Hersey & Blanchard Situational Leadership

Hersey and Blanchard suggest that leaders should adjust their leadership style based on the employee and how committed the employee is. With this leadership theory, there are four leadership styles that would match respectively to the varying commitments of their employees.

A Directing Leadership Style will have employees that are Low Competance & High Commitment; we see this in new employees committed to their workplace with leaders at their side, training them

A Coaching Leadership Style will have employees who have some competence, but are now less committed then they were when they first started working. You will find leaders having to coach their associates less than a Directing Leadership Style.

A Supporting Leadership Style will have employees that fluctuate in their workplace commitment and have moderate to high competence.

A Delegating Leadership Style will have employees that are high in competence and high in commitment.

The graph is a continuous cycle, that leaders will go through based on the type of employee and the particular situation. I have a directing leadership style with new employees. I will demenstrate a coaching leadership style when employees. I find myself more in the coaching leadership style most times than others because I develop the employees in my department more times than none.