Dr. William Allan Kritsonis earned his BA in 1969 from Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington. In 1971, he earned his M.Ed. from Seattle Pacific University. In 1976, he earned his PhD from the University of Iowa. In 1981, he was a Visiting Scholar at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, and in 1987 was a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. In June 2008, Dr. Kritsonis received the Doctor of Humane Letters, School of Graduate Studies from Southern Christian University. The ceremony was held at the Hilton Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1. Management Theory in Education
William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
Overview
An investigation into the area of management theory revealed the
importance of knowing situational leadership. The authors recommended for
study are Paul Hersey, Kenneth Blanchard and Dewey E. Johnson who, in
1996, co-authored Management of Organizational Behavior. Chapters 8-10
and 12-17 have been denoted as important to the comp questions.
Chapter 8: Situational Leadership
Chapter 9: Situational Leadership, Perception, and the Impact of Power
Chapter 10: Developing Human Resources
Chapter 12: Building Effective Relationships
Chapter 13: Communicating with Rapport
Chapter 14: Group Dynamics
Chapter 15: Implementing Situational Leadership: Managing People to
Perform
Chapter 16: Implementing Situational Leadership: One Minute Manager
Chapter 17: Implementing Situational Leadership: Effective Follow-Up

2. Specific areas in each chapter were reported to have greater relevance
than other areas. This report will highlight the designated areas of relevance.
Chapter 14 was indicated as an extremely important chapter.
Chapter 8: Situational Leadership
Managers must be able to identify clues in an environment, adapt their
leadership style to meet the demands of their environment and have the
personal flexibility and range of skills necessary to vary their own behavior.
Situational Leadership was developed by Paul Hersey and Kenneth H.
Blanchard at the Center for Leadership Studies in the late 1960's. In 1982 the
original Situational Leadership was modified to include diagnostic
instruments and training materials. The new approach is called SLII. The
best description of this approach to Situational Leadership can be found in
Leadership and the One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard.
According to Situational Leadership, there is no one best way to
influence people. Which leadership style to use varies upon the situation and
people involved. The following descriptions apply to the four styles:
• Style 1 (S1). This leadership style is characterized by above-
average amounts of task behavior and below-average
amounts of relationship behavior.

3. • Style 2 (S2). This leadership style is characterized by above-
average amounts of both task and relationship behavior.
• Style 3 (S3). This style is characterized by above-average
amounts of relationship behavior and below-average
amounts of task behavior.
• Style 4 (S4). This style is characterized by below-average
amounts of both relationship behavior and task behavior.
The authors state the leadership situations involving the family,
schools or other settings, different words may be more appropriate than task
and relationship-for example, guidance and supportive behavior or directive
behavior and facilitating behavior-but the underlying definitions remain the
same.
Adapted from Paul Hersey, Situational
Selling (Escondido, Calif.: Center for
Leadership Studies, 1985), p. 20.
Figure 1: Effective Leader Behavior (page 192)
Readiness level is a key factor in situational leadership and choosing
which style to implement. Readiness levels range from high to low.

4. • R4 (high). Able and willing or confident
• R3 (moderate). Able but not willing or confident
• R2 (moderate). Unable but willing or confident
• R1 (low). Unable and unwilling or insecure
HIGH MODERATE LOW
R4 R3 R2 R1
Able and Able but Unable but Unable and
Willing Unwilling Willing Unwilling
or Confident or or or
Insecure Confident Insecure
Adapted from Paul Hersey, Situational Selling (Escondido,
Calif.: Center for Leadership Studies, 1985), p. 27.
Figure 2: Continuum or Follower Readiness (page 195)
Study closely the figures below:
Adapted from Paul Hersey, Situational
Selling (Escondido, Calif.: Center for
Leadership Studies, 1985), p. 19.
Figure 3: (page 200)

5. Adapted from Paul Hersey, Situational Selling (Escondido, Calif.: Center for
Leadership Studies, 1985), p. 35.
Figure 4: (page 208)
Chapter 9: Situational Leadership, Perception, and the Impact of Power
Power is one of the means by which a leader influences the behavior
of followers. Power is influence potential-the resource that enables a leader
to gain compliance or commitment from others. Authority is a particular
type of power that has its origin in the position that a leader occupies.

