Coaching is a type of situational leadership style that involves a great deal of practical participation in the employee's work process. As a general rule, a coaching approach works best when the employee shows weaknesses that need to be improved. In the situational leadership model, leading is the initial or basic level of leadership style. Nearly all new employees need a more managerial leadership style.
They are very formative with little or no experience in their new roles. In the formative stage, the follower is characterized by low competence and high commitment, the inability to comply, with possible feelings of insecurity. Coaching is for followers who have developed some competence along with greater commitment. The follower is not fully confident in his abilities, but he is succeeding.
Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard called this situational leadership. In short, leaders work hand in hand with workers who need supervision and support. Instead, leaders will delegate to workers who are competent and confident. Counting (directing) is for people who need guidance and motivation.
This means one-way communication, step-by-step instructions, and clarity about the consequences of failure. The leader clarifies the task, sets milestones, monitors, provides feedback and rewards the results. Selling (coaching) is for workers who want to learn. This worker is motivated, but may lack skills.
The leader trains the worker, encouraging confidence and aptitude. Leaders are rigid in terms of values, flexible in the process, and focused on their overall mission. Situational leadership unites all of these priorities. Situational leaders tend to maintain close communication with team members.
They evaluate and adjust their approach to provide what's needed to support success. This helps them to establish strong relationships with the team. As a result, it creates a better work environment in which employees feel valued as individuals. The ability to adapt to different people and situations can make a leader more versatile than those who do well in a diverse team.
Her college basketball team won eight national titles and more than 84 percent of the games during her 38-year career as head coach. This often requires a leadership style in which the leader trains team members in problem solving and involves them in the process (S. She addressed several topics, including what it's like to have a strong coaching nature to allow others to seamlessly master complex and selected topics). There is less “saying” and more “suggesting, which leads to more encouragement, acting as a coach.
Situational leadership is a flexible leadership style that adapts to employee needs and situations. Patricia Sue Summitt was head coach of the University of Tennessee's Lady Volunteer basketball team for 38 years. She was also named head coach of the United States Women's National Basketball Team, which took home the gold medal from the 1984 Olympic Games. To be most effective, situational leaders must develop their capacity to train at a wide range of levels of development.
Participatory (supportive) leadership is for employees who have the capacity, but lack confidence, to work independently. Eisenhower, General Colin Powell, head coach John Wooden, and coach Patricia Sue Summit can attribute at least part of their success to the use of a situational leadership style.
