Situational leadership: why delegating the same way to everyone doesn’t work

One of the most common mistakes a managing director makes when trying to delegate is doing it the same way with everyone. Either they control everyone, or they let everyone go. And neither works.

The reason is simple: each person needs a different degree of direction and support depending on their experience in that particular task. Your best salesperson may be hopeless at preparing a quote. Your warehouse manager may be brilliant at organising the shift and lost when you ask for a cost analysis.

My mistake: being in a hurry

Like everyone, I learnt to delegate by getting it wrong. And my main mistake was being in a hurry.

When I was starting out, I delegated some tasks too quickly. I gave them to people who weren’t technically ready, or weren’t ready for the intensity, commitment or consistency the task demanded. The results were clearly negative.

I don’t regret it. It was an essential lesson. But it taught me that delegating isn’t an act of blind trust. It’s a decision you make by looking at two things: whether the person knows how to do it and whether they have the energy and commitment to sustain it over time.

Hersey and Blanchard’s model, in two minutes

In the late 1960s, Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard proposed a model that has become a classic: situational leadership. The idea is that there’s no single best style, but a right style for each person in each task. They sum it up in four styles:

What I find useful in the model

Here’s my honest opinion: the model is useful, but not because of the four boxes. It’s useful because it forces you to ask a question many managing directors never ask: “What does this person need from me in this task?”

That question alone helps you avoid the two classic mistakes: giving too much autonomy to someone who isn’t ready yet, which was my mistake, and smothering someone who can already fly solo with control.

I also find its central idea useful: how you lead depends on the task, not the person. Nobody is a “delegate to” or a “keep an eye on” person for ever. There are tasks and moments.

What I think is overrated

What I don’t agree with is applying it as a labelling manual. I’ve seen companies put each employee in a box and treat them that way for years. That isn’t situational leadership. It’s laziness by another name.

And there’s another nuance the model doesn’t mention. When you lead managers and directors, almost everything should be in the last two boxes: supporting and delegating. If you have to be in “directing” mode with a director, telling them what to do and how, that’s a bad sign. Either you chose the wrong person, or you haven’t been clear about what you expect from them.

How I do it today

Today I lead managers, directors and managing directors. And I don’t hire them to do what I say. I hire them so that they’re the ones who have their own plan.

My role is to support them and give them every tool they need to succeed. That’s my goal. And to do it well, the ego is put completely to one side: their success is mine.

And if I see I’m over-controlling someone, or that someone feels controlled? It hasn’t happened to me in any serious way, but when I’ve seen the symptoms, the best thing has always been the same: an honest chat to realign expectations. What I expect, what they need, and how we’re going to work from now on.

A practical rule for every new person

When someone starts in a new role or a new task, I suggest asking three questions:

1. Do they know how to do it? If not, teach them or let them learn with someone alongside.
2. Do they want to do it and can they sustain it? Intensity, commitment and consistency. If this is missing, technique isn’t enough.
3. What limits do I give them? How far they decide alone and when they check with you. In writing.

And review the answer every few weeks. People change, and the way you lead them should change too.

Reference: Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard, situational leadership theory (1969), later developed by Blanchard as SLII.