Module 3 Directive and Supportive Behaviors

Blanchard (2008) includes a leader’s directive and supportive behaviors as the foundation of his situational leadership theory. Directive behavior typically represents a one-way communication where the leader directs the activity that the follower will complete. Supportive behaviors are considered “two-way” where the responses exhibit emotional and social support and the follower participates with the leader in the discussion. Consider some of your roles (parent, child, friend, leader, follower, etc.) and provide examples of how you use supportive and directive behaviors.

Directive and Supportive Behaviors

Consider some of your roles (parent, child, friend, leader, follower, etc.) and provide examples of how you use supportive and directive behaviors?

Directive and supportive behaviors each have their own place in leadership, but the optimal time to use either depends on the situation. Certain levels of authority allow for organizations to maintain structure while also fostering a collaborative environment. For example, during stressful situations in the military which could be  a matter of life or death, directive leadership helps guide people through the chaotic atmosphere. This is highly effective because those situations do not permit time for collaboration and more rational decision-making. Instead, decisions need to be made quickly and even intuitively. One could argue that team cohesion would be best served with a leader who always integrates the opinions of others, however, I would argue that directive behaviors are required to make a team function at its peak effectiveness. Personally, this situation comes to mind when I led a group of military members during an Iranian ballistic missile attack against several military bases in the Middle-East. This situation invoked a lot of panic in those of us in harms way, but I did the best I could to maintain a calm composure while providing clear direction. By doing so, I believe my team worried less about what to do next because I communicated one-way and made the decisions for them; therefore, as the leader I exuded directive behaviors which my followers were the recipients of.

Supportive leadership, on the other hand, presents different benefits due to it's two-way nature of communication. According to Jansen et al. (2016), supportive leadership encourages individual initiatives and emphasizes harmonious relationships. This can make team members feel comfortable expressing diverging viewpoints without being criticized which contributes to the exchange of information, knowledge, and ideas. By allowing for the insights and experiences to be shared by each group member, this can make them feel a trust and care in the team, particularly if the leader is already exhibiting these supportive behaviors. In summation, supportive leadership can cultivate team confidence, amplify collaborative working context within cohesive teams, and make problem-solving processes more effective (Jansen et al., 2016). Personally, I see most of my friendships as two-way communication which means supportive behaviors should be the status quo. Two-way communication relaxes members and values the opinions of others. One-way friendships do not sound like a whole lot of fun from my perspective.

While I am not a parent yet, I see parenting as a mix of directive and supportive behaviors. Children are highly impressionable at early ages in which they absorb information like sponges even when one might think they are not watching or listening. Even though children observe behaviors, it does not mean they want to partake in them or know how. Consider potty-training - in the early stages parents generally use a directive approach with firm language to establish goals and boundaries; what is good and what is bad. However, once they successfully use the bathroom, a supportive energy and tone could be used to reassure children  that they were correct in their actions. I would classify the leadership style with the most common approach for parenting as "high directive-high supportive." Our textbook defines this by stating, "in this approach, the leader focuses communication on both achieving goals and meeting followers’ socioemotional needs" (Northouse, 2018). I believe that this method reoccurs often in parenting with other examples like learning to talk, walk, cross the street, learning manners, etc. Again, I am no expert and not a parent yet (perhaps in the near future!), but studying these behaviors makes me feel more prepared for the "challenge," if you will. I know I will get some things wrong, but practice makes perfect - and I'm excited!

Chad

References: 

Jansen, J. J. P., Kostopoulos, K. C., Mihalache, O. R., & Papalexandris, A. (2016). A socio-psychological perspective on team ambidexterity: The contingency role of supportive leadership behaviours. Journal of Management Studies, 53(6), 939-965. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12183

Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). SAGE Publishing.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Module 6 Conflict Resolution

       “While conflict is inevitable, it is not always dangerous or damaging” (Sweetman, 2009). In the TED talk, William Ury (2010) states there with the world more interconnected than ever thanks to modern technology, the more the world is like a big family reunion which inevitably brings arguments. He argues that the majority of conflicts have two major sides and an additional third side, which is the side that reminds the parties what is really at stake in a facilitator and mediator type of role. Throughout his talk he speaks of personal experiences around the world and in discussions with world leaders where he served as the third side to bring the discussions back into perspective in order to refocus on the objective and tamper emotions. Ultimately, Ury (2010) claims that the third side is the secret to peace if everyone can learn to effectively serve in the role as a listener with empathy, to treat others with hospitality over hostility, and to diplomatically c...
Read more

Module 2 Authenticity, Morality, and Leadership

Module 2 Morality: Is There a Gray Area? Reflection Blog: Authenticity, Morality, and Leadership Prompt In the module reading,  Are Authentic Leaders Always Moral? The Role of Machiavellianism in the Relationship Between Authentic Leadership and Morality (EBSCO/Hunt Library),  the authors were surprised and concerned that there was not a direct relationship between authentic leadership and moral action. The authors hypothesized that this might explain why some leaders that are adept at moral reasoning still engage in unethical behavior. Reflect on authenticity, morality, and the leadership style of your leader. Address the following prompts: Is there a gap in moral action in your leader? How does that impact you in the workplace? If your leader does not have a gap in moral action, is there a link between moral action and your leader’s leadership style? What have you learned from your leader that you implement in your own views of morality and leadership? Authenticity, Morality...
Read more

Module 7 Leader Follower Relationship

Image
Complete the exercise at the beginning of Obolensky’s Chapter 10 and use the scoring table at the end to assess your responses. Also consider Heifetz et al’s vision of adaptive culture. In your submission, reflect on what this assessment means in terms of your leadership and your relationship to your followers. Respond to the questions below: Has your thinking changed over the course of the past six weeks, if so; why, and, if not; why? What is the significance of this assessment in the context of your future leadership goals and objectives? Leader Follower Relationship Figure 1 Leadership Strategy Questionnaire (Obolensky, 2014, p. 168) Has your thinking changed over the course of the past six weeks, if so; why, and, if not; why?  What is the significance of this assessment in the context of your future leadership goals and objectives ?     Over the course of the past six weeks, I feel that my thinking has most certainly changed on leadership, however, the changes in my b...
Read more