6. Authority is the power that is legitimatized by virtue of an individual's
formal role in a social organization. Position power and personal power have
been discussed by Amitai Etzioni. Etzioni sees power as the ability to induce
or influence behavior. Etzioni claimed power is derived from an
organizational office, personal influence, or both. Individuals who are able
to induce other individuals to a certain job because of their position in the
organization are considered to have position power; individuals who derive
their power from their followers are considered to have personal power.
Some individuals can have both position power and personal power.
Additional bases of power include coercive power, connection power,
reward power, legitimate power, referent power, information power, and
expert power. Referent and expert power were associated with the greatest
satisfaction, legitimate and reward power were intermediate, and coercive
power was associated with least satisfaction.
Chapter 10: Developing Human Resources
Managers need to devote time to nurture the leadership potential,
motivation, morale, climate, commitment to objectives, and the decision-
making, communication, and problem-solving skills of their people. An
important role for managers is the development of the task-relevant
readiness of their followers.

7. Rensis Likert found that employee-centered supervisors who use
general supervision tend to have higher-producing sections than job-centered
supervisors who use close supervision. Likert found that employees
generally respond well to their supervisor's high expectations and genuine
confidence in them and try to justify the supervisor's expectations of them.
Chapter 12: Building Effective Relationships
The Center for Leadership Studies examined the use of Leader
Effectiveness and Adaptability Description (LEAD) instrument. The LEAD
instrument was designed to measure three aspects of leader behavior: 1)
style, 2) style range, or flexibility, and 3) style adaptability. The leadership
style of a person is the behavior pattern a person exhibits when attempting to
influence the activities of others--as perceived by those others. LEAD Self
measures self-perception of how an individual behaves as a leader; the
LEAD other reflects the perceptions of a leader's followers, supervisors, and
peers or associates.
Extensive research revealed that all leaders have a primary and
secondary leadership style. A leader's primary style is defined as the
behavior pattern used most often when attempting to influence the activities
of others. A leader's secondary style is the leadership style that a person
tends to use on occasion. All leaders have one primary leadership style, but

8. may have up to three secondary styles as described in Situational
Leadership.
Style range, or flexibility is the extent to which a leader is able to vary
her or his leadership style. Leadership situations vary in the extent to which
they make demands on flexibility.
Style adaptability is the degree to which they are able to vary their
style appropriately to the demands of a given situation, according to
Situational Leadership.
A wide style range will not guarantee effectiveness; style range is not
as relevant to effectiveness as style adaptability. The importance of a leader's
diagnostic ability cannot be overemphasized. It is the key to adaptability.
The concept of adaptability implies that the effective leader is able to use the
right style at the right time.
Figure 4: (page 302)
To diagnose an organization both the LEAD Self and LEAD Other
instrument is used. Both are used to determine if there is any discrepancy

9. between self-perception and the perception of others. A useful framework
developed by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham is used to analyze that data and
feed it back to participating managers. This framework is called the Johari
Window and depicts leadership personality, not overall personality, as it is
sometimes used. The difference between leadership personality and
leadership style in this context is that leadership personality includes self-
perception and the perception of others; leadership style consists only of an
individual's leader behavior as perceived by others, that is supervisors,
employees, associates, and so on. Thus, leadership personality equals self-
perception plus perception of others.
Leaders who engage in some attitudes or behaviors that they
themselves know about are referred to as known to self. Leadership
personality that includes behaviors and attitudes known to others, as well as
areas unknown to others. The arena that is known to self and also known to
others is called public arena--it is known to all (the leader and others) within
the organizational setting. The arena that is unknown to self (the leader), but
is known to others, is referred to as the blind arena. The arena that is known
to self but unknown to others is referred to as the private arena. The last
arena, unknown to self and unknown to others, is called the unknown.

