TCM Table of Contents – Classroom Management Resources – School Climate – John Shindler – TCM Workshops

Appendix E: Individual Situational Leadership Model

Research into leadership of individuals and groups suggests that not all groups approach their work in the same manner (Hershey & Blanchard, 1980); therefore those leading groups should consider the characteristics of the group and/or the individuals within the group. Any group or individual could be observed to have more or less of each of these three variables:

Variable A: Commitment/Buy-in

This variable includes the students’ level of effort and care they put into the task. How much of themselves do they invest in the task?

Variable B: Capability/Ability

This variable includes the amount of experience, talent, skill, mental or physical ability, and resource the student or group posses. What level of means do they bring to the task?

Variable C: Social/Political Capital

This variable involves the environmental conditions that influence the degree of inclusion or social acceptance any student (or group) is currently experiencing. Factors include popularity, discrimination, social hierarchy, class, and familiarity among group members. Is the student inside or out, a have or have not?

If we were to sort students into types given the degree to which they did or did not possess each of the three variable qualities, we would be left with eight possible combinations. These combinations could be identified by their type label (T) and leadership style (L).

A	B	C	(T) Type Classification, (L) Type of Leadership Needed
+	+	+	(T1) Achiever; (L1) Freedom, resources, encouragement, a chance to share expertise.
+	+	-	(T2) Fighter; (L2) Belonging, empathy, chance to shine, recognition of achievement.
+	-	+	(T3) Worker; (L3) Patience, recognition of effort, academic support.
+	-	-	(T4) Invisible; (L4) Public recognition, High task structure and support.
-	+	+	(T5) Glider; (L5) Motivational, challenging, use successes to develop buy in.
-	-	+	(T6) Follower; (L6) High task structure and support, lots of motivation.
-	+	-	(T7) Unpredictable; (L7) Recognize achievements, use successes to develop buy in.
-	-	-	(T8) Nothing to Lose; (L8) High structure, high motivation, create personal connection.

+ exhibits quality, - does not exhibit quality

Using the Model

To best succeed with students in learning settings, the following rules may be helpful:

1. Do not treat +’s as –‘s. Give hard workers (high A) freedom, give high ability students (high B) a chance to be creative and original, and cohesive groups (high C) chances to work collaboratively.

2. Give students with – areas the support they need in that area.

3. Use students’ strengths to compensate for their weaknesses. For example, if a student is talented (high B) but has low motivation (low A), challenge them in their strength area. If hard working (high A) but not too able (low B), give them recognition for their effort and praise for staying with it.

4. Consider student type when grouping. Consider putting T1 and T3 students in positions in which they help bring disconnected students (low C) into the group. Do not group all your low Cs together. Partner students with different strengths allowing them to share their gifts.

5. Problems in Area C can be mitigated to a large degree by promoting community and an emotionally safe environment in the class.

6. Area A is related to a high degree to the meaningfulness and relevance of the work in the class.

7. Competitive structures are harmful to the promotion of each of the areas, especially B.