Hersey &

Blanchard's situa
tional Leadership
theory
Presented by Sehar & Zainab
Developed by Paul Hersey and
Ken blenchard.
Got strong following among management development
specialists.
Called Situational Leadership Theory (SLT).
Focus on followers'
Readiness

Focus on followers - Group's

effectiveness depends on the
actions of the followers.

Readiness - the extent to

which people are able &
willing to accomplish a
specific task.
 Unable & unwilling to take
R1 responsibility.

Stages of R2
Unable but willing to do
necessary job tasks.
Readiness
Able but unwilling to do
R3 what leader wants.

Both able and willing to do

R4 what is asked
Leadership
styles
TELLING High task - low relation
ship

SELLING High task - high relation

ship.

PARTICI- Low task - low relation

PATING ship

DELEGA Low task - low relation

TING ship
Leader-follower relationship
is like Parent-child
relationship.
As parents need to relinquish control as child becomes
more mature and responsible, so too should leader.
Higher levels of Readiness - low control & low relationship.
09

Telling style
R1 (unable & unwilling)
Level of
Readiness & Selling style
R2 (unable & willing)
leadership style Participating style
R3 (able & unwilling)

Delegating style
R4 (both able & willing)
SLT has an intuitive appeal. It acknowledges the importance of
followers and builds the logic that leaders can compensate for
ability and motivational limitations of their followers.
 Conclusion
Research efforts to test and support the theory generally have been
disappointing. Possible explanations include internal inconsistencies in
the model as well as problems with research methodology. Despite its
appeal and wide popularity, we have to be cautious about any anthusiastic
endorsement of SLT.