OVERVIEW:
Today’s managers are being held accountable to extremely high standards and must rely on their abilities to drive results through other people.  Situational Leadership® II is an influence model that is successfully used worldwide and as one of the fundamental tools in managing people effectively. It is based on the understanding that managers need to adjust their style to the individual and the situation. Even the best managers fall into traps that prevent employees from reaching maximum potential and self-reliance.  If your  top performer quits, how long would it take to recover? Replacing an employee is costly and time-consuming; it causes tremendous disruption and loss of productivity for the entire team. Could you truly replace their knowledge and experience? Situational Leadership® II provides managers with the tools and skills needed to stay focused on being successful and effective through adapting their leadership style to the development needs of individuals. Participants learn and practice skills of partnering to maximize accomplishments while creating positive attitudes and commitment from their team, producing results over time. Situational Leadership® II will open up communication between employees and managers, providing leaders with the opportunity to help others develop the competence and confidence they need to develop their skills, contribute to their team and work towards being the high performer they want to be.

OBJECTIVES:
As a result of participating in Situational Leadership II®, participants will have an overall understanding of:

• Development levels and the four leadership styles
• How to manage others more effectively by being flexible
• How to create a common language and framework to use in developing others
• How to open up communication between leaders and the people they lead
• The consequences of using inappropriate leadership styles and the negative impact of over supervision or under supervision

They will learn to:

• Diagnose the development levels of people on key tasks
• Use the SLII® language in meetings and interactions with staff members on a day-to-day basis
• Develop motivated and productive team members
• Tailor their leadership style in a way that is most appropriate for the situation
• Direct and support people
• Improve communication skills

TIMING: 7 hours

OUTLINE:
1. Leadership for the Future

• This module uses a stream as a metaphor to teach learners about leadership in an organization and a world that is rapidly changing. It illustrates how change causes growth, but teaches that in the midst of change, leaders need to take time for reflection. They need to step back, observe the people they are managing, and listen to conversations in the organization to identify concerns that, if not heard, divert energy away from the organization’s goals.  Learners discover the importance of flexibility and adaptability in developing people and in managing diversity and change. They are asked to focus on the competencies and the people they want to develop.

2. Beliefs and Building Blocks

• Leadership itself is defined in this module, as well as the difference between successful and effective leadership. Learners discover why there is no “best style” and why the choice of leadership style depends on the situation. They learn that SLII® is a language as well as a strategy for reaching agreements with others about what they need to develop. The three skills of a Situational Leader are introduced along with the positive impact SLII® has on business results.

3. Diagnosis: The First Skill of a Situational Leader

• Diagnosis is the ability to assess an individual’s competence and commitment to decide which leadership style is most appropriate for the goal or task at hand. Learners are taught to identify clues in the situations they manage and to diagnose an individual’s development level in order to determine how much direction or support is needed to develop the individual’s skills, motivation, confidence, talent, and ability to contribute to the organization’s success. They discuss the strengths and needs of each of the four development levels, practice diagnosing development level, and create their own “development level story” to use in teaching others the SLII® model.

4. Flexibility: The Second Skill of a Situational Leader

• Flexibility is the ability to use a variety of leadership styles comfortably.  Four leadership styles—Directing, Coaching, Supporting, and Delegating—are described in detail. Participants learn that effective leadership consists of four combinations of two basic behaviors—directive and supportive leadership behavior. They learn which behaviors are most important in developing others’ competence and commitment. They practice using the four styles to deepen their understanding of each style.

5. Matching Leadership Style to Development Level

• In this module, learners practice how to match their leadership style to development level. They learn how to develop others’ motivation, competence, and confidence by using the right leadership style in a given situation. They also experience what it feels like to over-supervise, under-supervise, and mismatch leadership style to development level.

6. SLII® Skill Practice

• This module provides extensive skill practice for mastering the first two skills of a Situational Leader—Diagnosis and Flexibility. Participants learn how to use Style 1 direction-giving skills to build others’ competence, Style 2 coaching skills to build others’ competence and commitment, Style 3 support-building skills to build others’ motivation and confidence, and Style 4 delegation skills to acknowledge others’ competence and commitment. They also learn how to manage development regression by staying in close touch with performance and development.

7. Partnering for Performance: The Third Skill of a Situational Leader

• This module teaches learners how to use Partnering for Performance to open up communication and reach agreements with others about how to work together effectively. Participants learn how to involve others in setting goals and in deciding agreements about which leadership style should be used to help them achieve those goals. They learn how to use the Partnering for Performance Worksheet to diagnose the development level of an individual they currently lead.