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Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership

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Quick answer: Hersey-Blanchard situational leadership holds that there is no single best leadership style and that leaders should choose telling, selling, participating or delegating according to their followers' ability and willingness (maturity). It was first published in 1969 as the 'life cycle theory of leadership'.
Contents
  1. 1. Background
  2. 2. Follower maturity (readiness)
  3. 3. The four leadership styles
  4. 4. Later versions and use
  5. 5. Criticism
  6. 6. References

Background

The theory starts from the Ohio State studies, which divided leader behaviour into initiating structure and consideration (behavioural leadership theory). Hersey and Blanchard (1969) recast these as task behaviour and relationship behaviour and argued that which combination works depends on the followers' state. For situational theories in general see leadership theory.

Follower maturity (readiness)

Maturity combines ability for a specific task (job maturity) with willingness and confidence (psychological maturity); it was later renamed 'readiness'.

  • M1: low ability and low willingness.
  • M2: low ability but willing.
  • M3: able but low in willingness or confidence.
  • M4: both able and willing.

The four leadership styles

  • S1 telling: high task, low relationship. The leader gives specific instructions on what to do and how. Suited to M1.
  • S2 selling: high task, high relationship. The leader explains decisions and takes questions. Suited to M2.
  • S3 participating: low task, high relationship. The leader shares decisions and encourages. Suited to M3.
  • S4 delegating: low task, low relationship. The leader hands over decisions and execution. Suited to M4.

As followers develop, the leader moves from S1 towards S4, and if performance drops, back to an earlier style. This curve is why it was called a 'life cycle' theory.

Later versions and use

In the 1980s Blanchard separately developed the SLII model, renaming the styles directing, coaching, supporting and delegating. Being simple and intuitive, the model is widely used in corporate training, nursing management and teacher leadership programmes.

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Criticism

Graeff (1983) criticised the maturity concept as vague and the theory's rationale as weak. Thompson and Vecchio's (2009) test also found limited evidence that matching styles as prescribed improves performance, with support mainly for the claim that a telling style works for new followers.

See also: Argyris's Immaturity–Maturity Theory, McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y

References

  1. Hersey, P., & Blanchard, K. H. (1969). Life cycle theory of leadership. Training and Development Journal, 23(5), 26-34.
  2. Hersey, P., & Blanchard, K. H. (1969). Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing Human Resources. Prentice Hall.
  3. Graeff, C. L. (1983). The situational leadership theory: A critical view. Academy of Management Review, 8(2), 285-291.
  4. Thompson, G., & Vecchio, R. P. (2009). Situational leadership theory: A test of three versions. The Leadership Quarterly, 20(5), 837-848.

Reports and materials that use this theory (Korean)

There are no materials dedicated to this theory yet, but you can search related reports in the CampusDown library (Korean).

Find more reports · Search '허시-블랜차드 상황적 리더십' on CampusDown →
Leadership Theories: Trait, Behavioral and ContingencyThe main leadership theories in order: trait theory, the Ohio State and Michigan studies and the Managerial Grid, Fiedler's contingency model, Hersey-Blanchard, path-goal theory, transformational leadership and LMX, with original sources.💼 BusinessBehavioral Theories of LeadershipBehavioral theories of leadership explained: research on what effective leaders do rather than who they are. Covers Lewin's styles, Ohio State's initiating structure and consideration, Michigan's task and relationship orientations and the Managerial Grid.💼 BusinessSWOT AnalysisSWOT analysis explained: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, the TOWS matrix, links with Porter's Five Forces and PEST, origins, criticisms, and how to write a SWOT report.💼 Business3C Analysis3C analysis explained: a strategy tool that examines Customer, Competitor and Company to find key success factors. Covers Kenichi Ohmae's strategic triangle, questions for each C, links to SWOT and STP, and a worked example.💼 Business

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This article was last updated on October 15, 2026. It is based on widely recognized original works and textbooks; when citing it in a paper, please check the original sources listed in the references.