How do you select the right Team Leadership model?

Unlike other "styles" of leadership, situational leadership is proscriptive. It provides different styles depending on the task, developmental level of the follower, and the level of engagement they present to the goal. This is very different than other models and it is not the same as "styles" - authoritative, democratic, laissez faire, authoritarian, paternal, and others. Also, this model is about the binary relationship with each team member as well as to the team as a whole. Leaders can use it to judge developmental level and then engage based on that understanding (with a good dose of knowing your team members likes and dislikes when it comes to leadership).

The challenge of being a team leader using the situational leadership model lies in effectively assessing the team's maturity and capabilities. It can be particularly challenging when you are just getting to know your team members. However, this model becomes highly effective when you have a good understanding of your team members from various aspects. Additionally, it allows for flexibility in leadership approaches in different situations, such as when there's a sudden need for increased urgency in completing a task. Personally, I often keep this model in mind and apply it as needed in various situations.

In my experience, the suitable Leadership Model involves a few key steps called "The 8-Step Leadership Model for Success" by Marshall Goldsmith, which I coach (as Marshall Goldsmith's Certified Coach) to leaders whom lead teams: Ask / Listen / Think / Thank / Respond / Involve / Change / Follow-Up.

The dynamic interplay between a leader's profile and the maturity level of the team underscores the need for adaptive leadership styles. The most effective leaders understand that leadership is not about rigidly adhering to a single style, but rather about leveraging a flexible toolbox of approaches to suit different situations. By tailoring their leadership style to the evolving needs of their team, leaders can foster an environment of trust, collaboration, and continuous growth.

When we are faced with real-life challenges, we tend to forget theories. However, we often remember people, their names, and their professions. For this reason, in my book, The Versatile Leader, I use various occupations such as physician, journalist, and diplomat as metaphors. It's worth noting that the term "Servant" in "Servant Leadership" was originally an occupation used as a metaphor in the Bible [Mark 10:41-45, John 13]. Once you become familiar with my approach, you can easily recall and apply a metaphor that fits a particular situation.

This model can be used when the 'transformation' of the team will produce better team members and greater results. We find the most essential element is the 'individualised consideration' of team members' needs and wants. We can't treat all team members identically. If we recognise the individual needs, we can see the value each person brings to the overall transforming of results.

The manager/leader role creates a Venn diagram where the position leader will often find themselves moving back and forth between transformational and transactional leadership. There is a lot of overlap, and knowing when each is appropriate can help maneuver between the manager role and the leadership role.

A new team or a team facing change will need a transformational leader. He needs to align and influence the team towards the greater goal. As well inspire them towards the change. In this leadership style, Leaders need to focus on individual variations between peers to know how to motivate the members during the dynamics of change. by doing so the leaders carry over the four dimensions of transformational leadership. 1) Idealized influence 2) Inspirational motivation 3) Intellectual stimulation 4) Individualized consideration

I've seen this leadership style work the best with companies that adopt an agile mindset. The core practice of self-managing teams requires teams to think outside of the traditional hierarchy and hold each other accountable through transparency, respect, and continuous improvement. This requires a transformative effort led by a visionary leadership team. Scrum masters and senior agile leaders will often find that they are stronger in one or two dimensions compared to the others. For instance, I find it easier to provide individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation to my teams. But it is important for senior agile leaders to understand all four dimensions to have the greatest impact.

To select the right Transformational Leadership Team model: - Assess team needs and organizational goals. - Ensure the leader's qualities match - vision, communication, and balance. - Check idealized influence (role model, trust), inspirational motivation (inspire, purpose), intellectual stimulation (creativity), and individualized consideration (personalized support). - Provide training for leaders and team. - Align with organizational culture. - Monitor progress and adapt as needed.

The biggest component of Servant Leadership has to be the level of trust that the manager has in their team and individual members. Without trusting they are capable of taking on the responsibilities asked of them, they may slide back into the needy soul who required answers from their manager at all times. Collaboration is built up neatly when team members are seen to be allowed to work towards inspiring goals. Servant leaders can collaborate with their team members so they build momentum on the journey.

Servant leadership is about delegating yourself out of a job by creating new leaders. Fundamental to this is trust. Trust that the leader has in the team and the trust the team has in the leader to create and support psychological safety in making decisions. A company or team can't grow if the leader doesn't trust the team to make decisions without having to "run to the boss" each time. In my experience, the scenario is to set the left and right limits of authority, share the objective and intent. You will be surprised by the results. Recently we changed the process for contract signing. Through proper expectation setting, the team can move faster and make better decisions based on the size of the contract. It creates new leaders.

“Take Care Of Your Employees And They'll Take Care Of Your Business,” Says Richard Branson, Founder Of The Virgin Group. The servant leadership model puts the employees first, knowing that the wellbeing of the team will result in better performance and results. The leader works on satisfying the team members' needs and inspiring them through ten characteristics: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to growth, and building community.

In my experience, Servant Leadership has become a buzzword that is mentioned as the "ideal" leadership style that all leaders must aspire too. But every organization that I have been a member of (military, tech, and manufacturing companies) has implemented it differently. While it is an effective leadership style, it requires all members of the team to have high emotional intelligence to work. A highly empathetic leader will always have trouble leading a team with low emotional intelligence. If an organization or team wants to implement this style, then every member or that organization will need to be coached on how to foster their own EQ. Once that is done, they'll be able to reap the benefits this style has to offer.

To select the right Servant Leadership Team model, consider your team's values, the leader's emotional intelligence, and the balance between service and accountability. Ensure your team values collaboration, trust, and social responsibility, as these align with servant leadership principles. Assess the leader's emotional intelligence to prevent exploitation. Evaluate how well the leader can embody the ten characteristics: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to growth, and building community. The leader should prioritize the team's needs, interests, and aspirations while maintaining accountability.