10. Figure 5: Johari Window (page 304)
Two-style profile includes either 1) a basic style that encompasses two
of the four possible configuration styles or 2) a basic style and a supporting
style. It is important to remember that unless you have gathered specific data
on how your leadership style is perceived by others, your perception of your
own leadership style is only that--your perception.
Combining establishing objectives and reaching consensus on
performance criteria in a traditional MBO program with a similar process for
negotiating the appropriate leadership style that a manger should use to
facilitate goal accomplishments in a specific task area can be accomplished
through the following steps:
• Establish objectives and performance criteria
• Reach agreement on objectives and performance criteria
• Introduce Situational Leadership
• Complete Readiness Style Match
• Meet to share data from Readiness Style Match

11. One warning should be given in using the Contracting for Leadership
Style process and the readiness style match rating forms. When managers go
through that process, their public arena in the Johari Window becomes very
large. If managers do not want their people to know what they think and feel
about them, then they should be careful about using the described process.
Chapter 13: Communicating with Rapport
The three basic competencies in influencing are 1) diagnosing--being
able to understand the situation you are attempting to influence; 2)
adapting--being able to adapt your behavior, and the other things that you
have control over, to the contingencies of the situation; and 3)
communicating--being able to put the message in a way that people can
easily understand and accept. This chapter is about the third competency--
communicating.
All the evidence clearly shows that written and oral communication
skills are critical not only in obtaining a job, but also in performing
effectively on the job. Written and oral communication skills were the two
most important factors in obtaining employment.
Leaders influence from both personal power and position power. You
can begin building personal power by establishing rapport. Part of
establishing rapport is being able to communicate effectively in a way that is

12. comfortable for people you are attempting to influence. To make people feel
comfortable, you have to get in step with them--pace with them. Key
concepts:
• Rapport. Being attuned to other people verbally or
nonverbally so that they are comfortable and have trust and
confidence in you.
• Pacing. Establishing rapport by reflecting what others do,
know, or assume to be true (doing something similar,
matching some part of their ongoing experience).
• Leading. Getting other people to pace with you (attempting
to influence them to consider other possibilities).
• Having behavioral adaptability. Having enough range in
your own behavior to pace with the person or persons with
whom you are interacting.
The secret of establishing rapport with people is pacing. To pace with
other people you need to adapt to match their behavior--to get "in sync" with
them so that they feel comfortable with you. This means getting in
alignment with their words, their voice characteristics, and their nonverbals.
When you have established rapport with people, they are more apt to follow
your lead. The general pattern can be thought of in this way:

13. Pace Lead
When you're interacting with other people, you're either pacing--doing
something similar--or leading--having them pace with you. If your primary
objective is to gain acceptance, then pacing may be enough. But if your
objective is to influence them to consider other alternative, then you must
also lead. Managers can sometimes lead first and then pace to get results,
since they often have position power.
Chapter 14: Group Dynamics
No matter how much we value and protect our individuality, almost
all of our goals can be achieved only in a group. Labor and management
must have shared values, and yet in most cases they don't. Another
important impediment to achieving group effectiveness is a lack of
leadership skill. Brian Dumaine suggests there are five species in the
kingdom of teams:
• Problem-solving teams. Attack a problem and then disband
• Management teams. Coordinate work from different
functions.
• Work teams, including the most advanced species, Self-
managed teams. Do the daily work.

14. • Virtual teams. Use advanced communications to exchange
ideas and roles.
• Quality circles. Consist of workers and supervisors who
meet periodically to address problems. This species may be
becoming extinct.
Dumaine offers four guidelines for the most effective use of teams
including 1) Use the right team for the job 2) Create a hierarchy of teams 3)
Build trust 4) Address "people" issues. An important term is a group as two
or more individuals.
What is the team's readiness in the situation?
• Readiness Level 1. The group resembles "Pick-up Sticks" in
terms of their orientation toward the specific objective. In
this "forming" stage, uncertainty and lack of goals and role
clarity are evidenced by a strong need for definition of the
objective. The entire group is unable and unwilling or
insecure in reference to the specific objective.
• Readiness Level 2. This group is "coming around," but
groups at this "storming" stage are often divided with
intragroup dissonance and competition for recognition and

15. influence. The group as a whole is unable, but willing and
confident, in reference to the specific objective.
• Readiness Level 3. This group is "coming together," with
group cohesion very important at this "norming" stage.
Adjustments are made between individuals and factions, and
informal leaders and experts emerge. The group itself is
now demonstrating ability with modest accomplishments,
but it is still unwilling or insecure in its efforts toward
accomplishing the objective.
• Readiness level 4. This team acts "as one" and shows strong
evidence of functional role-relatedness, esprit, synergy, and
high levels of performance. The group is now a team: able,
willing, and confident in relation to the objective.

