Near the beginning of the film The Dirty Dozen (1967), Major John Reisman (Lee Marvin) meets with several convicts in a military prison who have either been sentenced to death or will remain in prison for the rest of their lives. He tries to convince each to accept a reduced or dismissed sentence in return for joining a mass assassination mission: to parachute into Germany and kill dozens of high-ranking German officers enjoying R&R (rest and relaxation) in a luxurious castle. Reisman uses a different approach with each of the condemned prisoners. He knows which “buttons” to push to gain their consent.

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In the 1980s, Paul Hershey and Ken Blanchard developed a theory on how the adaptation of a leadership style to an employee’s potential is more effective than trying to adapt employees to fixed leadership styles. Based on their work, the two men identified four leadership styles that can be matched to an employee’s ability and commitment.

The four situational leadership styles developed by Blanchard and Hershey are:

o Telling and directing (S1): In this style of leadership, the leader provides support, specific guidance and close supervision. Telling and directing leaders make decisions and direct actions through communication and interaction. These leaders are closely involved and use a top-down approach, meaning employees follow the directions that have been given to them.

o Selling and coaching (S2): Considered the explaining and persuading style, selling and coaching leaders accept input from group members and encourage them to submit their own ideas and suggestions. These leaders effectively sell their concept to the group and aim to recruit their cooperation through debate and collaboration, although the final decision belongs to the leader.

o Participating and supporting (S3): Participating and supporting leaders offer less direction and leave the decisions to others. Although they may oversee operations, participating leaders trust the group or member’s ability and expect them to make the appropriate choices.

o Delegating (S4): These leaders tend to limit participation and leave most of the responsibilities to the group. Delegating leaders may be consulted now and then, but they primarily pass decision-making and project direction to the group members.

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Long ago, in The Origin of Species (1859), Charles Darwin observed: “It is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able to adapt to and to adjust best to the changing environment in which it finds itself.”

More recently, in Future Shock (1970), Alvin Toffler observed: “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

Situational leadership is context-driven and those who practice it must have highly developed mental agility and emotional resilience. I call it “leadership for all seasons.” You no doubt remember the gambler who “knew when to hold ’em, knew when to fold ’em, knew when to walk away, and knew when to run.” I

f you cannot lead yourself, don’t expect anyone else to follow you.

Those who lead and those who follow would be well-advised to complete a reality check, at least quarterly.

You really need to do that.

Lock in on WHAT you do, HOW you do it, and WHY. Problems with cognitive dissonance? Unknown unknowns? Biases? Latent hostility?

You really need to know. The more uncomfortable you become, the closer to the truth you will be.