Situational Leadership: The Model, Styles and Examples

Situational leadership is Hersey and Blanchard's model that says leaders should adapt their style to each follower's readiness for a specific task. It has four styles: S1 Telling, S2 Selling, S3 Participating and S4 Delegating, matched to readiness levels R1 to R4, which combine the follower's ability and willingness.

Situational leadership is one of the most widely taught leadership models in the world, and one of the most misunderstood. Most companies selling training on it present it as settled science. It is not, but it is still genuinely useful. This guide explains the model neutrally: where it came from, the four styles and four readiness levels, the difference between the Hersey and Blanchard versions, worked examples, and what the research actually says.

What is situational leadership?

Situational leadership is the idea that there is no single best way to lead; the right style depends on the person you are leading and the task in front of them. A leader adjusts two kinds of behaviour:

Task behaviour (also called directive behaviour): telling people what to do, how, when and where, and checking progress.
Relationship behaviour (also called supportive behaviour): listening, encouraging, explaining, involving people in decisions.

The amount of each depends on the follower's readiness for that specific task: how able and how willing they are to do it.

Who created situational leadership theory?

Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard developed the model while writing their textbook Management of Organizational Behavior. They first published it in 1969 as the "life cycle theory of leadership" in the Training and Development Journal, and renamed it situational leadership in the 1970s. Hersey went on to found The Center for Leadership Studies, which still teaches his version (Center for Leadership Studies). Blanchard developed his own version, Situational Leadership II (SLII), introduced in the 1985 book Leadership and the One Minute Manager with Patricia and Drea Zigarmi. The two versions are now separate, trademarked products.

What are the four situational leadership styles (S1 to S4)?

Match the style above to the readiness level below: R1 calls for S1, R2 for S2, R3 for S3 and R4 for S4. Simplified from Hersey and Blanchard's model.

Style	Task behaviour	Relationship behaviour	What the leader does	Best for
S1 Telling (directing)	High	Low	Gives clear instructions, sets deadlines, supervises closely, makes the decisions	R1: unable and unwilling or insecure
S2 Selling (coaching)	High	High	Still decides, but explains why, invites questions and encourages	R2: unable but willing or confident
S3 Participating (supporting)	Low	High	Shares decisions, listens, builds confidence, lets the person lead on how	R3: able but unwilling or insecure
S4 Delegating	Low	Low	Hands over responsibility; agrees outcomes and checks in occasionally	R4: able and willing or confident

A good way to remember the sequence: as readiness rises, the leader first adds support (S1 to S2), then removes direction (S2 to S3), then removes close support too (S3 to S4).

What are the four readiness levels (R1 to R4)?

Readiness is the combination of ability (knowledge, skill, experience) and willingness (confidence, commitment, motivation) for one specific task. Earlier editions called this "maturity", which caused confusion because it sounded like a judgement of the person.

Level	Ability	Willingness	Typical signs	Matching style
R1	Low	Low or insecure	New to the task, anxious, makes basic errors, avoids it	S1 Telling
R2	Low	High or confident	Keen, asks lots of questions, overestimates progress	S2 Selling
R3	High	Low or insecure	Competent but hesitant, seeks reassurance, may be bored or doubting	S3 Participating
R4	High	High	Delivers independently, solves problems, proactively updates you	S4 Delegating

The key point many people miss: readiness is task-specific. A finance manager might be R4 on month-end reporting and R1 on presenting to the board. You do not have one style for a person; you have a style for a person on a particular task.

What is the difference between Hersey's model and Blanchard's SLII?

Feature	Hersey: Situational Leadership	Blanchard: SLII
Follower measure	Performance readiness (ability and willingness)	Development level (competence and commitment)
Levels	R1 to R4	D1 to D4
Style names	Telling, Selling, Participating, Delegating (later Guiding, Explaining, Facilitating, Empowering, among others)	Directing, Coaching, Supporting, Delegating
Behaviour axes	Task and relationship behaviour	Directive and supportive behaviour
Lowest level	R1: unable and insecure or unwilling	D1: "enthusiastic beginner", low competence but high commitment
Progression	Not assumed to be linear	Presented as a typical development sequence
Provider	The Center for Leadership Studies	The Ken Blanchard Companies

The biggest practical difference is at the start. Hersey's R1 person is unable and unsure. Blanchard's D1 person is unable but enthusiastic, and then often becomes a "disillusioned learner" (D2) once the task proves harder than expected. If you have ever watched a keen new graduate hit a wall in month three, SLII describes that dip well.

What are examples of situational leadership?

Example 1: a new hire on the first payroll run (R1, use S1)

Aisha joins an accounts team and has never run payroll. She is nervous. Her manager uses S1: a written checklist, a walkthrough, a shadow run, and a review of every step before submission. This is not micromanagement; it is the right amount of structure for someone who cannot yet do the task and knows it.

