BLANCHARD’S THEORY

OF SITUATIONAL
LEADERSHIP &
TRANSACTIONAL
ANALYSIS
HARSHNI SREEDHAR
S1 – DIRECTING – LANCE ARMSTRONG
The S1 quadrant in the Situational Leadership model is characterized by a leader who puts a disproportionate emphasis on directing
and very little effort into supporting his team.

While this allow for a rapid response and often gets the job done in the short term, the long-term effects are often detrimental to the
team and creates resentment towards the leader.

This style of leadership also necessitates a team that gets its motivation from results and not from the leader himself.

However, S1 leaders can often become isolated from the team due to their authoritarian nature and this could not only lead to
potential communication issues but is also inadequate for building strong relationships.

Lance Armstrong, the disgraced cycling ace is a prime example of a leader who belongs squarely in the S1 quadrant.

Armstrong ruled the USPS team with an iron fist and wielded his power and influence indiscriminately to create almost a mafia like
culture within the team.
S1 – DIRECTING – LANCE ARMSTRONG
Lance Armstrong’s conviction and subsequent lifetime ban from competitive sport has been well documented. However, the power he exerted over his
team both during his initial racing career and during his subsequent comeback is worth delving into.

Armstrong had always shown a need to dominate anything he partook in. Filmmaker Alex Gibney, who helmed ‘The Armstrong Lie’ speaks about how
Armstrong wanted to even dominate the feeling in a bid to manage his own storyline. This streak translated into him being a S1 leader. One example being
how his teammates were coerced into doping. Frank Andreu Armstrong’s USPS teammate talks about how he tried to look for opportunities outside of the
USPS team when he wanted to race clean, but the offers were quickly rescinded when Armstrong and the team director Johan Bryuneel heard about it.
Armstrong’s strong S1 behavior is also evident when he orchestrated an elaborate move to demean Andreu by making sure he was the only American
reporter who could interview him during the Tour de France, 2009. Gibeny reveals that Armstrong asserted his power by forcing Andreu to wait outside the
team bus for interviews.

Armstrong’s grip on the psyche’s of his teammates persisted long after they had moved out of the team. In 2009, Armstrong by then racing for team Astana,
used his power to encourage his ex-teammate George Hincapie and the rest of the Peloton to shield him from the wind so that he could gain an advantage
on current teammate Contador.

Armstrong’s powerful grip & the strong code of Omerta he instituted in the USPS team might have once led to 7 straight Tour de France titles, but in the
process, he became a pariah & communication within the team completely broke down. Thus, although an S1 style of leadership might guarantee
immediate results, the long-term implications are severely detrimental.
S2 – COACHING– JOHAN CRYUFF
The S2 quadrant in situational leadership is characterized by leaders who focus on team development and capacity
development.

This leader is focused on increasing the skills and confidence of his team. This approach works best when the team
is receptive to the leader’s guidance and is focussed on improving areas that are weak.

The S2 leader is essentially sells his ideas to the team by explaining what is expected from them in a persuasive
manner.

However, the leader must dedicate a significant amount of time to this exercise. He also needs to have the depth
of knowledge to explain things granularly to his team.

If not done right, this style could lead to a lot of information sharing without any demonstrable progress.

Johan Cryuff’s reign at Barcelona during their renaissance is a prime example of a successfully applied S2 coaching
strategy.

Players who played under Cryuff still consider it the most enriching period in their lives. These years were also
some of the most successful years for the club.
S2 – COACHING– JOHAN CRUYFF
Johan Cruyff is widely known as the greatest footballer of his generation and is the symbol of Total Football. However, his greatest
impact on the sport was probably from his tenure as the manager of FC Barcelona from 1988 to 1996. Cruyff reformed the club, winning
11 major trophies, and instilled a football style that is still employed by the club today. His philosophies permeated throughout the
country and greatly influenced the 2008-2012 Spain team, which is considered to be the greatest national team ever.

Cruyff inherited a squad which had a toxic relationship with the club’s president. Although Cruyff sold and bought many players for the
rebuild, he created a clear boundary between the players and club officials. He told the president: “If you want to talk to me, I'll come to
your office. You don't come to my dressing room .” This enabled his players to focus on their tasks and implement his vision for the club.

Greatly influenced by his playing days, Cruyff revolutionised the system by emphasizing a lot more on attack by introducing the 3-4-3
formation. In order to implement this, Cruyff needed players with high technical ability and overhauled the La Masia youth academy to
become a famed production line for the club. Cruyff had specific instructions for his players but he gave them the freedom to improvise
on them to deliver the results. The team that Cruyff created was called the “ Dream Team” and they delivered five La Liga titles and their
maiden UEFA Champions League title .
 S3 – SUPPORTING– GARY KIRSTEN @ TEAM INDIA

The S3 quadrant in the situational leadership model is characterized by leaders who are highly supportive and encouraging.

The leader has a strong focus on people, and this encourages participation from his team.

This style also encourages consensus and a sense of ownership within the team.

The leader puts a high level of trust in the team’s ability and this in turn helps the team grow in competence over time. The
leader focusses on providing feedback and support to motivate the employee and encourage greater development.

