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In the remote world, adaptation is tantamount to success. But one of the greatest hurdles between adaptation and a smooth-running operation revolves around the people responsible for workflow and streamlining processes: your employees.
What makes leadership difficult is that your employees are different personalities with a variety of skill sets. As a result, a blanket approach to management and leadership won’t work.
Leadership has to pivot when necessary and provide a set of motivation and encouragement that allows employees to reach their full potential.
So what’s a leader supposed to do?
The answer might just lie in situational leadership theory.
What is situational leadership theory?
Originally developed in 1969, situational leadership theory suggests that bosses must adapt their leadership styles to different situations and individuals. Or more simply, no single dominant or best leadership style exists. The key idea is that this leadership centers around employees as either a small group (think departmentalization) or the individual.
Situational leadership theory also states that leadership revolves around the abilities of each group or individual and their willingness to work. Known as performance readiness, the mix of abilities and willingness translates to “performance readiness” which falls under four groups:
- Low ability and low willingness to work
- Low ability and high willingness to work
- High ability and low willingness to work
- High ability and high willingness to work
Each group requires a different leadership style to get the most out of your staff. But identifying each group is just the beginning of the battle.
How to apply situational leadership to employees in the digital workplace
As a leader or manager, you’re responsible for gauging which category each employee falls under. The more objective you are in this process, the easier the process of employing situational leadership theory can improve the confidence and workflow of the individual.
Once you’ve categorized each worker, the next step involves using a particular leadership style to motivate and encourage them.
Interestingly, the idea of situational leadership developed in 1969 is surprisingly adaptable to the modern age. Depending on each type of worker, you employ a mix of supportive leadership and directive leadership in varying dosages. Here’s how to do it.
Low ability and low willingness to work – Directing and guiding
Employees in this group lack the ability or skills to get the work done and a low amount of drive to complete the task. They may also hide in the background and avoid communication with your team or others due to a lack of confidence or perceived skills.
To adequately lead these individuals, you need to use a high level of task delegation and timelines. Couple this with visibility throughout the rest of the team and asking follow-up questions to ensure they know exactly what’s expected of them from you and the rest of the team. The leadership style mimics directive leadership, as you need to be on top of every task near the level of micromanagement.
Low ability and high willingness to work – Explaining and coaching
The low ability and high willingness group is hallmarked by enthusiastic employees that are motivated to do the work but lack the skills or abilities to complete them without assistance or leadership. These individuals have the potential to improve your organization, but only with a bit of coaching.
In this group, you still need to delegate tasks with a what, when, and how approach. In this regard, it’s more of a supportive style of leadership. These people want to work; they just need a boost in their abilities and confidence to excel on the job. You may also want to open up discussion surrounding their tasks to improve transparency and understanding of business operations. Over time, you can slowly backtrack your support until this group feels confident with their skills, even with less supervision
High ability and low willingness to work – Participating and collaborating
These employees are characterized by a strong skill set to complete a given task but the lack of motivation, guidance, or confidence to do so. In a remote sense, these people may be the individuals who resist remote work due to a difficult home situation, a lack of drive, or constant distraction when not in a traditional office setting.
You won’t have to do much supervision or coaching on work matters. These are highly skilled workers that know how to do the task. Open discussion is the strongest approach to improve this person’s willingness to do the work. You may not want to dive into personal matters too strongly, but asking the right questions can help this worker identify what challenges they have and how to overcome them.
High ability and high willingness to work – Delegating and empowering
This group is your go-to set of employees. They’ve either been with you for years and know the drill, or they have years of experience and can adapt those skills to the job.
These individuals are prime candidates for self-managed teams, which may foster further autonomy and a boost in ability and confidence of their particular skill set. In most cases, communication flows from the employees to you, and you play more of a supportive role than anything else. Delegating tasks is left up to them, and the more you empower these workers, the better output and results you’ll see. Essentially, these people revel in the amount of flexibility and trust you give to them.
Moreover, you can often groom these individuals to coach teammates that fall into one of the other three groups. Letting them lead virtual meetings or happy hours where they can balance work and non-work-related topics is beneficial for everyone.
Unique digital work scenarios that require situational leadership theory
Now that you understand the basics of situational leadership theory, correct application is tantamount to success. Look for these unique digital workplace scenarios that enable you to employ the concepts that you’ve learned above.
A loss in productivity
If you notice a loss in productivity by an individual, situational leadership theory should amend the situation. While you can’t meet them face-to-face, scheduling an online meeting and addressing the situation can help both parties find the core of the problem and a viable solution. The direct approach is the path of least resistance. Let your concerns come out and give your employee the opportunity to voice concerns, fears, or problems.
Remote onboarding
Bringing on new employees always requires a careful approach to leadership. You have to set a baseline level of expectation, how the company runs, and foster work culture and employee engagement. In this regard, situational leadership allows you to assess each individual from the beginning to create a tailor-made approach on the best way to motivate them.
A drop in morale
Drops in morale can happen in the remote world due to weather, personal events, or even the continual unknown factors of the future in a post-COVID era. But leaders can meet these challenges head-on with situational leadership. Assess each individual through messaging, email, or a meeting. By applying one of the four models, you can get to the root of any morale issues through a singular approach that appeals to each person. It’s a hands-on approach with a personal touch not often seen in the digital realm.
Should you employ the situational leadership theory?
The theoretical aspect of situational leadership means that not every type of leadership will work in any given situation. But it’s an adaptable approach to remote work that can improve employee engagement and morale while boosting company culture. That should be enough motivation to give it a try.