Example 2: an eager junior analyst (R2, use S2)

Tom is enthusiastic about building a forecasting model but has made logic errors. His manager stays directive on the method but explains the reasons, asks Tom to talk through his approach, and praises progress. Tom keeps his motivation while learning the right technique.

Example 3: an experienced manager facing a new challenge (R3, use S3)

Priya has led projects for years but has lost confidence after a difficult restructuring. She does not need instructions; she needs a sounding board. Her director uses S3: asks questions, listens, helps her weigh options, and lets her make the call.

Example 4: a trusted senior specialist (R4, use S4)

Mark runs the annual audit process flawlessly. His leader uses S4: agrees the deadlines and outcomes, then steps back. Over-managing Mark would waste time and probably frustrate him.

Example 5: one person, two tasks

The same Mark is asked to present the audit results to the board for the first time. On this task he is R2 at best. The smart leader switches to S2 for the presentation while staying at S4 on the audit itself.

How do you apply situational leadership in practice?

Name the task precisely. "Managing the client" is too broad; "writing the monthly client report" is assessable.
Diagnose ability. Has the person done this before? What does their recent work show?
Diagnose willingness. Are they confident, committed and motivated on this task, or anxious, bored or doubtful?
Choose the style. Match R1 to S1 and so on.
Tell them what you are doing. Saying "I am going to be quite hands-on with this one until you have done it twice" removes any sense of being distrusted.
Review and step up. As performance improves, reduce direction, then support. If performance slips, move back a step rather than jumping straight to criticism.

How do you assess someone's readiness?

The diagnosis is the hard part, and most managers guess. These questions make it more objective. Ask them about the specific task, ideally in conversation with the person rather than about them.

Question	What a low answer suggests	What a high answer suggests
Have you done this task, or something very similar, before?	Low ability	Higher ability
Can you explain the steps and the standard expected?	Low ability	Higher ability
What does recent work on this task show?	Errors, rework, missed deadlines	Accurate, on time, few corrections
How confident do you feel about it, from 1 to 10?	Low confidence (insecure)	Confidence (willing)
How much do you want to own this?	Low commitment	High commitment
What help would be most useful?	Asks for instructions: likely R1 or R2	Asks for a sounding board or nothing: likely R3 or R4

Two cautions. First, confidence and ability do not always move together: some people are confident beyond their ability (often R2) and some are far more capable than they believe (often R3). Second, willingness can drop suddenly because of workload, personal pressures or organisational change, so a person you delegated to last month may need more support this month.

What are the most common mistakes when using situational leadership?

Labelling people rather than tasks. Saying "Sam is an R2" ignores the fact that Sam may be R4 on most of their work.
Delegating too early. Handing an R1 or R2 person a task with no structure feels empowering but usually sets them up to fail. This is sometimes called abdication rather than delegation.
Staying directive too long. Managers who keep using S1 with capable people signal distrust and lose good staff.
Skipping the conversation. Changing style without explaining why looks inconsistent. Agree the style openly.
Using one default style. Most managers have a natural style. The model is valuable precisely because it forces you to flex away from it.

Does situational leadership work for remote and hybrid teams?

Yes, and arguably it matters more. In an office, a leader picks up readiness cues informally: a worried face, a long pause at a desk. Remotely those cues disappear, so managers need to ask the readiness questions explicitly. S1 and S2 styles also need more structure online: written instructions, screen-share walkthroughs and short, frequent check-ins rather than one long meeting. S4 works well remotely for R4 staff, provided outcomes and deadlines are clear, because it removes unnecessary meetings.

What are the advantages of situational leadership?

Simple and memorable. Four styles, four levels, one matching rule. Managers can use it the next day.
Flexible. It explicitly rejects one-size-fits-all leadership.
Developmental. It gives a path for moving people from close supervision to full delegation.
Common language. Teams trained in it can say "I need more S2 on this" without awkwardness.
Fits other models. It sits comfortably alongside Daniel Goleman's research on using several leadership styles as situations demand.

What are the criticisms of situational leadership?

This is where most explainers go quiet, so here is a fair summary of the academic evidence:

Mixed empirical support. Robert Vecchio's 1987 study of 303 teachers in the Journal of Applied Psychology (Vecchio, 1987) found that the model's predictions held only in part, with the clearest support for employees low in readiness. Later work, including Fernandez and Vecchio (1997) and a test of three versions of the model by Thompson and Vecchio (2009), has continued to question parts of its prescriptions.
Conceptual ambiguity. Claude Graeff's 1983 critique in the Academy of Management Review (Graeff, 1983) argued that the concept of job-relevant maturity is ambiguous and that the model's measurement instrument has problems.
Different versions, different rules. Hersey and Blanchard describe the lowest level differently (unsure versus enthusiastic), which shows the readiness concept is not as fixed as the diagrams suggest.
Ignores context beyond the follower. Deadlines, risk, team dynamics, culture and the leader's own skills all affect the best style, but the model focuses on one follower and one task.
Groups are harder. Teams contain people at different readiness levels, and the model gives limited guidance on leading them together.

