situational leadership model and COlT theory

The Situational Leadership Model began its development in the 1960’s at the Center for Leadership Studies. In charge of this development was Paul Hersey, Hersey was developing a model that could be used in various situations and by various types of people in leadership or management positions. Studies of leadership continued on into the late sixties and early seventies with Ken Blanchard evolving into the Situational Leadership Model.
The Model was developed based on the correlation between tasks and relationship. The model was developed to be situational and diverse. A situational leadership style is one that is most efficient when the leader is willing and able to adjust and adapt depending on the participators, leaders, and environment of where the situation or event is taking place. In this model there are four different styles of leaders, and there are four different types –or- levels of participators. Leadership styles include: directing, coaching, supporting, and delegating. All four of these leadership styles use different leadership methods that they feel best suite the participators. A leadership style can change depending on the situation; however, leaders tend to have a specific leading type that they prefer to use. The model is a tool that leaders can use by assessing competence and commitment levels of the participators that they are leading. The situational leadership model is best applied when the leader truthfully is able to assess themselves and their leadership styles. The theory and purpose of the model is to be that by using it, a leader will be become a more rounded leader applying and integrating all four styles of leadership. A quote by Paul Hersey describing the situational model was “It is not enough to describe your leadership style or indicate your intentions. A Situational Leader assesses the performance of others and takes the responsibility for making things happen.” The situational leadership model is very applicable, but like any model, it does have its strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths of the model include that it is situational. It can be used by a variety of leaders in a variety of settings. It is designed so that the leader can have a guide to assess not only their own position in the situation, but it is a way to assess the competence and commitment of the people that they are leading, and both these issues are important issues to fully visit due to the risk of the situation. Another positive to the model is that it is easy to use and understand. There are many positive aspects to the model; however, it does have deltas. The model does not always take into the human emotion of the participators. The leader will not always be able to correctly read and determine the competence and commitment of a participator. In order for the model to have optimal performance, both, leader and participators need to be correctly assessed. The model also focuses a large part on the leader and their decision making. This can be a delta because the leader is not always the one who is best fit to be leading and making decisions. If a leader does not truthfully assess their leadership, the model has been changed and will not work.
In the outdoor model will vary its use depending on the leader and the group that they are leading. A scenario of the model working would be the following:
A Teacher takes out a group of about eight students that are enrolled in their second year of the TOL program for a three day back packing outing. There are two instructors attending the trip, and this is an un-formal outing. There is little to no danger of the hike itself and assuming that there is no risk that is being evaluated. After the instructors evaluate and discuss the situation, the leaders choose a style three leadership style. They choose to take more of a back seat approach and let the students delegate, discuss, and lead their trip. I think that this would be appropriate for multiple reasons. The leaders have evaluated the competence and willingness of their students and realized they were able to lead themselves. They also realized by taking this leadership style, the student would get more out of the trip leading themselves then being approached and handled by the other three leadership styles.
I will now be discussing the Conditional Outdoor Leadership Theory or (COLT). COLT is a theory that was developed by Simon Priest and Robert Chase. They developed it in 1989 based on their revised and developed notion of the Situational Leadership model. (Mark Tozer 2007). Where the model was created and aimed at a wide variety of leaders, the COLT was created to focus more on leaders and groups in the outdoor field.
The COLT theory is made up of three axis, represented by X, Y, and Z. The X axis represents how task orientated the leader is. The Y axis represents the relationships that are within the group both between leaders and the group, and the Z axis represents the conditions and environment that effect group decisions (Priest and Gass 2007). The three axis’s can be represented by three different decision making styles. There is the autocratic, abdicratic, and democratic. The autocratic decision making is heavily concerned for task completion, and the abdicratic has a high level concern for relationship, and the democratic is a weighing of the two styles. Democratic uses a more situational approach to base the decision making on. There are five factors that that can affect the leaders and groups decisions. The five factors are environmental dangers, individual competence, group unity, leader proficiency, and the consequence of the decision (Priest and Gass 2007). In order for the theory to work the leader must first be able to assess their leadership style that they are applying and when it should be changed. The theory is a tool that leaders can use to weigh the dangers and risk of the situation depending on the environment and the group. The theory is by altering their leadership based on situation, there will be a more desirable and optimal outcome. If the leader has an unbalanced concern for either relationship or task completion then the desirable outcome for the group will be at a lower level.
This model has both its own strengths and weaknesses. Strengths include its ability to thoroughly assess all positives and deltas in a specific situation. It focuses on group dynamics and interpersonal relationships. Deltas of the theory are that not all situations can involve and lengthy thought process. In case of emergencies, decisions need to be made immediately; the leader may not have the opportunity to assess all of the theory. I believe the more it is practiced, the more natural it will become for the leader to apply this theory.
Both the Situational Leadership Model and the COLT model have their positives and negatives, and both can be used depending on the situation. I don’t believe that one is more effective than the other. However, I think both may be more of an effective leadership tool depending on the nature, leader, and participators of the situation. The Situational Model is more based on the evaluation and judgment/decisions of that particular leader in the situation, and the COLT model is rather an evaluation of the interpersonal relationships between participants and leaders. I believe that each leadership situation is unique and needs to be assessed on case to case bases. This being said, being able to apply flexible and thought out leadership, is the only way to be a successful leader in the outdoors.















Priest, S., & Gass, M. (1997). Effective leadership in adventure programming. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Ogilvie, K. C. (2005). Leading and Managing Groups in the Outdoors (2nd edition). Penrith, Cumbria: Institute for Outdoor Learning
Schermerhorn, John R. 2001. Situational Leadership: Conversations with Paul Hersey. Mid-American Journal of Business. 12
Brown, Nicole A.: Barker, Randolph T. 2001. Analysis of the Communication Components Found Within the Situational Leadership Model: Toward Integration of Communication and the Model. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication. 31: 135-158
Tozer, Mark.” Mark Tozers Blog.” Conditional Outdoor Leadership Theory. 24 October 2007. http://marktozer.blogspot.com/2007/10/conditional-outdoor-leadership-theory.html
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