Cultural Dimensions of Leadership
February 12, 2025
What is Future Shock and what are Its Characteristics? In the 1970s, noted Futurist, Alvin Toffler, coined the term Future Shock to describe the then emerging services sector in what was essentially a manufacturing and industry led economy. In the book, Future Shock, he explains that the world was then witnessing a shift from what […]
The general public is not very fond of the financial services industry. Whenever any crisis breaks out, the financial services industry is one of the first ones to bear the brunt. The fact that AIG, which is one of the largest insurance companies in the world, needed a bailout during the 2008 crisis does not […]
Employees are the backbone of every organization. They play a crucial role in controlling and also reducing the threats to organization. The major threat to an organization is a non serious employee who attends office just for the sake of it. Individuals need to love their organization for them to deliver their level best. The […]
Trust, But Verify! Decision Making in an Information Overload Scenario From the time we wake up to the time we finish for the day, we are bombarded with all kinds of facts, opinions, news, and views. In this context, the key imperative is to how to decide on anything to do with our daily lives […]
Interpersonal relationship refers to a strong association amongst individuals with similar tastes, aspirations and interests in life. It is essential for individuals to share a healthy relationship with each other not only for quicker delivery of results but also for a positive ambience at the workplace. Let us go through the theories of interpersonal relationship […]
According to this model, the leader has to match the leadership style according to the readiness of subordinates which moves in stage and has a cycle. Therefore, this theory is also known as the life-cycle theory of leadership.
The theory, developed by Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard, is based on the ’readiness’ level of the people the leader is attempting to influence.
Readiness is the extent to which followers have the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task.
Ability is the knowledge, experience, and skill that an individual possesses to do the job and is called job readiness.
Willingness is the motivation and commitment required to accomplish a given task. The style of leadership depends on the level of readiness of the followers.
The readiness(R) is divided into a continuum of four levels which are:
![]() | R1 - low follower readiness - refers to low ability and low willingness of followers i.e. those who are unable and insecure |
![]() | R2 - low to moderate follower readiness - refers to low ability and high willingness of followers i.e. those who are unable but confident |
![]() | R3 - moderate to high follower readiness - refers to high ability and low willingness of followers i.e. those who are able but insecure |
![]() | R4 - high follower readiness - refers to high ability and high willingness of followers i.e. those who are both able and confident |
The direction is provided by the leader at the lower levels of readiness. Therefore, the decisions are leader directed. On the other hand, the direction is provided by the followers at the higher levels of readiness. Therefore, the decisions in this case are follower directed. When the followers move from low levels to high levels of readiness, the combinations of task and relationship behaviors appropriate to the situation begin to change.
For each of the four levels of readiness, the leadership style used may be a combination of task and relationship behavior.
By combining the task and the relationship behavior, we arrive at the following four different styles of leadership which correspond with the different levels of readiness as shown in the Figure 1.
![]() | S1 - Telling: This style is most appropriate for low follower readiness (R1). It emphasizes high task behavior and limited relationship behavior. |
![]() | S2 - Selling: This style is most appropriate for low to moderate follower readiness (R2). It emphasizes high amounts of both task and relationship behavior. |
![]() | S3 - Participating: This style is most appropriate for moderate to high follower readiness (R3). It emphasizes high amount of relationship behavior but low amount of task behavior. |
![]() | S4 - Delegating: This style is most appropriate for high follower readiness (R4). It emphasizes low levels of both task and relationship behavior. |
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *