Customer Reviews

The Situational Leader

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'd taken a class in Situational Leadership years ago when I was at IBM. Having taken nearly every management course that's come down the pike I can tell you it was the only that I could use at the end of the first day of training . . . and use at home! This little book, The Situational Leader has all the same material that was in my class: how to vary your style to meet the needs of people you want to lead, how to diagnose readiness, how to develop people and what to do when performance slips. I use it in my consulting practice now. This material is over thirty years old and more useful now than ever before! I gave it 5 stars and recommend it to anybody who wants to be more successful and effective at leading up, down, across and at home.

This slender management text gives the reader a decent leg-up on the challenge of managing four general types of employee (or peer, if you have a lead role). Although the title says "Situational Leader", I'm not sure this is precisely leadership as much as management skill building. Much of the work deals with assessing the people in your group, and making two decisions: how compentent is this person for the task, and how motivated is this person to accomplish the task? The four possibilities each have their own set of challenges.

Obviously, the unskilled and unmotivated person requires the most effort, as a manager will need to spell out in detail subtasks and ensure each subtask is accomplished. More subtle but no less important is the management of your skilled and motivated team members. Failing to acknowledge the achievements or to trust their competency could also lead to problems, perhaps even worse because a manager depends upon their superstars in a crunch.

I'm not a big fan of the hypothetical dialogue the author has chosen to illustrate workplace relevance, but it serves to introduce topics well and make them clear, if not obvious. Properly studied and boiled down to a few chapters, this has a place in anyone's management library.

Fred

The Situational Leader by Dr. Paul Hersey is an excellent book for any level of reader for the basic understanding of this model As one who used this model in the workplace before retiring, I found it to be a great review of the model but it could also be very useful for someone just wanting to learn about the subject and even implement it in their work or home environment. An easy read that is very understandable.

This book is a classic and a must have for anyone looking to move up in business. Furthermore, it is a terrific book for small business owners, such as myself. We have used this book for the for the last 20 years and have found that it perfectly meets our training needs.

"The Situational Leadership® Model is arguably the most widely utilized leadership training and development program in the world. Doctor Paul Hersey, creator of Situational Leadership®, has spent a lifetime studying and examining Human Behavior. Professor Hersey is an internationally known author, educator, keynote speaker and is the founder of the Center for Leadership Studies. The Center for Leadership Studies and Dr. Hersey's Situational Leadership® training program have touched the lives of more than 14 million leaders and managers around the world."