My view: treat situational leadership as a practical prompt, not a scientific law. Its central message, that you should diagnose before you lead, is sound and widely supported by everyday experience. The precise matching rules are a starting point to adapt, not a formula.

When is situational leadership less useful?

The model is designed for one leader working with one follower on one task. It is less helpful in three situations. First, in a genuine crisis, such as a safety incident or a cyber attack, there is no time to diagnose readiness; a directive style is usually right for everyone until the immediate risk is contained. Second, in large-scale organisational change, the main leadership challenge is creating a shared sense of purpose across hundreds of people, which is closer to transformational leadership and change models such as Kotter's 8 steps. Third, where the leader lacks the technical knowledge to direct, for example a general manager overseeing specialist engineers, S1 and S2 are hard to deliver credibly, and the leader may need to rely on a technical lead to provide the direction while they provide the support.

How does situational leadership compare with other leadership styles?

Approach	Core idea	Key difference from situational leadership
Situational	Adapt style to follower readiness on the task	-
Transactional	Rewards and corrections in exchange for performance	Fixed exchange logic rather than adapting to development needs
Transformational	Inspire people to go beyond self-interest for a shared vision	Focuses on vision and values rather than task-by-task adjustment
Contingency (Fiedler)	Leader style is relatively fixed; match the leader to the situation	Situational assumes the leader can flex style
Goleman's six styles	Effective leaders switch between six styles	Similar flexibility, but based on emotional intelligence and organisational climate

For the full picture, see my guide to the types of leadership and the exam-focused leadership styles model guide.

Is situational leadership examinable in ACCA SBL?

Leadership is part of the ACCA Strategic Business Leader syllabus, and situational thinking is useful when a scenario asks how a leader should manage a particular team or change. Examiners reward applying a model to the people in the case, not reciting it. If the pre-seen describes a new team leading an unfamiliar project, that is a natural place to argue for a more directive style early on. The SBL exam guide explains how leadership questions are marked.

Where can I learn more?

Chapter 8 of my book, Becoming A Strategic Business Leader, covers leadership theories, including situational, transformational and transactional approaches, in a concise form. It was written for the ACCA SBL exam but works as a quick reference for any manager. Chapter 19 covers managing change, where choosing the right leadership style matters most. You can read the first three chapters free.

Bottom line

Situational leadership says that good leaders diagnose before they lead: how able and willing is this person on this task? Then they choose a style, from telling through selling and participating to delegating. The model is simple and practical, but the research behind its exact prescriptions is mixed, so use it as a disciplined habit of diagnosis rather than a rigid rulebook.

FAQs

What are the 4 styles of situational leadership?

The four styles are S1 Telling (high direction, low support), S2 Selling (high direction, high support), S3 Participating (low direction, high support) and S4 Delegating (low direction, low support). In Blanchard's SLII version they are called directing, coaching, supporting and delegating. The leader chooses the style that matches the follower's readiness for the task.

What are the readiness levels in situational leadership?

Hersey's model has four readiness levels based on ability and willingness. R1 is unable and unwilling or insecure, R2 is unable but willing or confident, R3 is able but unwilling or insecure, and R4 is able and willing. Readiness applies to a specific task, so one person can be at different levels on different tasks.

Who developed situational leadership?

Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard developed it, first publishing it in 1969 as the life cycle theory of leadership in the Training and Development Journal. They later developed separate versions: Hersey's Situational Leadership, taught by the Center for Leadership Studies, and Blanchard's SLII, introduced in the 1985 book Leadership and the One Minute Manager.

What is the difference between situational leadership and SLII?

Hersey's model measures follower readiness (ability and willingness) on levels R1 to R4. Blanchard's SLII measures development level (competence and commitment) on levels D1 to D4 and describes the lowest level as an enthusiastic beginner rather than someone unwilling. SLII also names the styles directing, coaching, supporting and delegating.

What is an example of situational leadership?

A manager trains a new starter on payroll by giving step-by-step instructions and checking every stage (S1). Months later, the same person runs payroll alone and the manager only agrees deadlines (S4). If that person is then asked to present to the board for the first time, the manager switches to coaching (S2) for that new task.

Is situational leadership supported by research?

Only partly. Studies such as Vecchio (1987) found the model's predictions held best for employees low in readiness, and Graeff (1983) criticised the ambiguity of its maturity concept. Its broad message, that leaders should adapt to the person and task, is widely accepted, but its exact matching rules should be treated as a guide rather than a proven law.