Situational Leadership

Leadership

Situational leadership

Commitment

Competence

Leadership styles

The Situational Leadership model (Hershey–Blanchard) says there is not one best style of leadership. The best coaches and leaders, according to the model, adjust their leadership style based on the situation. The model is relevant to sports leadership.

Keeping it simple - The Situational Leadership model requires that you know yourself – your preferred style of interaction –and that you adjust your style of interaction to meet the needs of your teammates. This is based on your ability to identify the current stage of development of each of your teammates. Here’s how it works:

Coaches and leaders know their team members and the style of leadership that best meets their needs at given point in time. The leader can choose to interact from one of four leadership options. The choice is based on where the team member is in terms of their abilities and performance – their competence and level of commitment to performing at a high level. Based on your assessment your response could be -

Provide Direction – one-way communication – the coach or team leader tells you what to do.

Provide Coaching - two-way communication – the coach or team leader encourages you to do what you were told to do. You ask questions or seeking clarification on some points.

 Provide Support – two-way communication – you understand the expectations and usually perform to them but occasionally need support to do so.

Delegation – two-way communication. You are competent and committed. You are responsible and trusted. You know what to do, how to do it, and will do what is needed.

There are leadership styles that work best for certain situations, tasks and people. To be an effective leader, regardless of one’s leadership approach, one must be able to assess the current situation properly, choose and apply the best leadership style for the situation at hand and continuously assess one’s choices.

The Situational Leadership Model influences your guidance, how you give feedback, and the plans you create for improving play. Since feedback is involved, the model is most effective when the coach or leader has solid interpersonal skills and has developed a relationship with the player.

New teammates will always require direction. As a coach or team leader your role is to train and develop your teammates to get them to where they do not need constant direction, ultimately becoming a team member who can be trusted to contribute with little or no direction. A coach’s performance assessment should reflect the player’s Situational Leadership status. Plans for improvement should be designed to move the team member forward, away from direction and towards delegation – a player who is trusted to know what to do, how to do it, and to do it consistently.

Here is an example:

Jody is a freshman. All of the plays are new to her. She is committed to learning and improving, but she doesn’t know what to do (not yet competent). On the first day of practice the coach reviews the plays. Naturally, Jody has to be told what to do and when to do it (Directing - she needs to know what to do).

On day four Jody shows that she has some knowledge of the plays. The coach does not tell her what to do in every situation but encourages her as she builds competence. From time to time the coach has to remind Jody of her job in a particular play. Jody has started to ask questions about the different options in the play (Coaching - she needs some direction but the coach lets her go unless she needs help – encouraging her efforts).

After a week and a half Jody seems pretty comfortable with the plays. She usually runs them as they are intended to be run. There is back and forth conversation between Jody, her teammates and the coach about options in the plays and improvising in certain situations. She has shown competence although she still needs support. Chemistry is starting to develop on the court between Jody and the team (Support – though competence is developing and she needs much less direction, she still needs support as she continues to gain experience.)

Three games into the season and Jody is executing well. She is both committed to her improvement and competent as a player on the team. The trust between she and her teammates is growing. They know she will be where she needs to be as they run the plays. The coach knows that Jody will execute the plays as intended (Delegation - she rarely needs direction and demonstrates competence in the required skills and behaviors. Jody is trusted by her team and coach to do her job well).

There are other examples. Young players need more direction than experienced players. The Directing and Coaching interventions may be the leadership style needed by the younger players for a while.

It’s important for coaches and leaders to choose the most appropriate leadership style and know when to adjust that style. If coaches or team leaders give direction to a player who has shown that she can operate with less direction the player may become resentful. At the same time leaving a young player on her own without information and direction will most likely leave a player fundamentally flawed and frustrated.

For a more detailed discussion on the model - See - video on Situational Leadership: https://youtu.be/47dEHAy1XAg