Leadership Approach Paper

Introduction Yulk (2010, p.23) asserts that experts have come up with many definitions and theories of leadership to better understand and explain the concept so members of organizations and society can be effective leaders. Yulk adds that there is no single correct definition of leadership. Nonetheless, it is of chief concern to understand leadership and the various approaches that can be applied to different situations. Organizational behavior comes into play to aid management in enhancing their understanding of human behavior within organizations to better communicate, allocate resources, delegate tasks, plan, organize, direct, and control work activities. The main purpose of understanding organizational behavior is to increase leadership effectiveness, motivate workers, and inspire them to work toward a common objective. Although there are many leadership approaches, we will focus on the situational leadership approach. We will analyze the purpose, strengths and weaknesses of the situational leadership approach, and provide an example of how it can be applied to real situations.

Situational Leadership Approach As it name suggests, the situational leadership approach states that leaders should use different approaches as situations change. In short, leaders should be flexible, embrace change as it comes, and be capable of adapting to it. The situational leadership approach is a model that was developed by Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey in 1972. The theory states that leaders should match their leadership style to the maturity of followers and to the specific tasks on hand (Lerstrom, 2008). As people within organizations acquire more experience and become more knowledgeable about their job, leaders will need to adapt new leadership styles to keep these people motivated. According to May (2013) the core concept of the situational leadership approach is that “one size does not fit all”. The best leaders are not only those who have a vision, but