Do you find that your approach to motivating people does not work all the time?
Every leader particularly leaders who are new to the role face these dilemmas and challenges.There are numerous theories and books on effective leadership through every situational context – each one telling you how to be more effective in a different way. Not all theories are able to draw a model that is suitable for all situations. As a leader everyone has different styles, skills, traits and behavior that is unique. Also, each situation that one deals with is different from the other, so using these leadership models without considering the context of the situation is not just ineffective but sometimes may even become counterproductive.
Every leader has their own preferred leadership style. While some of us have a more directive approach to leadership, others prefer to play the coach and still others are supportive. No leadership style is good or bad but using the same leadership style in all situations will clearly be ineffective.
An effective leader one should be able to manage different and often difficult situations and people in an effective way that result in a desirable outcome. The success of a leader or manager largely depends on their ability to adapt or flex their style based on the situations and people. This quality of situational leadership is critical to the success of any leader. This, however, is easier said than done.
Changing one's leadership style and behavioral approach to problem solving by making an analysis of the situation of the organization is not easy. The brain is wired in a certain way and often, responses are a result of this hard wiring rather than conscious thoughts. This makes flexing based on situations particularly difficult.
Another complication comes from the fact that the leader needs to continuously assess the organization, the people and the environment to flex effectively. Leadership in the context of various situations is complex since there are many variables to consider. This requires a leader to go through formal learning to learn the art of situational leadership, what we call – Leading Through Diverse Situations.
Since the most important resource a manager has are their team, situational leadership is about managing this team in a variety of contexts. Just like the leader or manager, every team member has their own style – behavioral preferences, motivators and their approach to doing things. Understanding these allows a leader to adapt most effectively and leverage the strengths of each team member. Some of the factors that need to be considered while dealing with various situations are – skills, level of motivation, business needs, areas of development and experience. Once a leader is able to analyze the situation and team members in this context, they will be able to effectively adapt their own leadership style get the best results.
Strengthscape's training program situational leadership called “Leading Through Diverse Situations” is designed to enable leaders adopt an appropriate leadership style in varied situations while dealing with different team members. Leaders will be equipped with methodology that will help him to make an appropriate analysis of the organization. Based on the analysis drawn the leader is helped to adopt various leadership styles based on the need of the situation.
With this comprehensive training on “Leading Through Diverse Situations” any leader can learn to be effective in various situations.