The current corporate environment is highly competitive, so any business should strongly emphasize leadership style. Different leaders rely on different strategies to accomplish their objectives inside the organization. It is evident that there is no one leadership style in each business, and influential leaders must modify their approaches to fit the goals that the company has set forth. According to Hershey and Blanchard’s situational leadership paradigm, leaders must also adapt to followers’ preparedness (Negro, A. R., & Mesia, R2020). In order to enhance performance in a particular scenario, assessing employee readiness is necessary for follower preparedness. Having the capacity to follow and managing follower confidence are two distinct aspects that impact the component. One benefit of the concept is that it claims that leaders must manage various levels and evaluate followers to provide them with appropriate attention, relationships, and behaviours. It states that the individuals they lead ought to be in a situation where the leaders emphasize different things regarding their relationships and jobs (Weber, 2020). Corporate leaders should provide opportunities and set different priority levels. Here is where the focus is on relationships and duties, which means that the significance depends on the circumstances.
An Overview of Situational Leadership
The foundation of the Situational Leadership technique is the interaction between leaders and adherents. It offers a structure for analyzing any given circumstance by taking into account the level of competency readiness displayed by followers when carrying out a particular activity, function, or goal. Situational leadership necessitates that leaders adjust to changing circumstances while maintaining the effectiveness of their actions. It is required of new hires that leaders work in an S1 unit until they transition into a D4-type post. The leader can return to the S4 section after the staff has shown improvement (Negro & Mesia, 2020). When using situational leadership, leaders must adapt their strategies to fit the current circumstances. The leadership scenarios are constantly changing, sometimes even within an hour. To be good leaders, managers must be adaptable, evolve with the times, and put in much effort.
The Readiness Level of Each Employee
Regarding employee readiness, the scenario is that the workers often need to be more experienced with the company and are reluctant, incapable, or uneasy to work there. It illustrates the situation of recent hires within the company. Samah is a recent hire who has worked with the firm for three months. His traits demonstrate that he is prepared for release R1 readiness and finds it challenging to comprehend the expectations of her employment. He is thinking about leaving. The personnel are unable to finish their tasks due to R2 readiness. The members are willing to take on more work and demonstrate the ability to improve their work (Northouse, 2022). The workers in the current situation, Hadeel and Rawan, possess the R2 readiness as Rawan has four years overall, compared to Hadeel’s two since they were in charge of maintaining touch with clients first. They were doing their duties properly and dealing with tensions and poor morale due to the recent emergence. The staff members actively collaborated to interact with the clientele. After four years with the company, Bassmah is becoming more adept at managing responsibilities and tasks. The sole issue is that Bassmah is still learning how to use the new software systems that the company has implemented. Thirdly, the retirement-in-place readiness level is at R3 and is defined as an individual with a long service history inside the company. In addition, the worker performs well in their position. Instead, the employees must wait for a fantastic retirement chance and make do with the barest minimum. Amani, who has worked for the company for six years but has poor morale and lacks the drive to work, fits the description.
The Appropriate Leader Behavior
Situational leadership emphasizes how crucial it is to modify leadership philosophies by followers’ degree of job preparedness, including evaluating subordinates’ dedication and competency and adjusting leadership styles accordingly (Northouse, 2022). It recognizes that a leader’s effectiveness depends on the circumstances and the followers’ willingness to follow through. There are differences in readiness levels among the organization’s personnel. The leader must adapt their leadership style to meet staff requirements better and enhance service performance. The transformational leadership approach is the best to use in the company regarding conduct and design. Because it involves staff in leadership manipulation, a transformational leadership approach is essential (Northouse, 2022), and the decisions that leaders adopt are typically the result of conversations between them and those who work for the company. The problems are the same for every employee. The key elements influencing staff members include low productivity and low morale. As a result, the circumstance makes it more challenging to accomplish the company’s objectives and prevents people from advancing in their careers. To get the most significant outcomes possible, employees require suitable supervision and motivation in their daily obligations (Widyanti, 2020). The most effective way to get beyond these obstacles is to use transformational leadership behaviours.
