LIPA CITY COLLEGES

GRADUATE SCHOOL

Leadership in Education

REPORT #13 Situational leadership

REFLECTION

Situational leadership is flexible. It adapts to the existing work environment and

the needs of the organization. Situational leadership is not based on a specific
skill of the leader; instead, he or she modifies the style of management to suit
the requirements of the organization. Within this approach, there are four
styles of leadership. S1 is a “high directive-low supportive” style (a.k.a.
directing style), which means that the leader mostly focuses on achieving the
goal at hand and focuses little on supporting his subordinates. These leaders
tend to give detailed instructions and then supervise. Then there is the S2 style,
which is “high directive-high supportive” (a.k.a. coaching style). These leaders
focus on both getting the job done and supporting their subordinates. They tend
to be encouraging and they care about what their subordinates have to say.
Then there is S3, which is the “high supportive-low directive” style (a.k.a.
supporting style). These leaders focus more on bringing out their employees’
strengths and supporting them rather than focusing on the task. They are very
encouraging and care about their subordinates. Finally, we have S4, which is
the “low supportive-low directive” style (a.k.a. delegating style). These leaders
tend to be detached from their subordinates and give them a lot of control over
their situations (Northouse 101). These are the main four aspects of the
Situational Approach that pertain to the leader in particular. What is good in this
type of leadership is that The Situational Approach gives leaders a way to not
restrict themselves to one kind of style.

Submitted by:

JOSEPH LEO C. DE GUZMAN