What type of leader are you and how do you relate to
followers? Do you push or pull? Are you focused on people or are you focused on
goals? Is one better than the other? Upon examining the Hersey Blanchard
Situation Leadership model and completing a questionnaire I have learned where
I fall within the scale.
Various scenarios are put forth such as: “Challenging
targets are being met with hard work and morale is high. Your team seem happy
but you are worried that one of your subordinates might need more help”
(Obolensky, 2014, p. 166). Out of four possible responses I landed upon “Ask
her how performance can be improved further and what needs to be put in place”
(p. 167). I suppose I could have told her how she could best meet the targets
and how to improve. Maybe I could remind her of the benefits when the targets
are met and suggest improvements. I also could have left her alone to continue
her good work, which is something I considered.
Using the Hersey Blanchard model there are four strategies:
Tell (S1), Sell (S2), Involve (S3), and Devolve (S4). I scored highest with
Involve with Devolve a close second. My Sell was much higher than my Tell
style. My highest scores fell within S3 and S4 which are considered a more Yin
approach to leadership that is ascribed to be more female and a pull style
(Obolensky, 2014).
I cannot say I am
that surprised where I stand. The “Involve” strategy is high people and low
goal. This strategy is used when there is enough time to develop and educate
others. This could be due to how much time I have spent on stage and also
choreographing. Every person on stage is visible to the audience and working
with them to do their best work that will be displayed in plain view means that
everyone must be developed. Obolensky comments that this can be used when the
leader does not know or if they are choosing to hold back. I have never seen
myself much as a dictator but more of a teacher. Apparently since I do not like
being told what to do and prefer having a hand in decisions that affect me that
I gravitate toward these strategies for working with others. At least I am
upholding the Golden Rule and doing onto others as I would have done unto
myself.
What is a surprise is that the strategies need to be
balanced upon various situations that could be encountered and layered overtop
other factors such as levels of followership. It would be imprudent to try to
do a one size fits all routine all the time. If there is an emergency situation
there is not enough time to stop and ask what everyone thinks. Sometimes it is
reactive and you have to use the Tell strategy. Sometimes using the Tell
strategy is as simple as training someone to know how to learn a new skill or
answering a question. Luckily my scores do not indicate that I face one of the
more typical challenges of not being able to let go and have faith in others. I
also do not overestimate my own impact and my approach is not too direct.
However, apparently my combined high S2 and S3 scores indicate that I can
become too emotionally invested and tend to work too hard. That sounds like me
and it is part of the process learning that working hard does not mean doing
things better.
Over the last several weeks I have been surprised about some
of my basic assumptions. I have never thought about followers in terms of
levels. I conjured images of a lazy, non-invested employee riding the clock
until the end of the shift to see how long they can go without being noticed
and told what to do. I also imagined capable go getters who know what to do and
how to do it and are a force to be reckoned with and these are pretty ideal
people to have on a team. I also assumed a good follower was being compliant
and doing what was needed. My lack of consideration on the matter was pretty
shortsighted. I have become a lot more open to both leadership and followership
traits.
Everything I learned can be summed up with one giant food
analogy. There are a lot of ingredients that determine how the recipe will turn
out: culture, strategy, organizational hierarchy, control, leadership, and
followership. It is a wonder what type of things actually end up in the stewpot.
If it isn’t savory why use it? Do you think it will be hidden or it won’t
contribute to the flavor? Cutting corners never adds up to a good product. Not
everyone who ends up in the kitchen is a very good chef; it takes study and
practice just like anything else. The real test is asking would want to take a
bite of the mystery stew. If the answer is no, chances are no one else does
either.
Reference:
Obolensky, N. (2014). Complex
Adaptive Leadership (2nd. Ed.). Burlington, VT: Gower
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