Leadership – Influencing Behavior
Think of a leader you know. What is something that you admire about them their leadership ability? A leader is flexible when dealing with different people and will not use the same leadership style in every situation.
Situational Leadership Model
Element of Situational Leadership Model
Follower readiness consists of two factors: ability and willingness. Ability consists of specific skills required to perform the task. Willingness refers to the followers desire to perform the task. Ability and willingness can be high, low or inconsistent. The follower's ability and willingness levels determine the best way to mange them.
Every follower has different abilities, motivation and self confidence and therefore requires different levels of leadership. By dividing followers into four readiness levels it is easy to understand the variances and then apply the most appropriate leadership style in the situation to get the greatest results.
Readiness level 1 (R1): The follower is both unable and unwilling to perform tasks. Some indicators that a follower may fall into readiness level 1 include complaining and not completing the task. Readiness level 2 (R2): The follower is unable but willing to perform the given task. Some behavior indicators in level 2 include asking for clarification and seeming very eager to complete the task. Readiness level 3 (R3): The follower is able but unwilling to execute the task. These followers are characterized by lacking self esteem and wanting the leader involved all the time. Readiness level 4 (R4): The follower is both able and willing. Examples of behavior from someone in this level will take charge and complete tasks early on. (Hersey, Blanchard, & Johnson, 2001)
It is important to remember to adapt leadership styles to meet the needs of each follower readiness level. As a leader is it essential to constantly evaluate how much people know, and how motivated they are to...