Developmental Leadership: Learning to Shift Your Style
Marie G.
McIntyre, Ph.D.
(All material on
yourofficecoach.com is copyrighted to Marie G. McIntyre. All rights
reserved.)
One of the most important tasks
of a manager is to help employees acquire the skills, abilities, and knowledge
needed to be fully competent in their jobs. Frequently, the manager’s own
leadership style either promotes or inhibits an employee’s development.
1. Identifying Your Preferred Leadership Style
Just as we each have individual
personality characteristics, each manager has his or her own leadership style.
You may not have given much thought to describing your leadership style, but
your employees could definitely tell you about it! The better you understand
your natural style, the more easily you can modify it when you need to.
A.
Fundamental Leadership Behaviors
Two basic responsibilities of
any manager are exercising control and encouraging employee involvement. These
two things may sound somewhat contradictory, but they actually are not. The
table below specifies just what is meant by Control and Involvement, the two
factors we will use to describe different leadership styles.
|
·
Setting goals
·
Clarifying expectations
·
Providing direction
·
Giving information
·
Defining roles
·
Answering questions
·
Organizing & structuring
·
Making decisions |
Involvement
·
Listening
·
Asking opinions
·
Providing encouragement
·
Getting feedback
·
Trying new ideas
·
Facilitating discussions
·
Developing relationships
·
Sharing decision making |
All managers need to use
Control and Involvement behaviors in different combinations and at different
times. Knowing when to use each of these behaviors appropriately is one of the
keys to being an effective manager.
B. The
Developmental Leadership Model
The Developmental Leadership
Model combines Control and Involvement behaviors into four different leadership
styles. These styles are not innately good or bad – the key is to use the right
style at the right time – and with the right person. The four styles are shown
in the table below.
§
Identifying Your Style Preferences
Rank the four styles according
to your level of comfort with each one. Give a 4 to the style with which you
are most comfortable, a 3 to the next most comfortable, and so on. Then
discuss with your group members the reasons why you prefer your highest-ranked
style and why you may tend to avoid your lowest-ranked style.
2. Choosing the Appropriate Style for Each Employee
Successful managers learn that
they must treat their employees both the same and differently! You want to be
consistent and not show favoritism, but at the same time you need to change your
leadership style to meet each employee’s individual needs.
Employees differ in the amount
of direction and interaction they want from their manager, so one factor
influencing your style may be the employee’s preference. Thinking back to
motivational differences, for example, a high-affiliation employee may want to
interact more frequently than someone motivated largely by achievement. Another
critical factor in determining the appropriate leadership style is the
employee’s job maturity. This is the primary factor used in the
Developmental Leadership Model.
A.
Matching Leadership Style & Job Maturity
The key to using the
Developmental Leadership Model is learning to shift your style to match the
developmental level of each employee and the specific situation you are
facing. The appropriate style is determined by assessing the employee’s job
maturity, which is related to several factors.
|
Low Job
Maturity
·
Little work
experience
·
Little job
experience
·
New to
organization
·
New to
assignment
·
Poor
decision-making ability
·
Poor job
performance
·
Poor work habits
·
Avoids
responsibility
|
High Job
Maturity
·
Extensive work
experience
·
Extensive job
experience
·
Familiar with
organization
·
Familiar with
assignment
·
Good
decision-making ability
·
Outstanding job
performance
·
Good work habits
·
Enjoys
responsibility |
Is this person or
group . . .
|
1.
Able to set appropriate work-related goals? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
2.
Willing to set high, but attainable goals? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
3.
Able to solve work-related problems? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
4.
Likely to be a self-starter? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
5.
Likely to stick with a task until it is completed? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
6.
Eager to take responsibility? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
7.
Able to work without much supervision? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
8.
Likely to prefer working independently? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
9.
Supportive of the objectives of the task or job? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
10.
Interested in the task or job? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
11.
Educated and/or experienced in this area? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
Add up your
score and see which style might be best...
Low
Maturity
High Maturity
11
22 33
44 55
Directing - Consulting - Participating - Delegating
|
B.
Coaching Employees through a Learning Curve
Developmental leadership can
help you coach employees through a learning curve when the job, organization, or
assignment is new to them. By gradually shifting from higher control and
involvement to lower control and involvement, you help the employee learn to
become more independent and self-sufficient.
|
