Geher Blog 6 – Theories in Action

Another theory of leadership that I want to discuss in order to analyze the operation and effectiveness of this organization is Hersey and Blanchard’s theory of situational leadership, which suggests that no one particular style of leadership is objectively the “best,” but rather there is just a most effective style of leadership for a specific environment and situation. The style of leadership just has to most effectively match the various aspects of the work situation, such as the types of projects that are being worked on, the group dynamics as well as the nature of the group, such as my peers here being more relationship-oriented and self-directive, as well as any additional outside factors. One outside factor that has played a large effect on all workplace dynamics and leader/follower relationships is the recent Covid-19 pandemic, which has changed the nature of work in virtually every workplace. Since I have only been interning here during this time where the pandemic has changed much of the nature of the work and projects, especially since this is the field of public health, I can only analyze the effectiveness and organization through the lens of that particular situation. That being said, it is clear that this situation has impacted the dynamics and operation here, and I believe that the supervisors have adjusted to best match the situation. While I cannot say for sure how flexible and relaxed their leadership styles were prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, I can assume that these traits were only exacerbated by this unprecedented situation, and that a lot of this flexibility likely comes from making these best adjustments to the outside situation. Some examples include employees being able to work from home, have no strict or specific work schedule and an overwhelming atmosphere of understanding and laidback employees and supervisors. While the environment could have always been similar to the way that it is now, it is safe to assume that the supervisors here adapted to the situation around them to ensure that their leadership was still most applicable to the dynamics and situation. I think that these adjustments and ability to adapt by both supervisors and employees shows a high level of situational awareness and effective situational leadership.