OLS-57900 Week 5 - Situational Leadership

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Key Takeaway 1: Leaders should match their style to the competence and commitment of their subordinates (Northouse, 2012).  In Situational Leadership, the developmental level of the follower determines the appropriate leadership style.

Key Takeaway 2: Judgement is a meaning ego attaches to something.  When something happens we tend to attach a positive or negative perspective on it.  We want to strive to a point of freedom from all points of self-reference.  The thing that happened was neither good or bad.  It just is.  This is the state of acceptance, which allows us to save energy and make better decisions unattached to emotion.

Key Takeaway 3: Everyone's doing the best they can, given their current circumstances, and their current knowledge.  Very few people will mess up on purpose.  As a leader, that means when somebody does something that's incorrect, it's up to you to figure out why.  Take that opportunity to coach and build trust.

Exhibit 1: Situational Leadership

Analysis: I believe situational leadership is very practical.  There is no "silver bullet" for any situation thus it only makes sense to adjust your leadership style based on the competency and commitment of your staff.

Application: I will continue to apply situational leadership to best resonate with my staff and get optimal results.  Every person is different thus the way you engage needs to be adjusted to best fit they way they consume information and they way they are motivated.  If they mess up, then I will attempt to not place a judement on the event, even if positive.  I simply need to accept it, acknkowledge that they are doing their best, understand why it happened, empathize, connect, then coach.

References

Anderson, R. M. (2023). Leadership Mindset 2.0.  Columbia: Executive Joy!  https://rmichaelanderson.com/leadership-mindset-2-0/ 

Northouse, P. G. (2012). Leadership: Theory and Practice 6th Edition.  Los Angeles: Sage Publications.