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Your best salesperson becomes team lead. In the first month you leave her alone, because she is your best salesperson. In the second month the budget is late and two hires have gone wrong. You did not misjudge her. You judged her on the wrong task. The Situational Leadership Model is built on exactly that distinction.
What the Situational Leadership Model is
Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard introduced the model in 1969, first as the "life cycle theory of leadership". Blanchard later developed his own version, SLII, in the 1980s. Both rest on one idea: there is no single best leadership style. The right style depends on how ready a person is for a specific task.
The four styles
- S1 Directing: clear instructions, close follow-up. High direction, low support.
- S2 Coaching: still directive, but explaining why and inviting questions. High direction, high support.
- S3 Supporting: the person decides how; you listen and encourage. Low direction, high support.
- S4 Delegating: you agree the goal and step back. Low direction, low support.
The four development levels
- D1: low competence, high commitment. New and keen. Needs S1.
- D2: some competence, dipping commitment. The task turned out harder than expected. Needs S2.
- D3: good competence, variable confidence. Can do it, is not always sure. Needs S3.
- D4: high competence, high commitment. Needs S4.
The key word is task. The same person can be D4 at selling and D1 at budgeting in the same week.
Situational Leadership example: the new team lead
Closing deals: D4. Delegate fully; ask for results, not reports.
Running team meetings: D3. She has done it a few times and doubts herself. Supporting: ask how she plans it, give feedback after.
Hiring: D2. She tried, two hires went wrong, and her confidence dropped. Coaching: sit in on interviews and explain what you look for.
Building the budget: D1. She has never done it. Directing: a template, a deadline and a check-in after each step.
One person, four styles in one week. Treating her as "senior, so delegate everything" is what caused month two.
One-page model visual
The one-page visual
Use this visual as a quick reference. The card in the deck adds the questions and the steps to run the model on your next real question.
How to plan your leadership style in 30 minutes with the card
- Minutes 0 to 5: pick one person. Someone you are unsure how to lead right now.
- Minutes 5 to 12: list their four or five main tasks. Specific ones, such as "quote complex repairs", not "customer service".
- Minutes 12 to 20: rate competence and commitment per task. Use evidence: results, mistakes, how they talk about it.
- Minutes 20 to 25: match a style to each task. D1 to S1, D2 to S2, and so on.
- Minutes 25 to 30: agree it with them. Share your view in your next one-to-one and ask for theirs. The model works best when both sides know which style applies to which task.
The card explains the four styles and walks through the steps with an example, so you can prepare a one-to-one in a few minutes.
Common Situational Leadership mistakes
- Labelling people instead of tasks. "She is a D4" hides the tasks where she is not.
- Reading low commitment as laziness. D2 is a normal phase. It calls for more coaching, not less patience.
- Delegating too early to show trust. Delegation without the competence feels like abandonment.
- Never moving up. The aim is to move people from S1 towards S4 as they grow. A leader who keeps directing a D4 loses that person.
If the problem is wider than one person, the McKinsey 7S Framework shows how style fits with structure, systems and shared values. To set clear goals for each task, use the OKR framework.
Situational Leadership FAQ
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What are the four Situational Leadership styles?
Directing (S1), coaching (S2), supporting (S3) and delegating (S4). In Hersey's original wording they are telling, selling, participating and delegating.
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What is the difference between Situational Leadership and SLII?
Both come from the same 1969 model. Hersey continued with "readiness levels" R1 to R4; Blanchard developed SLII with "development levels" D1 to D4. The logic is the same.
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Is the model supported by research?
Partly. It is widely used and easy to apply, but studies on whether matching styles improves performance give mixed results. Treat it as a practical guide for conversations, not a precise formula.
One person, the right style per task
The Situational Leadership card keeps the four styles and the steps on one card, so you can prepare a one-to-one between meetings. The Miro board helps a team discuss styles openly, and the Model Dashboard tracks each task's level and the next coaching action. You will find it with 49 other models in the MBA Tools deck.
