For the Module 2 SLP assignment, you will continue to apply the concepts from the background materials (Avery, 2011, Chapter 4, p. 85-88) to your own experiences in the workplace. Think carefully about Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership model and the four leadership styles of Directing, Coaching, Supporting, and Delegating. Then consider the styles of one or more of the supervisors you have worked with, and reflect upon whether or not their style changed depending on the situation.

After doing some reflecting on your own experiences, and reviewing the background materials, write a 2 full-page paper (excluding title and references pages) addressing the following issues:
Take a look at the four developmental levels D1-D4 discussed in Avery (2011, p.85).

1. Which of these levels best describes the developmental level of your supervisor’s full team?
2. How would you describe the tasks required of your supervisor’s full team? Are they structured or unstructured?
3. Overall, how well does your supervisor’s leadership style match with the developmental level of their team and the characteristics of the team’s tasks? Consider the Situational Leadership model for developmental level and the Path-Goal model for task characteristics in your answer.
4. Conclude with recommendations for how your supervisor could change their leadership style?

SLP Assignment Expectations

1. Your SLP should be at least 2 pages in length (not including title and reference pages).
2. Be sure to cite and reference (using APA Style) a minimum of 2 scholarly sources listed in the Course Materials and Bibliography (Module 1 Required and Optional Reading List), or in the Module 1 Background Page: Required and Optional Readings. Upload your paper to the SLP 1 Dropbox before the assignment due date.

Answer preview

Situational leadership generally requires a leader to alter their approach to leadership depending on the situation of their employees or followers. On the face of it, doing this might seem easy. However, it is not as straightforward as it might appear. For a leader to do this, they will first have to understand the development level of their employees, precisely what their competency and commitment levels are (Avery, 2011). Only when this happens can a leader select an appropriate leadership style that suits their employees’ needs and situations. I have worked under various supervisors who had different leadership approaches (Avery, 2011). As such, this paper will reflect on these experiences to ascertain whether one of them was able to adapt their leadership styles to suit employees’ situations.

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