Key takeaways
- Discuss direction and support for a specific task, rather than labelling the employee.
- The SLII approach uses directing, coaching, supporting and delegating styles.
- Keep instructions, questions and decision responsibilities clear in each approach.
- Revisit the arrangement when the task or the employee’s support needs change.
Situational leadership describes adjusting a manager's direction and support to the employee's needs for a specific task. Someone who can work independently in one area may need detailed guidance in another.[1]
Blanchard’s SLII approach describes four styles: directing, coaching, supporting and delegating. Use the task as the starting point for the conversation, rather than assigning a permanent label to the employee.[2]
Start with one task
Blanchard's SLII approach considers competence and commitment for a particular goal or task. Ask what the person has done before, what they can demonstrate and how confident they feel about this work. Experience in the organisation alone does not settle how much guidance is useful.[2]
Agree the task, expected result, available support and decision boundaries together. A missed deadline or a question does not by itself tell you someone's motivation. Check the circumstances before deciding how to change the support.
Directing: explain the work and check understanding
A directing approach gives clear instructions about what to do and how to do it. The manager makes the task decisions and closely follows the work.[1]
Leave room for questions. Ask the employee to explain their understanding and show where to get help, especially when the task is unfamiliar.
Coaching: combine direction with discussion
A coaching approach keeps the manager involved in task decisions while explaining the reasons and inviting dialogue. Discuss progress and the difficulties the employee encounters.[1]
Use feedback on the work to decide what guidance is still needed. The coaching leadership guide explores questions, listening and development conversations in more detail.
Supporting: help the employee work through decisions
A supporting approach gives the employee more responsibility for the task decisions, with the manager available to listen and discuss options.[1]
Ask which support would be useful. The amount of contact should reflect the task and the employee's needs rather than a fixed meeting quota.
Delegating: agree responsibility and review points
A delegating approach entrusts task decisions to the employee. Agree the result, resources, boundaries and how progress will be reviewed.[1]
Discuss a change in circumstances before assuming the same arrangement still fits. A familiar employee can encounter a new task that needs more direction.
Example: familiar reporting, unfamiliar partner work
Consider a fictional fintech aggregator where a colleague prepares familiar internal reports independently but is new to coordinating a partner handover. The manager can delegate the reporting task while giving more direction for the unfamiliar handover. The employee does not need a permanent label such as independent or inexperienced.
For the handover, they agree which information is needed, who reviews it and where to ask questions. After a practice attempt, they discuss what the employee can now handle and which decisions still need support. The company retains its normal approval and access responsibilities.
The fintech aggregators page explains the wider hiring, onboarding and learning context. This example illustrates task-specific support, not a diagnostic test or a guaranteed performance improvement.
Sources
- Center for Leadership Studies, Situational Leadership model. https://situational.com/situational-leadership/
- Blanchard. A Situational Approach to Effective Leadership. SLII styles and task-specific development. https://www.blanchard.com/blog/a-situational-approach-to-effective-leadership
Where CapoFine fits
Support ongoing learning in Grow
Grow connects company and role learning through modules, interactive activities, pathways and progress tracking.