16. Source: Used by permission of the copyright holder, The Center for
Leadership Studies, Escondido, Calif. 92025. All rights reserved.
Figure 6 (page 366)
Chapter 15: Implementing Situational Leadership: Managing People to
Perform
The most fundamental issue of how a leadership or management
concept might appear to be is, Does it contribute to organizational
productivity?
A strategy is a broad integrated plan of action to accomplish
organizational goals; in our frame of reference, the goal is to improve human
productivity. Performance is defined as achieving or surpassing business or
social objectives and responsibilities from the perspective of the judging
party.
Seven factors of performance, designed by Clary Carr, include: 1)
Goals 2) Standards 3) Feedback 4) Means 5) Competence 6) Motive
7) Opportunity.

17. Paul Hersey and Marshall Goldsmith designed the ACHIEVE model.
ACHIEVE represents ability, clarity, help, incentive, evaluation, validity,
environment. Hersey and Goldsmith isolated these seven variables related to
effective performance management. Performance management builds upon
the basic philosophy of Situational Leadership. There is no one best way to
solve human resource problems. The manager should use the problem-
solving strategy that best fits the needs of followers in their unique
situations.
Chapter 16: Implementing Situational Leadership: One Minute
Management
Spencer Johnson and Kenneth Blanchard attempted to overcome
some of the objections to the academic nature of behavior modification in
their best-selling book, The One Minute Manager. The book, and this
chapter, focus on three powerful concepts derived from behavior
modification principles: one minute goal setting, one minute praisings, and
one minute reprimands. The notion of a "one minute manager" was
developed to encourage managers to take an extra minute to make sure they
are focusing on those things that have the most impact in obtaining desired
performance from workers.

18. Limit the number of goals. It is advised that you set goals, set
priorities, use measurable indicators, have standards of performance, include
incentives and benefits, identify obstacles to goal accomplishment, identify
action steps, praise and reward, and use reprimands and redirection if
necessary.
Good goals are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable,
Relevant, Trackable.
If reprimands are necessary, reprimand the action, not the person.
Don't forget the one minute apology when you are wrong. Talk specifics,
build people up, hear people out and improve your own communication
skills.
Chapter 17: Implementing Situational Leadership: Effective Follow-Up
The book by Hersey and Blanchard, Putting the One Minute
Manager to Work is the focus in this chapter. The "ABC's of management,"
which stands for activators, behaviors, and consequences. Activators are
things you have to do before you can expect good performance. Behavior is
the performance you want. Consequences are what follow behavior.

19. Source: Kenneth Blanchard and Robert Lorber, Putting the One Minute
Mananger to Work (New York: Morrow, 1984).
Figure 7 (page 419)
The PRICE system is a five-step productivity improvement system
developed by Robert Lorber and his associates. PRICE stands for pinpoint,
record, involve, coach, and evaluate.
The most important thing about any management concept is whether
it works on a day-to-day basis. The proof is in the application (Hersey &
Blanchard, 1996).
Summary
In anticipation of the comps question, it is my suggestion that we
know situational leadership, its levels, and the numerous ways it can be

20. applied and implemented in any situation. So as far as putting this in
question format, "How can situational leadership be applied in the following
scenarios?"
Links
I strongly suggest that cohort members go online and search under
"Situational Leadership" for numerous sites. The first search resulted in
1600 sites. There are a variety of applications and food for thought in areas
that are currently using situational leadership.
www.performancelearning.net (programs information)
www.bsu.edu (has links to pertinent sites)
www.qualitytalk.com (prof. development)
www.getfeedback.net (good)

21. References
Hersey, Paul, Blanchard, Kenneth H., Johnson, Dewey E. 1996.
Management of Organizational Behavior: utilizing human resources.
Prentice-Hall, New Jersey.