“A person may fulfill the object of his existence by asking a question he cannot answer, and attempting a task he cannot achieve.”
Last week J.D.Salinger died. Salinger wrote what some have called one of the three perfect books in the American lexicon,” The Catcher in the Rye.” These three books seem to speak to every reader in every condition. The three are “Huckleberry Finn,” “The Great Gatsby,” and “The Catcher in the Rye.” It has been argued that there are only 10 themes to all Literature. These three could all be considered the Great Journey. They follow a character or characters through a series of episodic adventures as they travel.
Situational Management is a treatise put forth by Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey. The Situational Leadership Theory is about leadership style. Hersey and Blanchard are professors and Authors. Blanchard wrote “The One-Minute Manager.”
The fundamental underpinning of the Situational Leadership Theory is there is no single “best” style of leadership. Effective leadership is task-relevant and that the most successful leaders are those that adapt their leadership style to the individual or group they are attempting to lead/influence. That effective leadership varies, not only with the person or group that is being influence, but it will also depend on the task, job or function that needs to be accomplished. They describe four models or styles, Situation 1-4:
- S1: Telling – is characterized by one-way communication in which the leader defines the roles of the individual or group and provides the what, how, when, and where to do the task
- S2: Selling – while the leader is still providing the direction, he or she is now using two-way communication and providing the socioemotional support that will allow the individual or group being influenced to buy into the process.
- S3: Participating – this is now shared decision making about aspects of how the task is accomplished and the leader is providing less task behaviors while maintaining high relationship behavior.
- S4: Delegating – the leader is still involved in decisions; however, the process and responsibility has been passed to the individual or group. The leader stays involved to monitor progress.
Let us consider these situations inside the model of our launch process; The Launch Leaders Diane and Dan need to treat the events as S-1 events. The Team needs to be aware of this style and the reasons. S-1 is a direct, “Do this. Show me,” step by step style. The situation, not the personalities direct the Style. Leaders in every discipline need to align themselves and their teams to the goals of launch. We have fumbled on every launch, we must communicate and agree to deploy and support situational styles. The success of launches must take precedence. If one of your Team questions the launch direction or Launch Leadership direction, it’s your responsibility as a Leader to communicate with Dan or Diane and insure that you support them.
Holden Caulfield is the main character in “The Catcher in the Rye,” his image is that of an atypical adolescent boy. Holden is much more than a troubled teen going through “a phase.” Indeed Holden is a very special boy with special needs. He doesn’t understand and doesn’t wish to understand the world around him. In fact most of the book details his guilty admissions of all the knowledge he knows but wishes he didn’t.
The Situational Leadership (SL) model is knowledge. Knowledge is important in our world. We all must know our mission. We must be Consistent in our behavior and our response to issues. Involvement and Adaptability are the other two keys in our success. We must continue to adapt, evolve Situational Leadership is about adapting. Involvement is also a key to SL explaining, informing others is critical; without informed involvement-they’ll think you’re from New Jersey!!
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