However, this style of high supporting and low directive leadership style could also lead some degree of confusion about the
leader’s role.

Gary Kirsten who took over from Greg Chappell as the coach of the Indian men’s cricket team is a great example of a leader in
the S3 style.
S3 – SUPPORTING– GARY KIRSTEN
“Every new coach needs support from players who can drive the new culture or way
of doing things. This can take time and to win these players over, requires trust,
transparency and good connections.” – Gary Kirsten

This quote from Gary Kirsten eloquently sums up the kind of coach he was. John Wright and then captain Sourav Ganguly had
laid the foundation for a successful Indian team. However, it was Kirsten who transformed the team by instilling some much-
needed confidence. Team India under Kirsten were rarely prone to a collapse if they lost their top order batsmen, even though
they were very susceptible to this earlier. Kirsten found a way to motivate the team and the sense of team spirit was also very
evident.

Although there are perils of the S3 model including confusion in defining the role of the coach or loss of focus on the objective,
Kirsten’s team India were the very model of success. He led the team both to the top of the test rankings and to a World cup
victory.

Kirsten’s players still hail him as the best coach they have played under as evidenced by Yuvraj Singh’s latest tweet. The S3 style
of leadership allowed Kirsten to not only achieve success on the pitch, but also to build deep, loyal relationships with his
players.
CHILD EGO STATE – JOHN MCENROE

The quintessential ‘Angry young man’ of tennis, John McEnroe is a prime example of someone exhibiting a child ego state.

Child ego state encompasses archaic memories that one is unable to remember at a conscious level but trigger our actions in
certain situations.

These reactions are often immediate and act as a default survival instinct within us, but this prevents growth and results in
strife at that moment.

Tennis like any other sport has had its fair share of volatile and mercurial characters. Whether it is Serena Williams, Marat Safin
or Nick Kyriogs among the current crop of players, there are enough examples of people exhibiting a child ego state when dicey
decisions are made by umpires in matches.

However, John McEnroe, would be the biggest example of child ego state not just in tennis but across any sport.
CHILD EGO STATE – JOHN MCENROE
His infamous “You cannot be serious” outburst at Wimbledon cemented McEnroe’s place as one of the most volatile players of
all time. McEnroe would often lose his cool over line calls especially when he was in a losing position. This culminated in him
being the first player in decades to ever be disqualified from a grand slam match at the 1990 Australian open. Having eschewed
playing at the Australian Open for most of his career, when McEnroe finally played there at the later stage of his career. With 2
code violations for racket abuse already called against him, McEnroe launched into a tirade against the chair umpire. This led to
a third and final warning after which he was disqualified from the game.

However, McEnroe’s child ego was very evident when during the post match interview, a more contrite than usual McEnroe
explained that he hadn’t understood the rules clearly but also urged that not only could the tournament officials have used a
little more discretion, but also that his opponent, the Swede, Mikael Pernfors could have sworn in Swedish, and none would be
the wiser.

This pattern of losing his temper during crucial stages in matches became a trademark that punctuated McEnroe’s career and
gave him the title the ‘superbrat’ of tennis.
CHILD EGO STATE – EI CONSTRUCTS
EMOTIONAL AWARENESS SELF REGULATION ACCEPTANCE

SOCIAL COMPETENCE

McEnroe consistently displayed an astonishing lack of Emotional Awareness throughout his career. Being emotionally aware
allows one to have better communication with others. It will also allow us to understand how our feelings are influencing the
way we communicate. Hence, this will be the first thing that John McEnroe would have to work on.

In addition to emotional awareness, Self regulation and Acceptance is the need of the hour for players like McEnroe. Self
regulation would allow McEnroe to stop attacking people personally while also making sure he doesn’t make rushed, emotional
decisions. Acceptance of both one’s own emotion and being accountable for how one feels and behaves is also an important
emotional intelligence construct that players like McEnroe need to use.

Lastly, social competence is needed so that interactions with opponents, teammates, match officials etc are more streamlined.
This will also allow McEnroe to respond in adaptive ways during certain situations.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Emotional Intelligence in Leadership: Learning How to Be More Aware. (2010). Mind Tools.
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_45.htm

History.com Editors. (2020, January 27). John McEnroe disqualified from the Australian Open. HISTORY.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-mcenroe-disqualified-from-the-australian-open

Staff, S. (2020, May 19). Pause, rewind, play: The most epic outbursts of ‘Superbrat’ John McEnroe’s career.
Scroll.In.
https://scroll.in/field/962228/pause-rewind-play-the-most-epic-outbursts-of-superbrat-john-mcenroes-career

Chakraborty, S. (2020, May 23). Gary Kirsten Explains Skills Required To Be A “Good Coach.” CricketAddictor.
https://cricketaddictor.com/cricket/gary-kirsten-skills-required-good-coach/

Murray, A. (2020, March 24). How Johan Cruyff reinvented modern football at Barcelona. Fourfourtwo.Com.
https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/barcelona-johan-cruyff-tactics-reinvented-modern-football-total-passing-
pressing-nou-camp-champions-league-pep-guardiola

Gibeny, A. [2013]. The Armstrong Lie. Motion Picture. Sony pictures classic. United States of America.