model because it emphasizes the importance of “behavioral flexibility” due to the “situational nature of leadership” and because it recognizes the fundamental role the follower plays in leadership. However, Graeff concludes that the model and the measurement tool are “conceptually ambiguous,” contributing to the “serious weakness of the model” (p. 290).