Citation (IEEE): P. Hersey and K. H. Blanchard, “Situational Leadership: A Summary,” Course handout. See also P. Hersey and K. H. Blanchard, Management of Organizational Behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA: Prentice Hall.
What it argues
Presents leadership effectiveness as the fit between a leader’s behavior and a follower’s readiness for a specific task. Leader behavior combines task direction and relationship support in four styles: telling, selling, participating and delegating. Follower readiness combines ability and willingness at four levels. Effective leaders diagnose readiness, choose the matching style, and shift it as followers develop.