The formula for profitability, growth and development

A
Situational leadership

A leader without passion is like a dancer without body language.

Niclas Timmerby

As a leader, you will often find yourself in various situations that require you to make both straightforward and challenging decisions. I would like to suggest that the four choices outlined below are among the most important, as they will govern the decisions you make and the evaluations you will need to conduct in the future.

• Focus on influencing results or focus on influencing culture.
• Control systems or passion and will.
• Result-oriented leadership or value-driven leadership
• Assessment culture or development culture.

The foundation, regardless of your choices above, is to consciously engage in situational leadership.

If you are unaware of the current phase your organization is in, you will lack a clear understanding of how to lead effectively.

Therefore, this section addresses this crucial aspect. Here, you will receive the fundamentals, a process for how you as a leader can concretely begin to apply this theory, a proposal for a workshop that you can implement within your organization, as well as relevant studies related to this theory.

Situational leadership is grounded in research derived from studies and observations of leadership behaviors and their effects on employee performance and the work environment.

Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard initially conducted research and observations to identify different leadership styles and their impact on employee motivation and performance.

They identified four main leadership styles: directive leadership, supportive leadership, participative leadership, and delegative leadership. These are sometimes reformulated as; authoritative, supportive, coaching, and delegative.

The four components of situational leadership.

What is your organization's overall maturity level, and in which phase is it currently situated regarding competence and engagement, both individually and as a group? Reflect on how you, as a leader, can influence and change these dynamics.

1. Directive leadership: This style is employed when the organization is newly formed or has a low maturity level. In this phase, the team requires clear instructions and guidelines to get started and to understand their roles and responsibilities. The leader provides explicit directives and takes control of the situation to guide the team in the right direction. Summary: This approach is utilized when team members are inexperienced or possess low competence in the task at hand.
2. Supportive Leadership: This style is employed when the organization has begun to develop and has reached a certain level of maturity. At this stage, the team can operate more independently but requires support and encouragement to continue growing. The leader provides feedback, encouragement, and assistance to enhance employees' confidence and motivation. Summary: This approach is used when employees have some experience but still need support and persuasion to effectively perform their tasks.
3. Participative leadership (Coaching): Participative leadership is utilized when the entity has a high level of maturity and is capable of contributing its ideas and opinions. At this stage, the entity is selfdriven and needs to be involved in decision-making to feel included and engaged. The leader promotes open communication, delegates responsibility, and encourages collaboration and creativity.

"The deeper you get to know your team

members' emotions, values, motivations,

drives, obstacles, goals, and dreams

the more they will contribute and be

passionate about you as a leader."

- Niclas Timmerby, on the importance of
tailored coaching

An additional aspect that has evolved within this concept is coaching leadership, which began to gain traction in business during the 1990s, notably through the work of Sir John Whitmore in his 1992 book "Coaching for Performance." This work emphasised the significance of employing coaching techniques and methods in corporate management to foster employee development and enhance performance. In this model, the leader acts as a coach or mentor, developing team members by asking questions, actively listening, providing feedback, and assisting them in identifying and achieving their goals. Summary: This style is utilized when employees are competent and motivated but still require support and encouragement. It is important to recognize the two components: (A) "participative," which promotes open communication, delegates responsibility, and encourages collaboration and creativity; and (B) "coaching," which focuses on fostering individual development and growth by helping employees discover their own solutions and take responsibility for their personal development.

1. Delegating Leadership: is employed when the group exhibits a high level of maturity, is self-sufficient, and possesses experience in their field. In this context, the group is capable of making their own decisions to achieve established goals. The leader provides support and resources as needed but grants the group responsibility and authority, along with the freedom to make decisions and take accountability for completing tasks. Summary: This is used when the employees are both competent and motivated.

Reflection exercise: My own entity.

Take about 15 minutes to reflect on your team members as you read the summaries again. Where do they stand today: 1, 2, 3, or 4?

Consider your own leadership journey as well. A true leader does not merely focus on where people currently are; instead, a true leader sees it as their role to help individuals grow through their leadership. How can you assist your team in their development?

Depending on where your entity is located today, it determines how you need to adapt your leadership to move your entity forward.

Before you begin your concrete work with conversations and workshops, it is important to focus on creating a sense of security for yourself.

Here, you will find the fundamentals in the form of a process description for continuously maintaining a successful culture within your entity. The purpose is to create an environment where team members thrive, perform at their highest level, and contribute to the success of the entity:

Step 1: Clear Communication and Vision.

Ensure that all team members understand the rationale behind the entity's vision. It is crucial to communicate this vision regularly and in a manner that engages and inspires; find creative ways to keep the vision ever-present, ensuring it is ingrained in everyone. The vision represents our "why." Why do we come to work every day? The answer is: We all come to work each day to collectively strive towards our common vision. By fostering a shared understanding of the entity's vision, along with the values, goals, ambitions, and strategies that can be clearly linked to that vision, you establish the right conditions as a leader to build a strong foundation for the desired culture.

Step 2: Create Participation and Engagement.

Involve team members in as much decision-making as possible and provide them with the opportunity to influence their work environment to promote participation and engagement. This can be achieved by organising regular team meetings, workshops, or brainstorming sessions where everyone has the chance to contribute their ideas and perspectives in a structured manner. By fostering a sense of ownership and shared responsibility, you cultivate a strong, loyal, and engaged culture.

Step 3: Develop Strong Relationships.

Team members need to feel safe and motivated to elevate the culture to the next level. Encourage and support the development of robust relationships among team members, primarily through open communication. When team members can discuss anything openly with one another, knowing that conversations remain confidential within the entity (integrity), they feel secure, which gradually makes them increasingly open in their communications. This has a crucial positive effect: it reduces the risk of conflicts. Another significant benefit of fostering strong relationships is that team members become naturally motivated to come to work each day to contribute. The passion for being in a workplace and within an entity where individuals feel safe and motivated becomes increasingly important, often surpassing the importance of salary.

Step 4: Feedback and Development.

Later in the book, I will provide you with practical tips on how to foster an accepted feedback culture within your entity. Feedback at all four levels is fundamentally important for supporting the development of team members and is another essential step in building a strong and loyal culture. By providing constructive and appreciative feedback on an individual basis, you cultivate a culture within the culture where team members feel valued and motivated to pursue continuous improvement.

Step 5: Conflict Management and Problem Solving.

The more emphasis you place on Step 3 (open communication), the fewer conflicts are likely to arise...