Photo by Christian Battaglia on Unsplash
In the remote world, adaptation is tantamount to success. But one of the greatest hurdles between adaptation and a smooth-running operation revolves around the people responsible for workflow and streamlining processes: your employees.
What makes leadership difficult is that your employees are different personalities with a variety of skill sets. As a result, a blanket approach to management and leadership won’t work.
Leadership has to pivot when necessary and provide a set of motivation and encouragement that allows employees to reach their full potential.
So what’s a leader supposed to do?
The answer might just lie in situational leadership theory.
What is situational leadership theory?
Originally developed in 1969, situational leadership theory suggests that bosses must adapt their leadership styles to different situations and individuals. Or more simply, no single dominant or best leadership style exists. The key idea is that this leadership centers around employees as either a small group (think departmentalization) or the individual.
Situational leadership theory also states that leadership revolves around the abilities of each group or individual and their willingness to work. Known as performance readiness, the mix of abilities and willingness translates to “performance readiness” which falls under four groups:
- Low ability and low willingness to work
- Low ability and high willingness to work
- High ability and low willingness to work
- High ability and high willingness to work
Each group requires a different leadership style to get the most out of your staff. But identifying each group is just the beginning of the battle.
How to apply situational leadership to employees in the digital workplace
As a leader or manager, you’re responsible for gauging which category each employee falls under. The more objective you are in this process, the easier the process of employing situational leadership theory can improve the confidence and workflow of the individual.
Once you’ve categorized each worker, the next step involves using a particular leadership style to motivate and encourage them.
Interestingly, the idea of situational leadership developed in 1969 is surprisingly adaptable to the modern age. Depending on each type of worker, you employ a mix of supportive leadership and directive leadership in varying dosages. Here’s how to do it.
Low ability and low willingness to work – Directing and guiding
Employees in this group lack the ability or skills to get the work done and a low amount of drive to complete the task. They may also hide in the background and avoid communication with your team or others due to a lack of confidence or perceived skills.
To adequately lead these individuals, you need to use a high level of task delegation and timelines. Couple this with visibility throughout the rest of the team and asking follow-up questions to ensure they know exactly what’s expected of them from you and the rest of the team. The leadership style mimics directive leadership, as you need to be on top of every task near the level of micromanagement.
Low ability and high willingness to work – Explaining and coaching
The low ability and high willingness group is hallmarked by enthusiastic employees that are motivated to do the work but lack the skills or abilities to complete them without assistance or leadership. These individuals have the potential to improve your organization, but only with a bit of coaching.
In this group, you still need to delegate tasks with a what, when, and how approach. In this regard, it’s more of a supportive style of leadership. These people want to work; they just need a boost in their abilities and confidence to excel on the job. You may also want to open up discussion surrounding their tasks to improve transparency and understanding of business operations. Over time, you can slowly backtrack your support until this group feels confident with their skills, even with less supervision
High ability and low willingness to work – Participating and collaborating
These employees are characterized by a strong skill set to complete a given task but the lack of motivation, guidance, or confidence to do so. In a remote sense, these people may be the individuals who resist remote work due to a difficult home situation, a lack of drive, or constant distraction when not in a traditional office setting.
You won’t have to do much supervision or coaching on work matters. These are highly skilled workers that know how to do the task. Open discussion is the strongest approach to improve this person’s willingness to do the work. You may not want to dive into personal matters too strongly, but asking the right questions can help this worker identify what challenges they have and how to overcome them.
High ability and high willingness to work – Delegating and empowering
This group is your go-to set of employees. They’ve either been with you for years and know the drill, or they have years of experience and can adapt those skills to the job.
These individuals are prime candidates for self-managed teams, which may foster further autonomy and a boost in ability and confidence of their particular skill set. In most cases, communication flows from the employees to you, and you play more of a supportive role than anything else. Delegating tasks is left up to them, and the more you empower these workers, the better output and results you’ll see. Essentially, these people revel in the amount of flexibility and trust you give to them.
Moreover, you can often groom these individuals to coach teammates that fall into one of the other three groups. Letting them lead virtual meetings or happy hours where they can balance work and non-work-related topics is beneficial for everyone.
Unique digital work scenarios that require situational leadership theory
Now that you understand the basics of situational leadership theory, correct application is tantamount to success. Look for these unique digital workplace scenarios that enable you to employ the concepts that you’ve learned above.
A loss in productivity
If you notice a loss in productivity by an individual, situational leadership theory should amend the situation. While you can’t meet them face-to-face, scheduling an online meeting and addressing the situation can help both parties find the core of the problem and a viable solution. The direct approach is the path of least resistance. Let your concerns come out and give your employee the opportunity to voice concerns, fears, or problems.
Remote onboarding
Bringing on new employees always requires a careful approach to leadership. You have to set a baseline level of expectation, how the company runs, and foster work culture and employee engagement. In this regard, situational leadership allows you to assess each individual from the beginning to create a tailor-made approach on the best way to motivate them.
A drop in morale
Drops in morale can happen in the remote world due to weather, personal events, or even the continual unknown factors of the future in a post-COVID era. But leaders can meet these challenges head-on with situational leadership. Assess each individual through messaging, email, or a meeting. By applying one of the four models, you can get to the root of any morale issues through a singular approach that appeals to each person. It’s a hands-on approach with a personal touch not often seen in the digital realm.
Should you employ the situational leadership theory?
The theoretical aspect of situational leadership means that not every type of leadership will work in any given situation. But it’s an adaptable approach to remote work that can improve employee engagement and morale while boosting company culture. That should be enough motivation to give it a try.
Photo by Christian Battaglia on Unsplash
