Hersey and Blanchard's Leadership Grid

A key Situational Leadership Model

Hersey and Blanchard developed a Situational Leadership Grid (R) in the 1960's.  This was later refined to the Situational Leadership (R) II model by Blanchard et al.

It is a very popular model of leadership, where the situation that a leader faces and the competence of the people involved determine the most effective leadership style.

Different styles, different situations, different people skills

The model states different styles of leadership are required for different people depending on their competence.

Blanchard argues that it is 'unequal' to treat people equally when their development needs, experience and the situations faced by the employee is different.

Blanchard also argues that the leader's style will be less effective if they do not have the flexibility to vary styles depending on their assessment of the skills of their followers.

3 key skills

To master situational leadership, Blanchard et al, specify three key skills a leader must master being able to:

1. Diagnose both the competence and the commitment of the person they are leading
2. Flex their styles to the situation and the changing skill levels and commitment of their people
3. Partner and have open communication with the people they lead

The adage Blanchard et al would use to describe this last concept is:

"Leadership is not something you do to people, but something you do with people".

Useful theory

This is a useful theory and is seen by Blanchard as an integrating concept as is brings together leadership of self, teams and organisations.

Use this topic to understand how your leadership style should change when faced with differing:

• Situations
• Skills and
• Commitment levels

Join and learn more using different styles to improve your effectiveness as a leader