*Leadership is situational*: a comment

Leadership

Leadership is the process of influencing a person or a group to work towards goals in a given situation; it involves the leader, the followers and other variables, and the variables of the situation affect how effective the leadership is.

What the statement means

The statement reflects the situational approach to leadership. This approach does not deny that personal traits matter, but it holds that the pattern of leadership grows out of the situation of a particular group, so leadership differs from one situation to another, and a person who leads in one setting may stop being a leader in another. Leadership is seen as the product of the interaction among the manager, the group and the organisational environment. On this view leaders are made rather than born, anyone can lead if circumstances let him perform the functions the situation calls for, and the effective leader is one who understands the forces at work in the situation and acts on them.

Why leadership depends on the situation

1. Traits alone do not explain it. The trait approach tried to identify the inborn qualities that mark out leaders, but it cannot say how strongly, or to what extent, each trait must be present.
2. The same behaviour does not always work. The behavioural approach judges a leader by what he does, but a particular behaviour may be effective at one time and fail at another.
3. Each style suits its own setting. An autocratic style can raise productivity where a supervisor must meet production deadlines, and it allows quick decisions; a democratic style suits people who perform best when they help set their own objectives.
4. Leaders mix styles as needed. Depending on the situation a leader may combine styles: even a free-rein leader lays down some rules, and a democratic leader may have to decide alone in an emergency.

Consider the head of a hospital's emergency ward in Hyderabad. During a highway accident with many casualties she gives short, firm orders and expects them to be obeyed at once. A week later, planning the duty roster for the festival season, she sits with her nurses and doctors and lets them shape the schedule. The person is the same; the situation has changed, and so has the leadership it calls for.

Limits of the situational view

The approach is not complete. It places too much weight on the variables of the situation, and it does not explain how good leaders can be developed. Personal qualities still count: effective leaders are generally found to have intelligence, social maturity, motivation and a human relations attitude.

Conclusion

The statement is largely true. No single set of traits or one style works everywhere, and the effective leader reads the group, the task and the setting before choosing how to lead. It is best read alongside the trait and behavioural views rather than in place of them.