Lessons from Hoosiers, the classic sports movie
By Al Ferreira
Situational leadership is a model developed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard that suggests there is no best way to lead. Instead, effective leaders adapt their style based on team members’ readiness (competence and commitment) for a given task.
Early in my career, I had the opportunity to learn the ins and outs from some great mentors, and also through supervision training. Prior to my leadership education, I was inclined to treat everyone alike. I wanted to be liked and to be perceived as being fair.
I once found myself thinking, “Why can’t they all be like Summer? She is fantastic.” Of course, Summer was a self-motivated overachiever who needed little direct supervision and thrived when I acknowledged her hard work. I thanked her for being the first to volunteer or for tackling a task I believed was above and beyond her job expectations. But not every team member functioned like Summer.
What I quickly learned was that every employee is an individual, and each has specific needs concerning the leadership style that serves as motivation.