MSLD 511 Module 3 - Directive and Supportive Behaviors

Every relationship is dynamic, many hats are worn, and I think the best relationships are rightfully so. I like to live my life with the goal of improvement, and many of my relationships are built upon that. As a child my parents instilled the confidence in me to take action towards my goals, whether it was applying to college, trying out for my school’s track team, or picking a career to pursue. Looking back, the actions and encouragement from my parents was and would still be considered a very clearly supportive behavior. My parents did not direct me to take action, it was more a dialogue which resulted in me being inspired to do so. This is why I see supportive relationships much stronger and effective then directive, though there is a time and place when directive is appropriate.

I think that the choice of directive or supportive leadership is variable to the specific environment that the leader is functioning in. Taking account of the situation is essential to leadership, especially in times of little capacity and time to nurture every single interaction. Situational leadership is defined as “…when the leader or manager of an organization must adjust his style to fit the development level of the followers he is trying to influence” (Anthony, "Define Situational Leadership"). If it is necessary to give or relay direction to followers in a time when that is what they are seeking, then it is appropriate to do so. For example, I ran on my university’s team, having a track team of around 70 people they were some things that were communicated to us from the coaching staff and we had to implement immediately, in a very directive manner. On the other hand, there were times, specifically when we were transferring from NAIA to NCAA, when we were faced with the task of establishing new team standards. These standards would be what we would work and live by, they would guide us in how we treat fellow teammates and competitors. When it came time to establish these new guidelines the coaches took on a very supportive role, we discussed as a 70 plus team during a week long retreat off campus. Decisions were made completely as a team with a very open dialogue at each step of the way. The environment and the need are essential to determine what behavior to apply, and I think every good leader sort of budgets their time and actions wisely.

Reference

Anthony, L. (n.d.). Define Situational Leadership. Retrieved January 20, 2018, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/define-situational-leadership-2976.html