Introduction
Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey developed the theory of situation leadership. According to these two authors, in order to be an effective leader, its is advisable to accept and adapt to the current work environment and focus towards development. Research shows that leaders who apply situation leadership skills in their tasks always perform unlike those who pretend to effective leaders. Situation leaders according to this theory defines an effective leader as one who depends on the aspect at hand, ensures that there is right motivation of employees, and works with skills that current employees holds.
There are four main influence competence aspects that situation leaders operate with namely; directing, delegating, selling, and participating. It is the work of the leader to determine the situation at hand in order to apply required style so as to effectively achieve organization goals. This essay will look at Steve Jobs simply because he is one of great situation leaders of all times.
Discussion
Founder of Apple Inc. Steve Jobs has been one of the greatest situation leaders who have managed to remain in the market for long. Steve has applied situation leadership skills in running the organization and has managed to be competitive enough. Although there are different types of leadership theories applied by different individuals, situation leadership enables the leader to respond to the current situation. Steve Jobs has always maintained the highest level of relationship with his employees. This has enabled his organization operate effectively simply because he understands needs of workplace environment and employees are able to know and accomplish what the organization expects in return, (Yeakey, 2002).
Steve has always achieved organization goals because unlike other leaders, he deals with the situation at hand in the right manner. The world of technology is moving rapidly thus leaders are expected to respond accordingly. Due to the current competition, Steve Jobs managed to be competitive in the market simply because he ensured that the issues had been handled professionally.
Jobs qualifies to be a situation leader simply because just like other great situation leaders, he has been able to adjust to the environment and by so doing develop an environment that helps the organization respond to competitors in the right aspect. Steve Jobs has managed to be an effective leader simply because of the fact that whenever there is a change, he always adjusted to the situation. Another aspect that has enabled Steve to be an effective leader in the world of technology is by foreseeing situations, (Godin, 2009).
It is the work of a situation leader to adapt to the situations that arise during organization development as well as operation. Research shows that situation contingencies in a given scenario rules out what to be done. As an effective leader, Steve Jobs is known for his activeness in responding to any type of situation. Steve has at times become dictator but that result from the situation an organization operates.
The theory of situation leadership gives leaders skills on what they are required to do in case a situation develops. Partnering, flexibility, and diagnosing are the main situational leadership competencies that individuals use when responding to certain situations. Situation leadership is also known as ‘one minute leadership’. The main reason why it has been given that name is due to its nature. The type of leadership calls the leader to respond to the situation at that given moment meaning that the leader may change in another moment, (Hersey & Blanchard, 2007).
Situation competencies
Steve is a great leader whose dreams of developing and making Apple the leading company in the market came true. It has been hard for Jobs to respond to the competition with competitors but due to situation leadership skills he had, things within the organization operated and moved in the right manner. In all his years as a leader, Steve Jobs remained focused and that was the main reason he was able to outdo all competitors. Whenever a competitor thinks of developing something, Steve was far ahead in the same strategy in order to prepare on how to respond to the competition aspect, (Godin, 2009).
Diagnosing: This is the first situational leadership competence that leaders apply when responding to situations. The world of technology develops day after day. Research shows that technology is one of the few things that develop at a high speed. Irrespective of the speed at which technology develops, there are many companies that deal with technology. Steve was in the frontline in any form of technology development. The work of Steve in technology development was to diagnose the situation at hand and then respond to it in the right approach. Research shows that Steve Jobs and the group has always been in the lead in any development aspect something that shows how situational leader he was, (Yeakey, 2002).
Directing: Apple is one of the many organizations that deal with technology related aspects. In so doing, a lot had been done in order to ensure that things have moved accordingly. There are times when employees in Apple industry have failed in responding to certain situations. Steve has been of help in such situations simply because he ensures that the problem have been responded to in the right direction. He used to provide clear instructions to employees on work operations in order to handle any problem. Without directions, organizations are unable to remain in the market, (YouTube Video, 2012).
Participating: Most leaders fail when responding to certain situations that affect their organizations simply because they do not participate accordingly. Steve Jobs in case of a situation ensured that he participated to the call of development in the right approach. Employees in Apple Inc. have at times been affected by development issues but since they have little skills on how to upgrade certain things, they seek help from Jobs on how to make developments. Being part of to Board Directors of Apple Inc. Steve managed to develop policies that enabled the company to run effectively as well as managed to be the best in technology development for long, (Hersey & Blanchard, 2007).
Value of Steve in Apple
Situation leadership enables an organization deal with the situation at hand in order to achieve its objectives as well as set goals. In this situation, Steve’s situation leadership enabled Apple to be competitive enough as compared to other technology organizations. Research shows that Jobs was able to apply the entire four basic situation competencies whenever need arise. This means that Apple was able to diagnose the problem that occurred in the development of its operations.
Apart from problem realization, situation leadership skills of Jobs enabled Apple to respond to the problem at the right time and with the right approach. Apple has always managed to forecast on the required development thus operate at the lead in order to retain its market position. Job on the other hand has managed to create and develop structures to employees on how they are required to respond to situations. The most important aspect of Jobs in Apple was to handle development situations as they occur something that enabled the company operate at safe position, (Yeakey, 2002).
Situation Leaders
There has always been an argument whether situations leaders are born or whether they are developed as one grows. From my own perspective I believe that leaders are not born rather they are developed. Saying that leaders are born it is same as saying that criminals are born. It depends with the surrounding that an individual is born and brought up. Research shows that in becoming an effective situation leader, individuals may learn skills and put them into practice, (Godin, 2009).
Conclusion
Situation leadership is one of the common leadership skills used by different leaders in running their organization. In a situation leadership, leaders are expected to respond to the situation in the right manner in order to achieve goals and objectives of an organization. In general, leaders are made and not born as some think.
Reference:
Hersey, P. & Blanchard, K. H. (2007). Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing Human Resources” (3rd ed.) New Jersey/Prentice Hall
Arvidsson, M., Johansson, C. R., Ek, A., & Akselsson, R. (2007). Situational leadership in air traffic control. Journal of Air Transportation, 12(1), 67-97. Retrieved from ProQuest (Document ID: 1303411551)
Godin, S. (2009). Situational leadership by Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey. Retrieved from, http://www.sayeconomy.com/situational-leadership-by-kenneth-blanchard-and-paul-hersey/, on July 31, 2012.
Organizational change: Open Systems. Retrieved from, http://www.soi.org/reading/change/concepts.shtml, on July 31, 2012
Yeakey, G.W. (2002). Situational leadership. Military Review. Retrieved from, http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/milreview/yeakey.htm, on July 31, 2012
YouTube Video: Warren Bennis on Leadership Development retrieved from, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFHaHquIW0g&feature=related, on July 31, 2012