It is imperative to note that a transformational leader will encourage team members, maintain an open line of communication, and assist with in-the-field training. A transformative leader walks staff members through the tasks and even models the proper procedures to follow (Northouse, 2022). In these situations, workers will feel at ease performing their jobs, and if they encounter difficulties, they will be willing to communicate and ask for help (Weber, 2020). The elevated levels of productivity within the company result from rising working morale among the staff members in all three readiness levels. Transformational leadership might also arrange for internal training where workers must get ongoing training and acquire new skills to handle the responsibilities and difficulties inside the organization. For instance, Bassmah needs further training since she is not proficient with the new software that the company uses. The staff member will possess a comprehensive comprehension of the computer program and will not experience any depression when utilizing it to fulfil their duties within the company (Widyanti, 2020). Continuous execution of training and communication enables staff members to see and inspires them to strive toward the goals organization’s goals. Understanding and advancement from the R1 readiness levels to the R4 readiness levels are ensured by providing support, ongoing guidance, and participation in monitoring and assessment procedures.
Plan of Action
Under these circumstances, creating a plan of action is a sensible course of action to ensure a better return on investments in improving leadership quality and enhancing organizational productivity and operational culture. The operational strategy guarantees that workers take the appropriate steps to transition from poor morale to high productivity. Evaluating the staff’s difficulties is the first stage in the implementation plan (Northouse, 2022). Assessing the issues establishes the areas that require attention and decides what action the management should take next. The second phase promotes open dialogue and communication so that staff members may voice their problems and get suggestions they can rely on to succeed. Later on, the company should find effective incentive tactics, including higher pay, the availability of support networks, and compliments on the job that employees have done. Third, implementing robust leadership frameworks like transformational leadership practices will aid in inspiring and guiding staff members toward success within the company (McCleskey, 2014). Appropriate resource allocation within the company is necessary to deploy leadership systems.
For Hadeel and Rawan, on the other hand, the emphasis will be on planning team-building activities to address disagreements directly and create a more pleasant work atmosphere that fosters cooperation and productivity (Northouse, 2022). Their dedication and teamwork should increase significantly via coaching sessions designed to strengthen communication and collaboration skills and encourage cooperative problem-solving and decision-making. As for Samah, a mentor will be assigned based on her learning requirements, and an organized training program will be created to clarify job objectives and offer required assistance. According to Negro and Mesia (2020), frequent check-ins will be held to closely monitor progress and swiftly resolve any difficulties, enabling a seamless transition into the team and promoting her advancement within the organization. Finally, regular monitoring and assessment procedures guarantee that the plan’s actions are followed through until success is achieved.
Conclusion
In light of the above, comprehending transformational leadership approaches is beneficial while managing circumstances inside the company. Considering the weaknesses in the case above, it is necessary to manage company conditions well to reduce the likelihood of employee turnover or organizational failure. The management organization’s job is to find out what obstacles the company is facing and develop different plans of action to improve things. Employees in the organization struggle with poor morale and a dearth of support systems, and to address these issues and overcome the hurdles, the leadership elements must adapt. Workers must transition between different levels of preparedness. Supporting employees and regularly evaluating their circumstances leads to the acquisition of the necessary methods for enhancement. The organization’s production levels rise when members follow the implementation action plan.
References
McCleskey, J. A. (2014). Situational, transformational, and transactional leadership and leadership development. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 5(4), 117.
Negro, A. R., & Mesia, R. (2020). Situational leadership and leader versatility. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, 17(3), 109-121.
Northouse, P. G. (2022). Leadership: Theory and practice (9th Ed.). Sage publications.
Weber, J. M. (2020). Individuals matter, but the situation is the case for a habitual situational lens in leadership and organizational decision-making. Organizational Dynamics, 49(1), 1–8.
Widyanti, R. (2020). Do leadership style and organizational communication increase organizational commitment? Study among hospital staff. Journal of Business and Public Administration, 11(2), 17–24.
write