Tools
The Whole-Person Approach
To lead others with this human-centered mindset, it is helpful to first reflect and understand what drives or deters your …
You wouldn’t want to wait until your roof caves in to fix the problem. You’d want to prevent the problem from ever happening by fixing the roof before it even starts leaking. Much in the same way, leaders need to develop agility to prepare themselves and their teams before challenges arise, not after. By building agile habits proactively, leaders can ensure they’re well equipped to guide their teams quickly and confidently through change when it inevitably comes.
But what exactly is agility? In a workplace context, it’s generally defined as the ability to frequently assess and adapt your approach as circumstances evolve. It’s not just about reacting to change but responding to it with intention—which means thinking ahead, staying flexible and pivoting when needed.
With the countless changes that today’s organizations face, leaders must embrace adaptability, or the ability to adjust to new conditions, to help their teams effectively navigate uncertainty and thrive amid changes.
You and other leaders in your organization can develop adaptability and become more agile with the right strategies. Our Situational Leadership® Model makes agility second-nature by giving leaders a simple framework to frequently assess and adapt their approach.
Adaptability is a critical leadership skill because people will always be dynamic. What someone needs today to perform a task successfully might be different tomorrow. Adaptable leaders know how to identify evolving employee needs and adjust their approach so they can help team members flourish in any circumstance.
While the need for adaptability is timeless, it’s more important than ever in today’s workplaces, largely due to the accelerated pace of change. Take AI (artifical intelligence) for example: It is undeniably changing how work gets done. Changes like these are being introduced faster than ever, causing teams to continually have to adjust the way they work, often with little warning. Leaders must learn how to stay agile and adapt to the evolving needs of their teams, so they can continue to perform in changing environments.
Our Situational Leadership® Model was uniquely designed to help leaders develop the adaptability, flexibility and other critical leadership skills they need to stay effective amidst constant disruption. It provides a structured way for leaders to diagnose each employee’s Performance Readiness® level—or one’s ability and willingness to complete a task—and adapt their leadership style accordingly.
This framework ensures leaders provide appropriate support and direction, whether guiding an employee through a new task or delegating a task they’ve performed many times before. By embracing adaptable leadership through the Situational Leadership® Model, leaders can enhance their effectiveness and create a responsive and supportive environment that allows their organization to grow and succeed, even through the most unexpected changes.
From navigating a complex situation to adapting to rapid technological advancements, agility is a critical skill. The Situational Leadership® Model teaches leaders how to be agile in dynamic workplaces so they can meet employees where they are and support them at any Performance Readiness® level.
By understanding the model’s core principles, you or your organization’s leaders will know how to adopt several strategies to train your brain to be more agile, including:
Self-aware leaders are effective leaders. To be more agile and know when to adapt your leadership approach, you must first understand your natural leadership preferences. Once you’re aware of your “default” leadership style, you can be more intentional about the style you use for each situation.
Within the Situational Leadership® Model, there are four different leadership styles—directing, coaching, collaborating and delegating. The model provides a practical framework to help you identify and reflect on the leadership style you naturally lean toward.
Being able to adapt is a Situational Leader’s greatest strength. Part of that is accepting you’ll sometimes need to apply a leadership style that doesn’t feel natural.
For instance, some leaders gravitate toward a delegating leadership style, where they’re most comfortable providing minimal direction or support and letting employees take ownership of a task. Others might prefer collaborating with employees or directing them on what to do at each step.
The point is that a single leadership style will not be most effective for every employee in every situation. It’s important to know what your preferences are and understand when that approach is effective and when it’s not.
Agile leaders are willing to continually learn about their team members’ needs so they can remain flexible and put agility into practice. The Situational Leadership® Model gives leaders the tools to practice and nurture agility.
The model provides a clear method for selecting a leadership style that corresponds with a particular Performance Readiness® level, providing a straightforward way to apply flexibility and agility. It will empower you to pivot your approach quickly whenever you discover a change in an employee’s performance or needs. It will also teach you to embrace a learning mindset as you continually diagnose each employee’s Performance Readiness® for every task.
When you diagnose each employee’s performance needs for every task, you’ll discover how much support and direction they need to grow the skills and confidence to complete the task well. You can identify specific skills gaps—and any confidence or motivation roadblocks—and take a more targeted leadership approach to their development. This will accelerate their time to autonomy for specific tasks, empowering them to make decisions on their own.
When attempting to develop a more agile leadership approach, you can face several challenges as a leader. These include:
With the many changes today’s workplaces continue to face, adaptability is necessary for effective leadership. The good news is that anyone can develop the skills to become more agile.
By learning the key concepts of the Situational Leadership® Model, leaders can learn how to remain flexible in the face of change and adjust their leadership style to match their employee’s performance needs, preparing them to effectively lead their team in any situation.
Our Situational Leadership® Essentials course teaches the foundation of the Situational Leadership® Model and how to apply its principles in real-world situations. The course offers a simple, practical way for leaders to learn how to adjust their leadership styles to match employees’ Performance Readiness® and develop agility.
We also offer the Situational Change Leadership™ course, which is specifically designed to help leaders apply that agility directly to change. It teaches them how to keep their team members on the same page and give them the support they need during transformations, building an environment where everyone feels responsible for making changes work.
Contact us today to learn more.
