Situational Management Concept in Change Management – Distinct Strokes For Distinctive Individuals
Provided the catastrophic 70% failure rate of all change management initiatives, the quality of leadership exercised is evidently a sizeable ingredient in reducing this threat.
In essence, situational leadership concept emphasises 2 locations:
(1) “Various strokes for distinct people” – distinct management types are relevant to different conditions
(2) “Cometh the hour cometh the gentleman” – management extends probably to just about everyone in an organisation – at some time
Dr Paul Hersey, who is closely involved with the growth of situational leadership concept, proposed in a pretty new presentation that: “… a situational chief is any person, any place who recognises that influencing conduct is not an occasion but a course of action. The process involves assessing followers’ efficiency in relation to what the chief needs to carry out and offering the appropriate amounts of steerage and support.”
In accordance to change management guru John Kotter “…today’s organizations want heroes at every level. To truly realize success in a turbulent planet, far more than 50 % the workforce needs to step up to the plate in some arena and offer change management.”
To my intellect, the notion that powerful leaders change their management designs to healthy the circumstance is an expansion of Robert Blake and Jane Mouton’s “Managerial Grid” theory, which suggest that the powerful leader “moves appropriately” alongside the spectrum of activity versus relationship orientation.
4 Communication Factors
According to a current research [Baker, Brown], profitable use of situational leadership relies on usefulness in 4 communication factors:
– Communicating anticipations
– Listening
– Delegating
– Furnishing suggestions
The Hersey and Blanchard Management Model can take this all a little bit further and introduces the idea that the level of progress or maturity of the followers is also something that the leader usually takes into account.
“Maturity” in this context to do with the preparedness and capability of a human being to consider accountability for directing his or her very own conduct in relation to a distinct job in a particular condition.
4 Unique Management Styles
Evidently the appropriate management type to use in a given predicament is heading to be established by the leader’s assessment of the maturity degree of the followers in that particular situation. The leader will transfer correctly lengthy the undertaking-directive vs . relationship-supportive spectrum.
Four unique leadership models are identified in the Hershey and Blanchard Management Model – each and every reflecting the evolving amounts of maturity of the followers:
(1) Directing – the chief is extremely directive providing crystal clear, particular guidance
(2) Coaching – even though the leader retains handle of decision generating, he/she encourages two-way communication and allows create self confidence and inspiration on the section of his/her persons
(3) Supporting – the individuals no lengthier will need the chief to convey to them what to do or to make the decisions – so selection earning is shared
(4) Delegating – when the men and women are all set, keen and ready the leader delegates complete responsibility to them
Whilst I concur with this style of flexible management, I have to say that, in a change management context, extending management all over an organisation in the fashion advised is inquiring a great deal of most organisations as it needs a comprehensive and full change of lifestyle.
Also, all of this is dependent on the supporting framework of change management processes that are derived from adopting a programme-dependent solution to foremost and controlling the change.