Full Steam Ahead is about vision. More specifically, Full Steam Ahead tries to tackle the specifics of what makes a good vision and how it should be implemented. Drawing from Stoner’s doctoral dissertation work on vision in organizations, Full Steam Ahead tells the story of Jim and Ellie and how their chance meeting yielded wonderful discussions on developing an organization’s vision.

While it’s tempting to dismiss the book as just another business parable (easy to read but doesn’t teach much), there’s a lesson in this book I believe all leader’s need to catch. Mainly, that a properly developed vision doesn’t just specify what the organization’s impact on the world will look like, but also outlines how that vision is going to become a reality. I suspect that one of the primary reasons behind a vision or mission statement hanging nicely on a wall but not being acted on is that people don’t know how to implement. Full Steam Ahead reveals not only that how is a vital component to vision but also how to develop a how.

A few weeks ago I got into a conversation about whether situational leadership was more appropriate for top-level or front-line leadership. I argued that situational leadership is most appropriate for front-line leadership. To be more specific, I believe that the front-line is about management and situational leadership is about how to manage, not necessarily lead, teams with diverse backgrounds (Hersey and Blanchard, 1972). This theory states that managers should respond in one of four styles, corresponding to the maturity levels of individuals on the team. In addition, managers should respond different to each individual, since maturity levels are different. Buckingham (2005) differentiated management and leadership by asserting that managers coordinate the strengths of individuals on a team (situational leadership) in order to bring about optimal performance and leaders rallied individuals to work toward a better future. Very little “people rallying” occurs with situational leadership, making it more appropriate to front-line supervisors acting as managers.

Theories such as Charismatic leadership and Transformational leadership appear to be more about rallying followers to better future using motivating factors (Northouse, 2006). These theories seem to be more appropriate for consideration when working with an organization’s top leaders, those concerned with motivating followers toward the future of the organization.

Buckingham, M. (2005) The one thing you need to know: about great managing, great leading and sustained individual success. New York, NY: Free Press

Hersey, P. and Blanchard, K. H. (1972). Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing Human Resources (2nd ed.)New Jersey/Prentice Hall.

Northouse, P. (2006). Leadership: Theory and practice (4^th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Situational leadership defines four leadership styles: S1 (high-directive but low-supportive), S2 (high-directive and high-supportive), S3 (low-directive but high supportive) and S4 (low-directive and low-supportive). Developed by Hersey & Blanchard, the theory’s model (called Situational Leadership II or SLII) promotes a particular leadership style depending upon the development level of the follower: D1 (low-competence but high-commitment), D2 (moderate-competence but low-commitment), D3 (moderate-competence but no commitment) and D4 (high-competence and high-commitment). Effective leadership is a matter of assessing the development level of a follower and acting in the correlating leadership style to elicit the best response from followers (D1s respond to S1, D2s respond to S1, and so on).

Useful Lies

In the time since its inception, situational leadership II has become a standard model for use in training managers and leaders. The situational approach is effective and provides a prescription for leadership success rather than merely describing why certain leaders work in certain situations. In this way, situational leadership theory further eroded the notion of “one best way” of leadership. Despite a broad base of support from trainers and consultants, situational leadership theory lacks a significant body of research-based support. While situational leadership considers the followers in determining leadership style, it does so on a one-on-one basis and does not provide guidelines on how to use the model when leading group.

• Intro to Leadership Theory
• Why Theory
• A Word on Theory
• Trait Theory
• Skills Theory
• Style Theory
• Contingency Theory
• Situational Leadership Theory
• Path-Goal Theory
• Leader-Member Exchange Theory
• Transformational/Transactional Leadership Theory
• Servant Leadership Theory
• Strengths-Based Leadership Theory

At the core of situational leadership theory is the idea that different individuals respond to a different style of leadership based on their maturity level within their position. The authors define four main maturity levels that followers fall under:

• M1 - They generally lack the specific skills required for the job in hand and are unable and unwilling to do or to take responsibility for this job or task.
• M2 - They are still unable to take on responsibility for the task being done; however, they are willing to work at the task.
• M3 - They are experienced and able to do the task but lack the confidence to take on responsibility.
• M4 - They are experienced at the task, and comfortable with their own ability to do it well. They are able and willing to not only do the task, but to take responsibility for the task.

The authors then outline the four behavioral styles that leaders should use to engage their followers (conveniently paired to the corresponding numbered maturity level):

• S1: Telling - is characterized by one-way communication in which the leader defines the roles of the individual or group and provides the what, how, when, and where to do the task
• S2: Selling - while the leader is still providing the direction, he or she is now using two-way communication and providing the socio-emotional support that will allow the individual or group being influenced to buy into the process.
• S3: Participating - this is now shared decision making about aspects of how the task is accomplished and the leader is providing less task behaviors while maintaining high relationship behavior.
• S4: Delegating - the leaders is still involved in decisions; however, the process and responsibility has been passed to the individual or group. The leader stays involved to monitor progress.

As mentioned, this book initially appears as just another in the airport friendly One Minute Manager series. However the authors succeeded in explaining a well-researched and prominent leadership theory within the framework of a business fable that is easily understandable to almost any reader. If you’re looking for an easy way to understand Situational Leadership Theory, Leadership and the One Minute Manager can do so before your plane even touches down.