Hersey and

Blanchard’s
Situation Leadership

Cody, Ellis,
Sarah, Shonice
& Whitney
Definition
 A leadership theory that focuses on the
readiness of followers.
Readiness
 Readiness is the
extent to which
people have the
ability and
willingness to
accomplish a
specific task.
Leadership Styles
 Telling: Leader defines roles
 Selling: Leader provides directive and
supportive behaviour
 Participating: Leader and follower
share decision making
 Delegating: Leader provides little
direction
How it Works
 Views the leader-
follower relationship
as similar to a
parent-child
relationship:
 High Readiness = less
control
 Low Readiness =
directive control
Results
 Research efforts to test this theory
have been disappointing
 Why?
 Internal inconsistencies
 Research methodology
Real World
 Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
 All managers attended a training class

 After the training:

 Lower turnover rate
 Increase in certain store sales
 Increase in management performance
ratings
Works Cited
 Blanchard, Ken. “Corporate Training &
Development.” 2005. Online.
December 11, 2011.
 http://www.kenblanchard.com/img/pub/
news_Coffee_Bean.pdf

 “Situational Leadership.” Manage Well.

2006. Online. December 09, 2011.
 http://managewell.net/wp-
content/uploads/2009/07/situational.gif