Leadership
for Saints: Part 44
Good Leadership
is Situational
by Rodger Dean Duncan and Ed J. Pinegar
At which level of initiative should Brother Gray operate in his
new assignment as ward mission leader? In reality, he will
operate at all six levels of initiative, depending on which
part of his assignment is addressed.
For example, he does not have the authority to call someone in his
ward to serve as a ward missionary. But as ward mission leader,
he certainly has the authority and responsibility to recommend to
his bishop that someone receive such a call. He does not need
to wait for instruction to meet weekly with the full-time missionaries
assigned to his ward. In that part of his assignment, he should
merely act independently but report routinely.
Lack of mutual understanding on the expected levels of initiative
is probably the most common cause for failure in a stewardship
assignment. For many people, a natural inclination (because
of humility or lack of confidence or a fear of over-stepping
their authority) is to adopt a lower level of initiative than
is necessary.
Remember: the effective leader takes the time to teach the
steward and to clarify expectations. The leader should
encourage the steward to lean toward initiative rather than
toward inertia. After all, it’s easier to tame a tiger than
to motivate a turtle. And if the leader does not initiate an
early and specific discussion leading to an agreement on mutual
expectations, the person receiving the assignment should initiate
the discussion.
With this careful attention to mutual expectations, can you see
how Brother Gray is placed on a path to success? At the very
beginning, he is given the opportunity to ask questions and
to express himself regarding expectations for his new assignment.
He is given much, much more than a handshake and good wishes.
He receives a motivating mission, complete with specifics on
(1) desired results, (2) guidelines, (3) resources, (4) accountability,
(5) linkages and (6) levels of initiative. He
can now proceed with confidence.
“But wait a minute,” you may be thinking. “These are helpful principles
and they certainly apply in some cases. But I’m working with
people who have a wide range of experience. They have many
different sets of skills. Some of them are already highly committed,
while others clearly need motivating. Their testimonies of
the gospel are at different levels of maturity. How can I lead
such people with one set of principles?”
That’s the very point! True principles of delegation apply to every
situation.
Please note: we are not suggesting that you apply the principles
in a “cookie cutter” fashion, treating every individual precisely
the same. In fact, an important principle to remember is that there
is nothing as unequal as the equal treatment of unequals.
One of the practices that made the Savior so successful in his earthly
ministry is that he “taught the one.” He carefully considered
the individual needs of the person he was teaching. So must
we use true principles to address the individual and personal
needs of each person we are charged to lead. This principle
of delegation combined with trust is vital in raising responsible
and accountable children.
Situational Leadership
Like any good physician, the effective leader diagnoses before he
prescribes. He carefully and prayerfully considers the situation
at hand—the situation regarding the challenges of the work
to be accomplished and the situation regarding the ability
and readiness of the person being asked to do the work. In
this sense, one size does not fit all.
Situational leadership honors the differences in people and accelerates
the learning and growth of everyone involved. It also helps
ensure that the work is accomplished in a way that meets expectations.
As an example of what we mean, take the case of Sister Ramos and
Brother Walters. Sister Ramos, baptized only 18 months ago,
is called as a Primary teacher. She is full of faith and enthusiasm
and is eager to bless the children in her class.
Brother Walters, a less active high priest, is called to serve in
the Young Men organization. He is very experienced in scouting
(his new assignment), though his reliability in following through
has been a bit shaky in the past.
So here we have two children of God called to do God’s work. They
are the same in that both are precious in the Lord’s sight.
But their circumstances and needs are different, so situational leadership
is required.
Most people have peak performance potential. You just need to know “where
they’re coming from” and meet them there. With situational
leadership you are able to “teach the one” by applying a leadership
style that meets the current needs of the person you want to
bless.
One such leadership style is Directing. This is where you
provide specific instructions and closely supervise task accomplishment.
With a Coaching leadership style, you continue to direct
and closely supervise task accomplishment. You also explain
your reasons for suggesting certain things, you solicit suggestions
from the person you’re leading, and you honestly compliment
progress.
In the Supporting leadership style you help and support the
steward’s efforts and you share responsibility for decision
making.
Finally, in the Delegating leadership style you turn over
to the steward the responsibility for decision making and problem
solving.
Bear in mind, there is no one best leadership style. The issue here
is situational leadership. In other words, deciding
which style is most appropriate for a given situation.
Another important thing to remember about situational leadership
is that a person’s performance or achievement involves two
key ingredients: competence and commitment.
Competence is a combination of knowledge
and skills. These can be gained from education, training, coaching,
and/or experience.
Commitment is a combination of confidence
and motivation.
Confidence is a measure of a person’s self-assuredness, a feeling
of being able to do something well without much supervision.
Motivation is a person’s interest in and enthusiasm for doing
something well.
Quotes Worth Remembering
A point of mutual understanding is reached in the training process when
the assignee commits him- or herself to do the job. If the
training is well done and the communication is two-way, this
commitment will be honest, deep, and realistic and will internalize
the source of motivation or supervision from then on. – Stephen
R. Covey
It is time for us to reflect and to
think upon our situation, and to consider our ways and be wise.
What do you want to do? – John
Taylor
Note: The excerpts of Leadership for Saints posted on Meridian
are only a fraction of the contents of this 349-page book.
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copies, click here.
