Situational leadership emphasizes the importance of context in determining effective leadership styles, influenced by various situational variables like job nature, follower characteristics, and leader capabilities. It identifies six basic leadership styles, including directive and supportive behaviors, and explains that different scenarios may require the application of multiple styles for effectiveness. Adaptive leadership is presented as a new approach focused on collaboration and managing change effectively.

1. Chapter 3:
Situational Leadership
Best Leadership Style? It Depends.

2. Job interview question. What do you
say to “What is your leadership style?”

3. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Describe what is situational leadership
2. Explain the primary situational variables that influence what leadership styles to
employ
3. Compare how directive and supportive behaviors differ
4. Define six basic leadership styles that are applied in situational leadership
5. Contrast the relative effectiveness of each of the six leadership styles in different
situations
6. Describe the characteristics of adaptive leadership
7. Make a case for developing multiple leadership styles in leading change in pharmacy
practice

4. WHAT IS SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP?

5. Situational leadership is a group of theories that
highlight the role of context in effective leadership.

6. According to these theories, the greatest predictor of
leadership effectiveness and success is the situation
faced by leaders and how leaders react to those
situations

7. SITUATIONS
The following pictures illustrate a situations that might require vastly
different behaviors by leaders.

15. Behaviors that might be wildly successful in one
situation might be catastrophic in others

16. Although various situational
theories differ in content and
emphasis, they tend to agree
that the appropriate leadership
style depends on five situational
variables
Situational Variables that Influence
Which Style is Appropriate

17. Situational Variable Types
Nature of the job Routine or non-routine jobs
Structured or non-structured tasks
Follower
characteristics
Motivation to do a job and competence at doing it
Followers’ energy level and willingness to engage in tasks
Follower’s willingness and ability to take responsibility for the job
Leader/follower
relationship
Follower confidence and trust in the leader
Loyalty and commitment to the leader
The leader’s sources of power and how it is used to influence followers
(e.g., heavy use of rewards and punishment)
Organizational
constraints
Organizational policies and procedures
Organizational or team culture
The amount of time and resources available
Leader capabilities Intelligence of the leader (IQ)
Technical skills, experience, and training of the leader
The leader’s emotional intelligence (EQ)

18. One of the biggest surprises
experienced by new leaders
is that they have little
control over many factors
influencing leadership
situations.

19. Rather than being able to change the situation, they
need to adapt their leadership to the circumstances.
Otherwise failure will occur.

20. STYLES OF LEADERSHIP

21. Google “leadership style”

22. What did you find?
How many leadership styles are there?
What theories are situational?

23. You probably found between 3 and 10 leadership
styles and numerous situational theories

24. Leadership styles are patterns of behavior adopted
by a leader to influence change
Leadership theories differ on what patterns they
consider most important

25. Styles differ based upon how they direct and
motivate people, and by the types of relationships
they have with team members

26. Example: Directive and supportive behaviors in leadership styles
Leadership
Style
Support and
Direction
Illustration
Delegating Low support, low
direction
"Here is the task. Let me know if you need any help
or guidance."
Supporting High support, low
direction
"Here is the task. How are you feeling? Are you up
for doing this? Is there anything I can do to help?"
Coaching High support,
high direction
"Here is the task. You can do this. It will help you
develop your skills. I will be with you the entire
way."
Directive Low support,
high direction
"Here is the task. Here is how to do it. Here is
when I expect it to be completed."

27. When you compare leadership frameworks, you
see similarities between them although they
might use different terms for the same concepts

28. Style in a phrase Goleman’s styles Lewin’s styles Blanchard’s SLII
“Do what I say. Now” Coercive Authoritarian Directing
“Come with me.” Transformationala
“People come first.” Affiliative Supporting
“What do you think?” Democratic Participative
“Follow me.” Pacesetting
“Try this.” Coaching Coaching
“You are on your own.” Delegative Delegative
Comparing situational frameworks
SLII, situational leadership II.
a. Called authoritative by Goleman.

29. GOLEMAN’S SIX BASIC STYLES OF
LEADERSHIP

30. Goleman’s 6 leadership styles
Leadership style Type of influence Pros and cons
Coercive Uses rewards and punishments to
demand immediate compliance
Motivates quick action; damages
relationships and only encourages
compliance
Transformational Mobilizes people toward a vision
articulated by a leader
Is highly motivational; not all leaders are
visionary
Affiliative Revolves around meeting the
emotional needs of followers
Focuses on people over the task; can neglect
task
Democratic Gives followers a say in decisions
that affect their work lives
Solicits input from everyone; can be slow to
reach consensus
Pacesetting Sets extremely high-performance
standards for both followers and
themselves
Works best with highly motivated and skilled
teams; can overwhelm and offer confusing
expectations
Coaching Develops followers to work more
independently and effectively
Works with motivated people who want to
learn; requires time for coaching
Goleman D. Leadership that gets results. Harvard Business Review 2000;(March-April):78-90.

31. Coercive
Visionary
Affiliative
Democratic
Pace setting
Coaching
Some leadership styles are
more effective for situations
The key is to understand the
situation and identify the best
leadership style or styles for
solving the problem
Often, situations require
multiple styles that switch back
and forth depending on the
immediate need (e.g., coercive
backed up with affiliative)

32. For example, coercive styles work better…
When followers have little
power and high respect
for authority
In top-down,
hierarchical organizations
For traditional boss/
employee relationships where
compliance is valued
over engagement
For structured, routine tasks
When used sparingly
to supplement other
styles

33. McDonalds
Manager/ Low
skilled,
inexperienced
workers
Platoon
leader of
soldiers
under
attack
Office
manager of
graphic
design
artists
Surgeon
leading a
surgical
team
Leader of
the United
Nations
over
members
Faculty
member
over
students on
RAM in SE
Virginia
Team
captain of a
college
basketball
team
POC over
pharmacy
techs in a
Walmart
Coercive
Visionary
Affiliative
Democratic
Pace setting
Coaching
Choose the preferred style for the situation

34. Which styles are most associated with the leadership type
Theory X manager Theory Y Manager Servant Leader Narcissistic Leader
Coercive
Visionary
Affiliative
Democratic
Pace setting
Coaching

35. Additional Leadership styles
Authoritarian
Bureaucratic
Command and control
Laissez-faire
Transactional

36. Situational Theories
No one leadership style is effective in all situations. This leaves three major
strategies:
1. Leaders can find situations that match their style and capabilities,
2. Leaders can find others with strengths that complement the leader’s
weaknesses, and/or
3. Leaders can develop the ability to apply multiple styles to different situations

37. ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP (New and upcoming)
Leadership as a process, not the application of styles

38. Highly collaborative process consisting of the following steps
1. Identify whether the problem is technical (consisting of common problems with
relatively clear solutions) or adaptive (uncommon, challenging, new situation
without easy solutions).
2. Focus people's attention on what is important and away from distractions.
Secure commitment from individuals to implement and support change.
3. Frame the issues to be considered. Ensure that there is a focus on the big
picture.
4. Secure ownership by stakeholders. Sustain conditions that make them take
responsibility for solving problems and offering solutions
5. Manage the inevitable conflict that occurs with change.
Heifetz RA, Grashow A, Linsky M. The practice of adaptive leadership:
Tools and tactics for changing your organization and the world. Harvard Business Press; 2009.

39. Summary
If you only have one leadership style, you are limited to how well you
can adapt to situations
Ability to read a situation and apply the right style is critical for
successful leadership