Situational Leadership Style

What is situational leadership style? Describe the challenges a leader may face within today’s health care system and how situational leadership ties in to this.

This is graduate level, please include some references, APA format preferred.
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1. What is situational leadership style? Describe the challenges a leader may face within today’s health care system and how situational leadership ties in to this.

According to Boggs (2007), there are four situational leadership (SL) styles: telling, selling, participating and delegating. Telling is appropriate for those least ready to work independently and delegating for those most ready. As those who are being led grow towards independence, the leader must progress through all of the SL levels. Leaders who do not match their style to that of those being led make it impossible for those being led to grow towards independence. Leaders are also challenged to deal with the possibility that their leadership may be perceived in a negative light. A leader who ignores either the possibility of negative perceptions, the actual occurrence of negative perceptions or the justification for negative perceptions is living in denial. The leader who lives in this denial is climbing out on a limb; the longer the denial goes on, then the further out on that limb the leader climbs. Eventually the limb may break and down will come the leader. This approach is risky and not recommended (Boggs, 2007).

Thus, according to Hersey and Blanchard, situational leadership describes how leaders interact with those being led. This interaction depends on the readiness of those being led, which changes making it essential that leaders monitor the readiness of those being led and adjusts their leadership style accordingly. Misunderstandings may occur and must be dealt with immediately. And, this always means an adjustment on the leader’s part. As well, people are sensitive about a leader’s priority – is the primary focus of the work for the benefit of those led or is it for that of the leader. When the primary focus is …
Solution Summary

This solution explains the meaning of a situational leadership style. It describes the challenges a leader may face within today’s health care system and how situational leadership ties in to this. Supplemented with article on this situational style of leadership and flexible work schedules.