Data inaccuracies disrupt a CPG company, causing sales declines and customer dissatisfaction. As an adaptive Tech & Data leader, I act swiftly: - Assessment: Evaluate the impact on operations and commitments collectively - Communication: Update stakeholders on solutions - Adaptation: Encourage creative data alternatives - Collaboration: Procurement, sales, IT for quick solutions. - Decisive Action: use ML/AI for real-time sales data updates. - Improvement: Analyze and learn - Adapting: Review for resilient data operations - Employee: Address concerns and boost morale - Long-Term: Foster adaptability for future This adaptive approach prioritizes swift response, collaboration, and resilience for positive navigation through uncertainty.

Adaptive leadership resonates with me as a profound approach in today's ever-evolving landscape. Its acknowledgment of the complexity and uncertainty we encounter is crucial. The emphasis on continuous learning and innovation within teams strikes a chord, underscoring the need to adapt and thrive. The four practices—diagnosis, mobilization, strategic intervention, and evaluation—offer a structured yet flexible framework for tackling challenges. However, what truly stands out is the requirement for leaders to embrace ambiguity, value dissent, and foster a collaborative leadership culture within the team. It's a mindset shift that I believe can drive transformative change in organizations facing wicked problems and dynamic environments.

The resilience of the leader is a key success factor in this leadership model. The higher dynamics and uncertainty, the more you need to use the adaptive model. The team members need to be innovative with high agility and ability to learn. The very good example for adaptive is the SMM (Social Media Marketing) where it works with evolving platforms and apps that are directed by waving trends.

Adaptive Leadership relies heavily on empiricism so it's no surprise that it is a common leadership style for agile organizations. I've also seen it be referred to as the "OODA" loop (observe orient, decide, act). I've often seen leaders and project managers default to this leadership style in times of crisis, where it is used to help those teams navigate the challenges of the crisis. It is most effective with decisive leaders since the results may not fully solve the situation and a new approach is needed. Being decisive allows leaders using this style to "fail early and fail often" in order to get through the situation at hand.

To select the right Adaptive Leadership Team model, consider the complexity of your team's challenges, the diversity of stakeholders, and the evolving context. Ensure the leader is comfortable with ambiguity, open to dissent, and willing to share leadership. The leader should practice four key behaviors: diagnosing the situation, mobilizing the team, intervening strategically, and evaluating results. Adaptive leadership is ideal for teams facing wicked problems in today's uncertain world.

In my experience, selecting the best leadership model involves a few key steps. Start by understanding your team's composition and dynamics. Explore various leadership models, considering their pros and cons in relation to your team's needs. Choose a model that aligns with both your leadership style and your team's goals. Implement it consistently and monitor its impact. Be prepared to adjust based on feedback. Remember, the right fit might evolve as your team grows and changes. The key is creating an environment that fosters growth and success while staying adaptable to your team's unique dynamics.

All the models here are based on one central theme - what style of leadership will you use. They fail to consider the followership level of the team members and how to judge them. That makes it more difficult to judge which leadership models are best suited or how to actually engage in leadership. And to judge in relation to the team as a whole but not to each follower independently means you are not seeing the individual - and that is a huge mistake.

I believe you need to change leadership style - based on situation and curve of the project. This can be very tricky - but key is in communication. If you repeat in a normal manner that you will change your style of a leadership to your people and to expect a bit different approach - that turns to do a trick. Everybody is intelligent enough, and if you try to be a "smarter" and to influence people not to recognise what you are doing - you can only finish with a wrong situation - where people can feel that you are not being honest with them. In the end - of course - you need to be yourself.

Before choosing what style of leadership best fits a situation or team, it's important to build a strong knowledge base of leadership styles. The best leaders I've worked for were constantly studying and practicing different styles in order to better themselves. This often took the form of intentionally placing themselves in an unfamiliar situation that forced them to use a leadership style that was different than what they were used to doing. Once one has a strong knowledge base to work from, they can then analyze the situation that they are in and apply the best style for their team at that point in time. This get easier the more a person puts themselves into unfamiliar leadership roles. There's no better decision aid than experience.

The optimal leadership style or model is situational according to multifactors. I believe a strong leader needs to know the different models and be highly adaptive in using and working with any model.

The best legacy for a leader is to have a long line of new leaders to take your place when the time is right. Creating and offering leadership positions to team members is fundamental to the growth and success of a vibrant company. I often have to hold back from doing something that I enjoy in order for an emerging leader to do it. Being able to coach and guide is better than trying to do it all by myself. Emerging leaders need space and time to grow. Space both physical - away from the boss to act independently; and intellectual - to create a new solution outside of the boss's thinking. Time is essential too - it will take longer for an emerging leader to conduct the mental gymnastics to reach the same results as the leader.

There is no one ideal leadership type, in my experience. Every leader, depending on the need, has to bring to bear those leadership styles that work best for that need. I feel it is better to view it as a leadership palette!

Consider the maturity level of your team. A highly experienced and self-managing team might require a different leadership approach compared to a newly formed team.

Not all size fits to all. Leadership style should be dynamic in nature just not only based on situations it will vary person to person that you deal with. In other words, it's the right language to the right people in the way they can understand to achieve the objective of an individual/organisation

I have found it important to work holistically with a team and understand their problem statements as well as team-limiting behaviours to be able to unlock potential. This could include working with a model like Patrick Lencion's 'Five Dysfunctions of a Team' & then layering it skills building capabilities to deal with specific challenges. It is also important to include a 'Wellbeing & Well-within' Strategy - often this is overlooked when teams are best served if this is systemically built in.