Readiness is an important measure used in both the military and police forces.
Readiness measures the ability of the military or police to accomplish a given mission. Understanding the state of readiness is important because if the troops are not sufficiently ready, they are likely to fail in their mission.
Readiness is also an important business measure in both the macro and micro sense. From a macro standpoint, the entire organization must be prepared, or an initiative is likely to deliver sub-par results or fail outright. On a micro level, an unprepared individual can affect the results of a team, which may well cascade up the organization and affect the results of an entire organization.
Unfortunately, readiness as a measure of preparedness is not a formalized measure in most businesses. This is why we see companies launching products without adequate preparation of the entire organization. Some elements of the organization may be more ready than others, but often there are weak links in the organization that are not prepared. As a result, the launch initiative suffers, and in the worst case, it fails. All because there was no comprehensive readiness measure in place.
Developmental Readiness
Happily, the field of situational leadership has begun to address the issue of measuring individual readiness.
In his book, Leadership: Practice and Theory, Peter Northhouse defines follower readiness as a combination of competence and commitment.
Competence is a measure of the intellectual readiness of the individual. Competence answers the question, does this individual have the skills necessary to complete the task?
Whereas commitment is a measure of the psychological readiness of the individual. Commitment answers the question, “Does this individual have the determination to complete the task?”
Based on these two criteria, Northouse developed a model with four categories of developmental readiness.
D1: Low Competence & High Commitment
An individual with low competence and high commitment is new to a task. They do not have the skills to accomplish the task, but they are excited about the opportunity.
D2: Low-Some Competence & Low Commitment
An individual with low-some competence and low commitment has learned some of the requirements of the task. However, they have lost some of their initial enthusiasm for the work.
D3: Moderate-High Competence & Variable Commitment
An individual with high competence and variable commitment has the skills to complete the task, but they are unsure of whether they can accomplish the task on their own.
D4: High Competence & High Commitment
An individual with high competence and high commitment has both the skills and the determination to accomplish the task.
For a leader to employ situational leadership effectively, they must first understand the developmental readiness of the employee.
Last week, we explored the power of situational leadership in an article entitled Should You Adopt a Situational Leadership Style? If you missed that article, you can read it here.”
Readiness Combined with Situational Leadership
The full power of Situational Leadership is realized only when the leader accurately assesses the developmental readiness of the employee and matches their leadership style to the readiness of the employee.
D1 & Directing
A D1 who has low competence and high commitment does best with a directing style of leadership. They don’t have the skills to do the job, but they are enthusiastic and committed to the task. Therefore, a directing style of leadership with step-by-step instructions is the best style for an individual with this level of developmental readiness.
D2 & Coaching
A D2 who has low-moderate competence and low commitment does best with a coaching style of leadership. They have acquired some of the skills necessary for the task, but their determination and motivation are low. Therefore, a coaching style of leadership where approaches to the task are discussed and agreed upon in advance is the best style for an individual with this level of developmental readiness.
D3 & Supporting
A D3 who has moderate-high competence and variable commitment does best with a supporting style of leadership. They have the skills to do the job, but their enthusiasm and commitment to the task are lackluster. Therefore, a supporting style of leadership with a discussion of the best approach to the task while the leader encourages the employee is the best style for an individual with this level of developmental readiness.
D4 & Delegating
A D4 who has high competence and commitment does best with a delegating style of leadership. They have the skills and motivation to accomplish the task. Therefore, the delegating style of leadership, where they are given the freedom to plan and execute their plan, is the best style for someone with this level of developmental readiness.
Situational Leadership Model
The chart below depicts how developmental readiness and situational leadership models combine to be a powerful leadership tool.
So, the key to making situational leadership work for you is for you as a leader to understand the developmental readiness level of the employee. When you understand their developmental readiness, you can then utilize the most effective leadership style.
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- #110: 8 Steps to Create Your Barrier Busting Enabled Organization
- http://ronkelleher.com/368-a-balanced-leader-needs-to-be-part-rock-and-part-feather/
Join the Conversation
As always, questions and comments are welcome. Are you comfortable assessing the developmental readiness of your employees? Are you able to adapt your leadership style to match the employee’s readiness?
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Category: Skills | Situational Leadership
In my law enforcement career, as police chief, I had to evaluate our overall department readiness for various emergencies. We held annual emergency preparedness exercises, which included city hall personnel. We regularly sent officers to update schools, held an annual inspection to evaluate our people, equipment, and needs, and followed news events closely for emerging challenges. But the biggest challenge was managing difficult personalities within the organization. People with poor emotional maturity who negatively influenced others. These weak links could weaken our overall readiness, and we had to work hard to deal with them.
This is where the planning process of emergency services and military have a huge leg up on the average business! They make situational awareness an integral part of the planning and execution process.