“Much of what is taught today to supervisors, managers, and team leaders is not derived obviously or clearly from careful research. It is an interesting question as to why consultants,trainers, and even professors will often present ideas as if they are validated when they are not.

There has been a tremendous effort to develop a science of management over the past 75 years or so, and much of what has been learned has been humbling in the sense that models and methods concerning employee performance rarely prove to be as valid and effective as their advocates expected. . . The upshot of this growing body of research ought to be a growing realization that human behavior is highly complex and difficult to understand or influence. Yet it is easy to fall into deceptively simple generalizations when it comes time to train leaders in how to manage human performance in their workplaces.”

Alexander Hiam
December, 2002

Strategic Situational Leadership is a return to the very core of what is really known about leadership strategy:

There is no one best leadership strategy

Managing a diverse group the way in which you yourself prefer to be managed will always limit your team’s performance and fulfillment.

Attempting to lead a diverse team with any single strategy will virtually guarantee that you will underperform as a leader.

The very best leaders and managers choose their strategies based on the specific task to be done and their team members’ capability and attitude toward that task. In other words, the leader changes his or her strategy to fit the individual’s capacity and needs.

Strategic Situational Leadership is a management and leadership development experience designed to teach people to adjust their leadership strategies based on an assessment of the individual’s:

• Need for task structure and instruction (Capability), and
• Need for consideration, support, and motivation (Desire).

When the need is to develop the relevant skills and capability, the leader’s focus should be on making sure the individual performs well. The leader’s primary concerns are with the task and how it is performed-on theperformance.

When the need to is to focus on fulfillment and attitudes, the leader’s focus should be on making sure the individual feels motivated and confident to perform the task. The leader’s primary concerns are with attitudes and feelings. The leader focuses on the performer

Once leaders and managers understand how to assess these two dimensions, they can learn to apply different leadership strategies based on this assessment.

They can learn to readily apply different influence strategies with the highly enthusiastic beginner than with the experienced, yet cynical veteran.  Different leadership and management strategies with the self-directed high performer than with the disillusioned performer considering giving up on the task.

By learning how to adjust influence strategies in this way, your leaders and managers will help your teams learn faster, and produce greater results with more fulfillment.

OUTCOME:
The objectives of the Strategic Situational Leadership experience are for you to

• Understand the relationship between team member’s’ performance capacity and their leadership needs.
• Assess your use of four basic leadership strategies as they relate to managing performance and recognize your own pattern or “strategic type.”
• Understand which task-management and people-management skills apply in the different leadership strategies.
• Take a strategic approach to leadership by first assessing team member’s performance issues and potential, then adjusting your style and approach strategically based on what you find. Identify when and how to “flex” your leadership strategy based on their needs.
• Practice a variety of skills needed to have a positive influence on attitude, performance, and development.
• Benefit from the advantages of a strategic leadership approach by adjusting/improving your behavior as a leader and seeing performance and fulfillment improvements as a direct result.
• Be better prepared for leading people to success in an increasingly challenging and demanding economic/work environment.

For more information, download a PDF of our Strategic Situational Leadershipprogram fact sheet or contact us directly.