Running head: SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP CASE STUDY 1

Situational Leadership Case Study

Mary Bower
Grand Canyon University-LDR-802
September 8, 2014
SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP CASE STUDY 2

Situational Leadership Case Study
Leadership in general is a tool that organizations must have to continue with the structure
of the organization. Without leadership (no matter what type) followers would have no
direction, no sense of purpose. The correct or incorrect leadership will either make or break a
company. Research shows that time and time again employees quit leaders and managers, not
companies. Setting examples as a great leader helps others see what skills they need to be
successful. Leaders should be working with their followers to recognize and refine their talents.
Followers success equals success for the leader and the company. Leadership builds the
platform of values in the organization. Leadership demonstrates that people do matter.
Leadership must have compassion, understanding, empathy and a sense of fairness for their
followers. If leadership does not have these traits, followers will abandon the organization and
look for one that has a set of core values along with good leadership.
The purpose of this case study assessment is to define how leadership is valued in
organizations and how differing types of leadership are used in different situations. Leadership
is an integral part of everyones lives. If it were not for leadership, followers would have no
direction, no purpose for going to work. Leadership sets the tone for the workers; they give the
followers a sense of direction. Have you ever worked for a bad leader? If so, then you know
that leadership can make or break a workers day. Many people leave organizations, not because
the work is too tough or the hours are bad, but because of the poor quality of the leadership.
Summary of Self-Assessment
The results of my self- assessment were not a surprise to me. Results stated that I am
both a participating and a delegating leader. I scored equal amounts in both categories. I like to
see to it that all of my personal tasks are completed and that my followers tasks are finished on
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time and done to the standards of the organization. My self-assessment states that I am more of a
transformational leader that I put others first before myself that I treat everyone the same with no
special perks for anyone. Northouse (2013) states that transformational leaders are out front
advocating for their followers and the organization. In this sense followers are drawn to the
transformational leader because they feel they are advocating for them, they are providing a
vision for the future.
The development of transformational leadership came naturally for me, as that is how I
was raised. My Father was a single Dad of four children, so he had to make sure that we all were
being brought up the right way. He instilled in each of us that; the way you treat others is the
way that they will treat you. For myself transformational leadership is one of the best forms of
leadership; it has all of the components of an honest trustworthy leader. One who is looking to
the future, creating a vision for themselves and their followers. I have adopted this form of
leadership over the others because I am committed to the organization, the followers and the
vision. I will do anything for the followers to continue to keep that vision alive and moving
foreword. I did not adopt servant leadership or transactional leadership because I do not think
that I would be a very good servant leader. Although I am committed to the followers and the
organization, I am selfish in ways that would not promote the servant style. I put myself first at
times and I perform the leadership role for the monitory means. Lets face it, I am not a wealthy
person and the salary that I am paid makes it possible to assist others and my family. I do
believe that my social behavior is that of a servant leader, but I could never profess to be a true
servant leader.
Northouse (2013) describes transactional leadership as based on contingency, in that
reward or punishment is contingent upon performance (p.195). The transactional leader works
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through establishing clear rules whereby it is clear to all what is needed of them, and the
compensation that they will receive for following instructions. Penalties are also well
comprehended and formal systems of discipline are typically in place. I am quite sure that I have
worked under transactional leadership before and I know that I did not like it. Leadership in this
arena (to me) seems to be uncaring, cold and unwilling to bend the rules for anyone. I never
want to be this type of leader. I want my followers to respect me for my decisions, my caring
and my leadership abilities.
Situational leadership is defined by Northouse (2013) as the ability of the leader to
switch styles to adapt to the situation at hand. I feel that everyone is this type of leader at one
point or another. Leadership needs to be flexible in their style and be able to differentiate when
that switch is needed. Not everyone will be able to accomplish this feat, as I think that it would
take practice until one has it down.
In the case study leading a group of students and educators will be a difficult task, but
with the use of situational leadership the task will be feasible. Being able to communicate to the
students on their level and the educators on their level will assist one to develop a strategy for the
issues at hand. Purchasing the new textbooks for the students will give them the encouragement
and new information for their success. The educators must put the students first and the
situational leadership style will give the educator in charge the confidence to address the
situation. Situational leadership is the moving back and forth on the developmental continuum
(Northouse, 2013). Having the students and the educators understand the concept of the
purchase of the new textbooks will give them the focus needed to complete the task.
I believe that in quadrants S3 & S2 the task could be completed. It is these quadrants
where your relationship focus is on the high side. This would assist you in developing
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relationships with both the students and the educators to see your vision for the future, making
the change less difficult. In quadrants S4 & S1 the completing of the above mentioned tasks
would be difficult. The relationship factor in both quadrants are on the low end making dealing
with both parties more stressful and having a higher level of failure. To become more effective
in the areas outside of my preferred style I will concentrate on the followers and their opinions.
Having others point out things that I may not be aware of will encourage me to put more
attention on those areas. Leading followers, one must appreciate their voice. They are the ones
that will either make you as a leader look good or look bad.
Benefits and Challenges
Some of the benefits of situational leadership are that it is very simple to use and
comprehend. When leaders efficiently acclimate their leadership style to their followers needs,
work gets done, associations are built, and most importantly, the followers progressive level will
rise to everyones benefit. Grimsley (2013), states that effective leaders are adaptable in being
able to move around the environment according to the situation, so there is no style that is
continually right. The situational leadership model leaves leaders with an understanding of the
relationship amongst an effective style of leadership and the level of readiness followers display
for a specific task.
Some of the challenges of using situational leadership are the stress that is put upon the
leader to change direction in a moments notice. A leaders opinions, intelligence, cultural
awareness, and self-control play major roles in helping leaders choose the correct style for the
task at hand. This can be a difficult decision for some and easy for others. A leader that
becomes overly focuses on the continuous changes in the short term may lose view of the long-
term implications of the leadership method. A situational leader may be thought of as
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unpredictable and hard to forecast by followers, which can create a deficiency of trust in his
direction.
Summary
Being a transformational leader, I can see many benefits to using the situational
leadership style. Working with short-term goals would be a perfect example for the situational
style. Giving followers the information they need to perform short-term tasks will provide
followers with the encouragement and values needed to performing the task. Being involved in
the short-term goals will give the followers the motivation to go above and beyond the
completion of the task. The challenges of transformational leadership to involve situational
leadership will be more difficult. Making sure that followers continue to encompass the vision
of the organization while completing tasks (as this is part of transformational leadership), to
create a connection with the followers is an important part of any leadership style.











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References
Grimsley, S., (2013). What is Situational Leadership? -Theories, Styles& Definition. The
Education Portal. Retrieved from: education-portal.com
Northouse, P.G., (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice (6
th
ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage Publishing.