2.2.3 Situational Leadership Instrument (SLII®)
Purpose
The Situational Leadership Instrument (SLII®) is based on the idea that followers’ skills and motivation transform over time, and therefore, leaders need to adjust their approaches to fit their followers’ current needs. The instrument focuses on leadership style and the developmental level of followers. According to the situation, the instrument determines which of the following four leadership styles is most appropriate: directing, coaching, supporting and delegating. The test is typically taken by leaders, managers, supervisors, or anyone in a leadership role who is responsible for guiding and developing others within an organization. The SLII® is popular among practitioners because it is easy and simple to implement and appropriate for everyday leadership (Northouse 2021). The owner’s website states that over 10,000 companies have used the instrument, and it is a proven approach to leadership that delivers results: improved productivity, reduced turnover, and increased sales and profits.
Description
In this 20-question self-assessment, each question likely presents a scenario or situation, and respondents choose from four leadership options. External experts then analyze the test-taker’s choices to determine leadership flexibility and effectiveness (Northouse, 2021). Limitations may include biases of external evaluators and differences across industries and organizations.
Access
This link provides access to the SLII®: https://www.blanchard.com/our-content/programs/slii. It is also accessible via academic journals and research databases, including the relevant articles listed in the references section. Prior to usage, permission from the authors or copyright holders may be necessary. Contact the authors directly or consult the articles for more information on the availability and permissions.
References
Blanchard, K. (1985). SLII®: A situational approach to managing people. Blanchard Training and Development.
Blanchard, K., Zigarmi, D., Forsyth, D., & Hambleton, R. (1988). Leader Behavior Analysis II (LBA II). Blanchard Training and Development.
Blanchard, K., Zigarmi, D., & Nelson, R. (1993). Situational Leadership® after 25 years: A retrospective. Journal of Leadership Studies, 1(1), 22–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/107179199300100104
Blanchard, K., Zigarmi, P., & Zigarmi, D. (2013). Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Increasing effectiveness through Situational Leadership® II. William Morrow.
Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and practice (9th ed.). Sage Publications.
2.2.3.1 Situational Leadership in an Outdoor Leadership Context
Purpose
The Outdoor Situational Leadership Rubric (OSLR) produces reliable and valid scores of situational leadership amongst participants in outdoor leadership training programs. This instrument provides a new measure of outdoor leadership: the Outdoor Situational Leadership Rubic (OSLR).
Description
The OSLR is a four-element, behaviorally oriented assessment that was used to evaluate the major components of the Situational Leadership Model using students’ structured journals. Three raters score the journals using a four-point Likert scale.
Methodologically, this rubric divides variance into three parts and recalls those facets as sources of error. The facets included the three raters, three journal entries, and eight items evaluated by the rubric. The item facet represented 2% of the overall variance, indicating some items are harder than other items for students. The student-by-item interaction explained by 5% of the variance revealing how different students do better on different items. The rater-by-item interaction is an indicator of systematic differences in rater stringency by the item that explained 8% of the variance. The rater facet accounts for 6% of the total variance. The interaction of rater-by-student was zero. However, though the overall rater scores varied, the rank-of-order of students did not vary by rater indicating the rubric functioned as intended in a consistent way of rating the rank-ordered students. The student variance component accounts for approximately 2% of the total variance in rating attributed to the differences in scores between students (true score).
By providing a novel way of how journaling and rubrics can be used to measure leadership, the OSLR contributes an instrument that meets the accountability of demands of dynamic outdoor situational leadership.
Access
This instrument is available for use by permission of the author.
References
DeBrun, G. B. (2023). Developing and establishing validity evidence for a measure of Situational Leadership in an outdoor leadership context.
Baker Jr, E. D. (1975). Change in Leadership Behavior Attitudes Effected by Participation in Basic Courses at the National Outdoor Leadership School.
Chelladurai, P., & Saleh, S. D. (1980). Dimensions of leader behavior in sports: Development of a leadership scale. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2(1), 34-45.
Smith, H., & Penney, D. (2010). Effective, exemplary, extraordinary? Towards an understanding of extraordinary outdoor leadership. Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education, 14, 23-29.
